*text and photo heavy* - sorry.
I have been dying my hair since the age of 14, I used to use non-permanent dyes as they are better for your hair. A few years ago I changed to the permanent dyes, as it was just less hassle than seeing my color fade after a few washes. I have always dyed my hair a red shade, as I am naturally Auburn, I would never dye my hair black or blonde, as I think the warm shades go better with my skin tone. With using a lot of different hair dye kits - from Loreal to Nice and Easy to Live salon style all of which have their merits and their flaws. I had never used this hair dyes before and after a long debate over which brand and color to go for, I finally chose the JF one in lightest copper brown (C 6.5). I bought it from Boots for £9.99, which is a pain because it has now has 1/3 off making it £6.66! Bargain, seeing as it is quite a luxury brand when it comes to hair care.
Inside the box
I love the bottles in the JF hair color range, simple but it makes it seem so much more luxurious than the standard cheap thin gloves and the squeezy bottles.
The box contains :
-Bottle of developer -Bottle of colourant -Bottle of conditioner- Pair of black thick gloves- A foaming nozzle- A instruction manual
How to
First of all I poured the bottle of colorant into the bottle of developer. The colourant had a very strong smell of chemicals, stronger than many of the colourants I've used before.
I then replaced the lid and 'tilted' the bottle 5 times as instructed, I wasn't sure about this method, as it didn't seem to mix as well as the usual method of shaking it does. However I went by the instructions just in case, I didn't want to mess it up!
I then replaced the lid with the foaming attachment, and put the gloves on. I was impressed with these gloves and they were tight and also quite thick. This raised hope in the fact I wouldn't be left with stains all over my hands.
There was no need to wash your hair, so I then proceeded to squeeze the bottle to produce the foam onto my hand, ready for application. The foam seemed different in colour, as if it wasn't completely mixed through. I used this to apply to my roots and left it on for 10 minutes, which I always do with colourant. I was told by a hairdresser at RUSH hair salon to always leave at home colourant on your roots for 10 minutes and then apply it to the rest of your hair. So it doesn't go 'brassy' at the ends, so I took her advise again. After this initial 10 minutes I started applying it to the rest of my hair. I was worried when half way through I looked at the bottle and it only had 2cm left of colourant. This made me uneasy about if I was going to be able to finish my whole head, as I have quite long hair. I carried on going as I didn't just want to give up, half a head of different hair color is not a good look!
I was pleasantly surprised however to be able to complete my whole head and still have a lot of product left! I suppose when the liquid is converted into foam it used less colourant, which means even if you have longer hair than me, you will only need one bottle! I then left it on for another 10 minutes to develop, then I rinsed it out, which took a while as usual as I have quite thick hair (need it cut basically). I then applied the conditioner that is supplied with the hair colourant kit. It smelt really nice, fresh and fruity.
My hair afterwards... Drum roll please.
Ok so the roots are a different colour, which I was a tad disappointed about. However this is under the super bright lights in my room so in daylight it's not as obvious. I think this is because when I was applying the foam it was not the same color throughout, going from white foam to light orange to deep orange. So if I decide to go for this color next time I will make sure I 'tilt' the bottle more than the recommended 5 times! My hair is also in bad condition as I desperately need a hair cut (not being able to afford one since July 2012). I regularly use deep conditioners and hot oils, but after using this colourant on it is was left in a pretty bad state. I have bought some new deep conditioners which I shall be doing a review of, as I used it a few days after dying my hair. So keep your eyes peeled. I think I will use this hair colourant again because it has given my hair a nice deep colour, seeing as I already have red in my hair it clung onto that and enhanced it. I would love to get my hair dyed in a salon all the time however it is just too expensive for my student budget to handle. x
