ROBERT CRAIG:
HAIR TO DYE FOR
by Marilyn Green

Robert Craig, one of the nation s most sought after hair colorists, has turned his talents to those who couldn t be physically present at his New York salon. His work, seen on Broadway and in film, television and print media, is now available in everyone s home. Craig has introduced a line of gentle, permanent hair color for men and women that covers gray and contains not a trace of harmful peroxide, ammonia, alcohol, perfume or resorcinol.

If you want to stay with your own color range or go darker, the new Color by Craig covers the gray. If you want to go lighter, the grays will turn into highlights. And the shades go from Natural Black and Jet Black through all blends of brown and red from chestnuts and mahoganies to Chocolate Brown, Coffee Brown, to Light and Medium Auburn. Six shades of blonde and Clear (which lightens other shades) round out the possibilities, and they can all be mixed.

I ordered a number of colors to mix, especially since the actual boxes are black and white, with only the names to guide you. At $9.99 you can afford to play with the shades, since the color comes in a powder form, and whatever is not used will keep for months.

Inside each box is a mixing bottle with ounce measurements, very good gloves, a small vial of powdered color, and vial of Craig s shampoo for color-treated hair. (He recently had to package this in a 16 oz. size because of the level of demand.) The instructions explain that the product can be used even on hennaed or chemically-treated hair, although they caution that permed hair will often take color darker and faster and recommend a lighter shade in this case. Also, although the color is very gentle, it is not to be used for dying eyelashes or brows and all new users should do a 48-hour strand test. It also cannot be used for facial hair.

When you mix the color with water, the result is a rich mousse that goes on very easily; there are good, clear instructions about first-time and touch-up coloring, and a guide to mixing colors. There was absolutely no odor, no burning or tingling when I applied the mousse, and I was careful to follow instructions to mix over tin foil so any spills could be poured back into the bottle, and so the color didn t come in contact with anything, since it will stain. For the same reason, I had some cotton pads ready to wipe excess color from my skin.

Craig indicates that color should be left on from 15-45 minutes, depending on whether you are doing a touchup, changing color or covering gray. I left mine on for 40 minutes, which had produced just what I wanted during the strand test, and when I washed it out the color was perfect no trace of gray. My hair felt wonderful, too: soft without losing volume and very shiny.

Two weeks later I was even more pleased! There was much less fading than I usually experience, even with chlorine-laden swimming pools and frequent shampooing. Craig says the color cannot produce brassy results, since there is no ammonia or peroxide, and it does not damage or dry hair. For this reason, it works well to tone highlights or bleached hair or to correct hair color.

Besides the straight color, Craig has developed an UltraBlonde highlight kit and a No More Bad Hair Days kit. The latter includes shampoos for hard water, very hard water and soft water, and a truly amazing conditioner to spray on towel-dried hair. There are test strips to check the water and the products come in travel size. I had the chance to use all three shampoos while traveling from the soft water of New York to the hard water of Wisconsin, and Craig is right: I didn t have a bad hair day!

Access the full line of products is on Craig s website www.robertcraig.com or order by phone at (800) 917-2566 between 10 and 4 EST.