diff --git a/oslo_log/handlers.py b/oslo_log/handlers.py
index 74816189..d1240dea 100644
--- a/oslo_log/handlers.py
+++ b/oslo_log/handlers.py
@@ -146,6 +146,12 @@ class OSJournalHandler(logging.Handler):
 
 
 class ColorHandler(logging.StreamHandler):
+    """Log handler that sets the 'color' key based on the level
+
+    To use, include a '%(color)s' entry in the logging_context_format_string
+    and a '%(reset_color)s' entry at the end of the format string so that the
+    color setting does not persist between log lines.
+    """
     LEVEL_COLORS = {
         _TRACE: '\033[00;35m',  # MAGENTA
         logging.DEBUG: '\033[00;32m',  # GREEN
@@ -158,4 +164,5 @@ class ColorHandler(logging.StreamHandler):
 
     def format(self, record):
         record.color = self.LEVEL_COLORS[record.levelno]
+        record.reset_color = '\033[00m'
         return logging.StreamHandler.format(self, record)
diff --git a/oslo_log/tests/unit/test_log.py b/oslo_log/tests/unit/test_log.py
index 669081c8..39b1cfc5 100644
--- a/oslo_log/tests/unit/test_log.py
+++ b/oslo_log/tests/unit/test_log.py
@@ -987,7 +987,8 @@ class FancyRecordTestCase(LogTestBase):
                                                   "[%(request_id)s]: "
                                                   "%(instance)s"
                                                   "%(resource)s"
-                                                  "%(message)s",
+                                                  "%(message)s"
+                                                  "%(reset_color)s",
                     logging_default_format_string="%(missing)s: %(message)s")
         self.colorlog = log.getLogger()
         self._add_handler_with_cleanup(self.colorlog, handlers.ColorHandler)
@@ -1040,7 +1041,7 @@ class FancyRecordTestCase(LogTestBase):
         fake_resource = {'name': resource}
         message = 'info'
         self.colorlog.info(message, context=ctxt, resource=fake_resource)
-        expected = ('%s [%s]: [%s] %s\n' %
+        expected = ('%s [%s]: [%s] %s\033[00m\n' %
                     (color, ctxt.request_id, resource, message))
         self.assertEqual(expected, self.stream.getvalue())
 
@@ -1053,7 +1054,7 @@ class FancyRecordTestCase(LogTestBase):
                          'id': resource_id}
         message = 'info'
         self.colorlog.info(message, context=ctxt, resource=fake_resource)
-        expected = ('%s [%s]: [%s-%s] %s\n' %
+        expected = ('%s [%s]: [%s-%s] %s\033[00m\n' %
                     (color, ctxt.request_id, type, resource_id, message))
         self.assertEqual(expected, self.stream.getvalue())