Hair Color Changer: Hairstyles

Review by eFreeware

Changing your hair color is one of those decisions that is easy to make and slow to undo. A bad shade means weeks of waiting it out, or another salon bill to correct it. That gap between wanting to try something new and being willing to commit is exactly where a preview tool earns its keep, and it is the problem Hair Color Changer: Hairstyles sets out to solve.

The app comes from Smart Dev Group and sits in the Beauty category on Google Play. It is free to install, it carries ads, and it has no in-app purchases. It has passed 100,000 installs and holds a 3.0 average from 649 ratings, a middling score that suggests a mixed reception rather than a runaway hit. It first appeared in July 2024 and was last updated in January 2025.

What the developer promises is straightforward: a way to test a color on your own head before you sit in a salon chair. I'll look at how that works, what else is bundled in, and who stands to get the most out of it.

Painting color onto your own photo

The core of the app is a virtual try-on. You bring in a picture of yourself, or you switch to the live camera and work with what is in front of you. From there you apply color to your hair directly, using a finger or a stylus, which makes the whole thing feel closer to digital painting than to a filter you tap once and forget.

That manual approach cuts both ways. It gives you control over exactly where the color lands, so you can keep it off your forehead, your ears and the background. It also means the result depends on how carefully you work. A stylus will likely give you finer edges than a fingertip, and the app lets you dial the opacity of the color up or down so the result reads as more believable rather than flatly painted on.

The color range is deliberately broad. You can work with natural shades if you are considering something close to what you already have, or go for the vivid fashion colors that would be a much bigger commitment in real life. Since nothing here touches your actual hair, the cost of a bad idea is a few minutes of your time.

Style galleries for women and men

Color is not the only thing on offer. The app also includes a hairstyle section for women, described as a collection of flattering, versatile looks, and a separate section for men built around styles that make a statement. Treat them as inspiration rather than a simulation.

That distinction matters when you are deciding whether to install. The color changer is the interactive part; the style collections are there to give you ideas for what to ask for or what to aim at. If you are already set on a cut and only want to settle the shade, the galleries are a bonus you may not touch much.

For anyone in the earlier stage of a change, though, having both in one place is convenient. You can scroll through looks, settle on a direction, then go back and preview a color that fits it.

The salon math the developer is pitching

The pitch running through the app is about time and money. Salon visits for color take hours and cost real money, and the developer frames the app as a way to experiment at home instead, narrowing down what you actually want before you book anything. I think that framing is fair as far as it goes: a preview cannot replicate how a dye behaves on your particular hair, but it can rule out shades you would never have liked.

The practical appeal is strongest for anyone who changes color rarely and wants to get it right, or who is tempted by something bold and wants a sanity check first. It is also a low-stakes way to play with looks you would never actually wear, which is a legitimate use in itself.

What the app does not do is replace a professional consultation. Lighting in a photo, the opacity you choose and the accuracy of your own hand all shape the result, so the preview is a rough guide, not a guarantee of how a color will look once it is real.

What you need before you start

The requirements are modest. Color can be added by tapping, using either a photo or the live camera. The app carries no in-app purchases.

It is ad-supported, which is the price of a free tool in this category. I would set expectations accordingly: this is a lightweight utility, not a polished studio product, and the 3.0 average across 649 ratings hints that not everyone has been satisfied with what they got.

The other thing to accept is the manual nature of the coloring. If you want a one-tap result that looks professionally retouched, the painting approach will likely feel like work. If you are happy to spend a few minutes shaping the color yourself and adjusting the opacity until it looks right, the control is the point.

The app has not changed since the January 2025 update, so what you see now is what it has settled into.

Best suited to the undecided

This app is built for people standing at the edge of a color decision. If you are weighing a shift from your natural shade to something brighter, or you keep circling the same bold color without committing, previewing it on your own photo is a sensible first step. The same goes for anyone helping someone else decide, since a picture is easier to react to than a swatch.

It also fits the curious. Trying on fashion colors you would never wear in public costs nothing here, and for some people that experimentation is the whole appeal. The men's and women's style galleries add a browsing layer for anyone who wants inspiration before they settle on a direction.

Where it asks for patience is in the handiwork. The app hands you the brush and expects you to use it. Anyone who wants a quick, automatic transformation may find the process fussier than they hoped, while anyone who enjoys fiddling until it looks right will get more out of it.

The free price and the absence of purchases lower the bar to trying it. With ads in the mix and a middling rating, I would go in expecting a useful experiment rather than a finished makeover.

A free way to test a shade before you commit

The photo upload and live camera give you two ways in, the finger or stylus application gives you control over where the color lands, and the opacity adjustment is what keeps the result from looking like a sticker. The style galleries for women and men round it out with browsing material.

The caveats are the ones the app itself implies. It is free and ad-supported, the coloring is manual rather than automatic, and the 3.0 average from 649 ratings suggests the experience has not landed with everyone. None of that is disqualifying for a tool this cheap to try, but it does mean you should expect a rough draft of a look rather than a preview you can trust absolutely.

I would point it at anyone seriously considering a color change and willing to spend a few minutes painting it on themselves. If you want a fast, hands-off filter, the manual approach will likely frustrate you more than it helps.