I like the natural colour of my hair and after some attempts to change it as a teen my hair has been pretty much the same colour for the last 23 years- Taurean = creature of habit/boring/knows what suits me :)
I have used semi permanent *glossing* colours on and off for years just to add shine, but now I do have a smattering of grey hairs , so it is a hair colour with gloss and coverage I like. I did for about 1 year I did go a little lighter than my natural colour as I am aware when you have very dark hair you can end up looking a little like a *blow dried crow*, but I missed the depth of my natural colour, so very dark brown my hair is (again).
I have home died and also been to salons and both have pros & cons and my biggest bugbear about the salon is....if it is very busy the colour can end up being left on for too long (this has happened more than once to me) so a dark brown semi permanent turns out practically black and definitely does not fade in the same way. A great colourist is a gifted artisan that will be highly skilled and understand colour in relation to skintone/what will *pop* your eye colour and literally *create* a bespoke colour that is perfect for you.
I will add that if you are going for a dramatic colour change (unless you are a hairdresser yourself) go to a salon initially and go to someone who *loves* colour or specializes in it.
Over the years I have bought lots of different types of *shop bought* semi permanent colours, and have even bought ones when I was in the US so that I could try other options. There has always been something lacking from brand to brand- some the colour was great but the formulation a little drying or the formulation was lovely and the colour *too warm/red* despite the fact it was meant to be a *neutral*.
So I have purchased online from the US: the next generation of *home dyes*
E- Salon
I saw the buzz about e salon a Los Angeles based company that custom blends colour & level of staying power to your specific requirements and they also sends you exact details on how to apply the colour to achieve the results/finish that you want. The website is easy to navigate and it is easy to gauge the shades available and you can (on an interactive image) where you can even change the eye colour and skin tone to match your own colouring. I answered all of the question, chose my colour, sent 2 pictures and filled in more information about the finish I wanted.
:I purchased:
A custom colour (there was an offer of another being mixed up at the same time and sent free)- it also came with the kit (including gloves, stain barrier, stain remover (for skin), sachet of shampoo and after conditioner.
I also ordered as added items which are all multi use opposed to be used once only: the mixing bowl with brush/digital timer/clips & a bottle of aftercare tint to neutralize red tones.
Including postage from the US everything came to around £27.00
I was given a date of the 21st August for the arrival of my items (but it arrived some 6 days earlier) and in total I waited about 2 weeks for the package.
After I placed my order I received an email with video tutorials on how to apply my colour to get a pro finish.
And this is what arrived:
A box containing all of the items beautifully packaged and a personalised instruction kit even the bottles of colour tell me exactly what they have included as *my blend* personalised for me and the shade I chose was: Dark brown (ash) 4.71
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Ok- so far I am very impressed with the service and I literally can't wait to try the colour out.
The next post about E Salon will be the results and I will be completely honest.
If you want to have a look for yourself it is:
http://www.esalon.com
I am not affiliated, it was not a gift, it just seemed like a brilliant concept and a HUGE step up from the normal home colour options.
I have used semi permanent *glossing* colours on and off for years just to add shine, but now I do have a smattering of grey hairs , so it is a hair colour with gloss and coverage I like. I did for about 1 year I did go a little lighter than my natural colour as I am aware when you have very dark hair you can end up looking a little like a *blow dried crow*, but I missed the depth of my natural colour, so very dark brown my hair is (again).
I have home died and also been to salons and both have pros & cons and my biggest bugbear about the salon is....if it is very busy the colour can end up being left on for too long (this has happened more than once to me) so a dark brown semi permanent turns out practically black and definitely does not fade in the same way. A great colourist is a gifted artisan that will be highly skilled and understand colour in relation to skintone/what will *pop* your eye colour and literally *create* a bespoke colour that is perfect for you.
I will add that if you are going for a dramatic colour change (unless you are a hairdresser yourself) go to a salon initially and go to someone who *loves* colour or specializes in it.
Over the years I have bought lots of different types of *shop bought* semi permanent colours, and have even bought ones when I was in the US so that I could try other options. There has always been something lacking from brand to brand- some the colour was great but the formulation a little drying or the formulation was lovely and the colour *too warm/red* despite the fact it was meant to be a *neutral*.
So I have purchased online from the US: the next generation of *home dyes*
E- Salon
I saw the buzz about e salon a Los Angeles based company that custom blends colour & level of staying power to your specific requirements and they also sends you exact details on how to apply the colour to achieve the results/finish that you want. The website is easy to navigate and it is easy to gauge the shades available and you can (on an interactive image) where you can even change the eye colour and skin tone to match your own colouring. I answered all of the question, chose my colour, sent 2 pictures and filled in more information about the finish I wanted.
:I purchased:
A custom colour (there was an offer of another being mixed up at the same time and sent free)- it also came with the kit (including gloves, stain barrier, stain remover (for skin), sachet of shampoo and after conditioner.
I also ordered as added items which are all multi use opposed to be used once only: the mixing bowl with brush/digital timer/clips & a bottle of aftercare tint to neutralize red tones.
Including postage from the US everything came to around £27.00
I was given a date of the 21st August for the arrival of my items (but it arrived some 6 days earlier) and in total I waited about 2 weeks for the package.
After I placed my order I received an email with video tutorials on how to apply my colour to get a pro finish.
And this is what arrived:
A box containing all of the items beautifully packaged and a personalised instruction kit even the bottles of colour tell me exactly what they have included as *my blend* personalised for me and the shade I chose was: Dark brown (ash) 4.71
.JPG)
Ok- so far I am very impressed with the service and I literally can't wait to try the colour out.
The next post about E Salon will be the results and I will be completely honest.
If you want to have a look for yourself it is:
http://www.esalon.com
I am not affiliated, it was not a gift, it just seemed like a brilliant concept and a HUGE step up from the normal home colour options.
