L'Oreal Launched A New Tool Where Colorists Give Personalized Advice WHILE You Dye Your Hair

At-home hair color is generally an easy process. You pick a pre-made boxed shade from the drugstore shelves, paint your strands, let the color cook, rinse it out, condition your locks, and hope that the end result looks good and lasts. However, L'Oreal's new Color&Co at-home hair color service is disrupting the industry. The service is transforming the experience by making it fully customized and providing you with your very own digital colorist.

According to the press materials received by Bustle, a 2018 Neilsen report revealed that at-home hair color is a $1.4 billion-with-a-b industry. That's likely due to the fact that it's convenient and cost-effective when you don't have time for a salon appointment or simply don't have the budget.

The direct-to-consumer Color&Co service is as affordable as it is personalized and it launches on May 8. Color&Co Single-Process and Premium ColorBoxes start at $19.90 with an option to sign up for a recurring subscription. In addition to the actual color, you can get shampoo and conditioner, applicator brushes, and stain blockers and protective gloves, because who needs hair dye all over their fingers and forehead?

Color&Co reinvents the home color experience not only by presenting endless shade options but also through customization and guidance from expert colorists around the U.S., known as "The Color Collective."

You get all of the benefits and one-to-one nature of the salon combined with the ease and satisfaction of DIY. You won't need to guess what color will look good on you or worry about damage from the processing.

Here's how Color&Co works.

First, you will engage in a live, on-demand consultation and receive expert advice from an independent, licensed professional so you don't ruin your hair. You also never have to leave the couch.

The expert colorist will discuss crucial things like hair type, length, texture, and health. They will analyze your hair color goals and offer an in-depth analysis based on your specific strands and the aesthetic you're going for. So, if you are a brunette who wants to go blonde or are in search of pink highlights, the colorist will realistically assess your options. It's the perfect execution of technology and human expertise that can help eliminate some of the mishaps that can arise from at-home coloring.

If you prefer not to participate in a live consultation, you can get similar results by completing the Color&Co questionnaire.

Color&Co will then create your shade by selecting a base color and adjusting depth and tone for a custom, salon-quality blend that will leave you with vibrant, long-lasting color.

Lastly, you will receive your ColorBox directly in the mail. Your shade arrives with personalized application instructions, From the formula to the label to the directions, your ColorBox truly is as distinct as your DNA. The details of your color blend will also be safely filed for re-ordering purposes.

"Hair color has the ability to inspire confidence. Color&Co is a solution that eliminates the unpredictability of the 'one-size-fits-all' model and brings confidence to the at-home hair color user," Color&Co general manager Olivier Blaya tells Bustle via email.

Another cool element of the program is that it creates a community of independent stylists who can serve your color needs and supplement their incomes by expanding their client base on the national level. It connects you with a vast pool of color experts from around country that you may not previously have had access to.

Color&Co will save you time and money — without sacrificing the personal service you expect from a salon. The person-to-person interaction will inspire trust in the product you receive. DIY, at-home color looks better than ever.