As I sit here to type this review, I can feel exhaustion coming down on me hard. The joys of being a wife and mom means despite that feeling, I still have to cook dinner and give my son his final bottle (because he never wants to act right with my husband for bed time).
However, I said I was going to post daily and since I missed yesterday's post, I have to post twice today. I've actually been meaning to post about this product for awhile but of course I was still in my lazy phase:-)
I wanted to dye my hair a red brown. My husband convinced me to try something "stronger" than a drugstore brand. After speaking with two different sales girls at Sally's, I went with the One `N Only Argan Oil Hair Color in the color 4R.
I ultimately ended up dying my hair twice. I waited about 2 weeks for the second application. Now, the mixture for the hair color is 1 part color to 2 parts developer. I ultimately used the whole bottle of each, which is the 2 to 1 ratio.
The first time I dyed my hair, I did not realize there were different levels of developer. I just happened to to grab the 20 Volume by dumb "luck."
I never dyed my hair with professional products, so I had to research the different volumes. Basically, there are 4 volumes: 10, 20, 30, and 40. 10 is the weakest and 40 is obviously the strongest. 20 is usually what you get in drugstore hair coloring kits. The strength of the volume dictates the how much the color will actually alter your hair.
Volume 20 was used for both of my hair color applications.
I had always used the bottle application, but for some reason I decided to use the brush method. However, with my hair being in its natural state both times, my sister and mother ultimately did the lathering method of applying the color.
Now this is how my hair looked before I applied the color (first round):
This is the color and developer mixed:
How my hair looked when the color was applied:
How my hair looked after I had rinsed and conditioned my hair (no shampoo):
Somehow my roots managed to come out brighter despite the fact that my hair is natural (not transitioning) and I applied color to my roots last.
Not satisfied that you could barely see my color, two weeks later I had my sister apply a second application. This is the before (all pictures before shower cap) and the after (all the pictures after the shower cap). This time I did use shampoo when I washed out the dye.
Overall, I will say that I do like this hair color. What propels me to say that is the fact that it was not drying on my hair unlike other dyes I have used. With past hair colors, I could feel my hair drying out immediately when I was rinsing out the dye.
Another upside to this dye is the fact that it does cover grays. Yes, I had gray hairs at 25. Something my husband felt the need to constantly point out.
While there are 2 applications per tube, it was not enough for my hair and my mother and sister both found themselves scraping to get enough for my even application. It may of been more so cause my hair was in its natural state and absorbed the color like crazy.
I have seen another review about the color fading quickly. For me, I noticed the color brightened up a bit after the first wash. I used the Vidal Sassoon Color Protect shampoo and conditioner. However, in the past two weeks the color doesn't seem as bright. For me the fade isn't drastic since the color never really stood out that much (unless I was outside, then it was very noticeable).
I would probably use this again but I may use a 30 volume the next time I give it a try.
To check out my previous hair dying experiences, go
here.
