I’ve been dying my hair every eight months or so since freshman year, and I think I might’ve finally figured out how to make my color last long while not damaging my hair. Here are a few lessons I picked up over the last few years.

Don’t do it alone

There are times to be an independent lady, and there are times to not. Dying your hair is the latter. I dye all of my hair at once when I dye it (no highlights or ombres or anything), so I do so with dye from a box because the color comes out nicely, lasts long and is 10 times cheaper.

Anyway, the first time I dyed my hair was freshman year, so I still wore glasses. I had to remove them during the process to avoid making a mess on them — I had the dye sitting on my bathroom counter, but nobody was home to help me. I’ve been impatient since birth, so I went ahead and did it by myself. I was going for a reddish brown color, but the color showed up better on my carpet than it did on my hair because that’s where all the dye ended up.

My eyesight is absolutely terrible, and maybe it didn’t work out the first time because I did it while practically blind; but, I’m sure it would’ve helped a ton to have someone dying the back of my hair. Moral of the story: have someone help you, whether you can see well or not.

Use cold water

As unpleasant as it sounds, the water should be freezing cold — arctic tundra-goosebumps temperature. It keeps your hair from losing its color the same way it keeps your laundry from mixing colors. This is especially necessary with red — the most difficult color to maintain, I’ve noticed. If you use hot water, or even warm, your shower will look like the site of a gruesome murder and your tub will forever be stained pink if you let it sit too long.

It’s not as relaxing as a hot shower, but, on the bright side, it’s a lot more beneficial to your skin and hair. It makes hair super shiny and minimizes the appearance of pores. Hot water can cause heat damage to your hair, just like straightening it, and it can cause your skin to dry out, especially when it’s cold out.

Moisturize

Fall is the season of Ugg boots, pumpkin spice and dry hair. You should always use a deep conditioner or a hair oil to keep your hair hydrated, but especially so if it’s color treated. Most boxed dyes, at least the ones I’ve used, come with a little packet of different oils to pour into the dye mix. My hair tends to get super frizzy after I dye it, so I use Moroccan oil to supplement those. I recommend using OGX Moroccan Penetrating Oil, which you can get at any drugstore for like $6.

If you want to repair hair that is already color damaged or bleached, I recommend using coconut oil as an overnight hair mask. Before you head to bed, thoroughly apply coconut oil to your ends, but avoid your roots if you can. In the morning, rinse it out then shampoo and condition like you normally would. This only works if you wash it out. I repeat, you have to wash it out or your hair will be stringy and limp and sad.

I use Spectrum Naturals Organic Coconut Oil, but you can use any coconut oil. It doesn’t matter whether it’s extra virgin or organic — just buy the cheapest. It can be a little pricey, but it’s worth the buy because it’ll last you a while and it is absolutely a staple, must-have beauty item.

Boxed dye is a cheap, easy alternative to expensive trips to the salon and can last a long time if you comply with the unwritten rules of at-home hair color: don’t dye alone, keep your showers cold and moisturize extensively.