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Pamela Follett/Demand Media

Available at most professional beauty-supply stores, protein filler, also known as hair color filler, penetrates into your hair shaft and allows for an even distribution of hair color. Protein filler corrects for hair that is too porous, green from chlorine pools and fading ends. You can purchase colors from the primary spectrum of red, blue and yellow and clear to counterbalance a color job gone wrong. However, for most home-dye treatments, you may choose the clear or neutral shade as it will even out the porosity in your hair and allow for even penetration of the dye.

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Pamela Follett/Demand Media

Purchase a neutral protein filler from your local beauty supply store. Color will be clear.

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Pamela Follett/Demand Media

Shampoo your hair. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water to remove all the shampoo and towel dry.

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Pamela Follett/Demand Media

Pour filler into your hands. Start at the roots and work filler into your hair shaft. Apply more filler to the ends of your hair, as they are more porous than the root.

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Pamela Follett/Demand Media

Allow filler to process on your hair according to manufacturer's instructions, usually from 5 to 10 minutes. Do not rinse out.

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Pamela Follett/Demand Media

Apply your hair color over the filler.

Tip

A neutral filler works best for most non-professional hair colors. Do not condition hair after you shampoo and before you apply filler, as conditioner will coat the hair shaft and not let filler penetrate.

Warning

If choosing a color filler, you should consult the color chart. Keep filler on hair when applying hair color to even out the color.