To hide gray or heighten your natural color, use a product that's one or two steps lighter than your natural color.

Any type of color stronger than temporary comes with two components: the color itself, in a vial; and the developer, which activates the color.

Don't mix brands if the color and developer are sold separately.

You can mix colors from the same product line to create a more customized shade.

If you have long hair, get two boxes of color.

If you have porous, damaged hair, give yourself a conditioning treatment before you color.

From Stephanie Seymours's "Beauty Secrets for Dummies"

© 1999 Scripps Howard News Service.