Gray, gray, go away, don't come again another day

Ellen says: Many of us have chosen not to go gray gracefully and have turned to the bottle for help. Of course, I'm talking about the bottle of color.

Getting your hair color right isn't a science. It's quite simple: Stick to colors that complement your skin tone, figure out if you're best off with single-process color or highlights and then decide if you're going to pay someone else to do it or do it yourself.

Don't be afraid to go back to the salon and talk to your stylist if you are not pleased with the results. There are all sorts of ways to fix color that's just not right. If you did it yourself with a semi-permanent color, look for a shampoo with "ammonium laurel sulfate" to wash away the color faster.

Once you invest money in a hair color, you should protect your investment with the proper after color care. Refresh your color by using a color-enhancing shampoo and conditioner once a week. These products deposit miniscule amounts of color into hair. Check out this list of the 8 best colored products for color-treated hair.