As you are aware I’ve been sporting red locks for some time now – I do it myself because its cheap and easy just like me, and you can usually pick up box dyes on offer and do it in your own time so it’s convenient too. Well, apart from the mess that is – I wish foam dyes were available in more vivid shades because they are sooooo much less messy, plus one box is plenty (I have fine hair but lots of it, so it needs about one and a half boxes of conventional liquid dye…)
Anyway, up until recently my dye of choice was the Schwartzkopff Live XXL in the shade “Real Red”, but I was getting a little bit dissatisfied with how long it was lasting, or rather not lasting before I got a washed out shade of brassy gingeriness, Something like this…
This is quite vile, as I’m sure you’ll agree – Now I’m realistic with red hair dye – It’s not going to last as long as brown or various other shades, but also I have to bear in mind that dying it every two weeks (which was how long it was lasting before going all wishy washy) is
A) Bad for my hair
B) A big pain in the arse.
I was also feeling a bit like this shade made my eye brows (which are much darker than my natural hair shade anyway) look like they were comically dark, so I started looking for a darker, but still vivid red shade. And this was what I found…
Obviously the Garnier Nutrisse dyes have been about for a while, but these new “Ultra” versions are new and meant to be more intense/pigment rich etc.
Anyway, one and half boxes slapped on the hair, half an hour, a good rinse and deep condition later and this was the colour I got…
I’m liking this so far – it is darker in real life than the picture suggests though - and it doesn’t seem to have wreaked too much havoc on the condition of my hair either. Time will tell though how well this shade bears up over the next few weeks. If it still washes out quickly, I’m considering giving up on red and going for a more natural chestnut or mid brown shade, for the condition of my hair if nothing else!
Have any of you guys used this range of dye? What were your thoughts/experiences on it?
The Disclaimer Bit – I bought these products myself in Super-dooper-drug, or Superdrug, as normal people call it (Does anyone else call it that in their heads? No? Just me then…). Anyway, I can’t remember the price, but knowing the bargain hunter I am when it comes to hairdye, it was probably on offer, either an introductory price or two for one or summink…
ooh! That’s a pretty colour! Red is sooo high maintenance but looks so pretty. I’ve recently gone black. I had no idea it would be similar work to red. I’m thinking of using a permanent colour shot just to give subsequent semis some staying power. I’m scared of the damage it will do, though. Dilemmas, eh? x
Hi Rebecca – ooh that is a dilemma – I’m considering going back to a darker shade if this keeps washing out at this rate, that way I’ll be able to do semi-permanents which will ultimately be better for my barnet!
That’s looking good! Unfortunately, any red will disappear fast, definitely use a sulfate free shampoo for color treated hair, and expand the time between 2 washes as much as you can. I also read that co-washing would help but I didn’t like that too much on my own hair.
Hey lovely – thanks for the comment. I’m sure it will disappear quickly, and I always minimise hairwashing as much as I can… I tried co-washing but it didn’t really work for my hair, which became a bit of a frizz-bomb!