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Stargazer Hair Dye
by purplekimmy
I have been dying my hair for years and have been everything from blonde to red, brown, pink, purple and everything inbetween, in fact the only colour I haven't been is black! My natural hair colour is brown with a hint of grey, I am getting married next September so am waiting for the plum colour in my hair to grow out as I don't know ... what I intend to do with my hair yet.
Over the years I have used wash in wash out colours, permanent and semi colours, powders, creams, tubes, bottles and cartons and not all hair dyes work as well as others. A friend of mine had been raving about Stargazer products; I had tried a few but hadn't gone near their hair dye. After being handed a packet of Plume hair dye (Deep purple) I couldn't get to the bathroom quick enough.
The packet has a ladies face on whose hair id the colour of the hair dye, it gives instructions on the packet and after familiarising myself with said instructions we were ready to go. We had decided that I should go purple all over!! (Why not) and after freaking out for a while, gave in and allowed my 'friend' to apply the dye to my hair. My hair was a medium brown shade before hand and I was very excited to see what shade it would now go. I left (as instructed) the dye on my hair for 20 minutes, it didn't smell unpleasant and it defiantly wasn't as overpowering as some dyes can be. After 20 minutes I washed my hair out and was not overly impressed with the results. I had purple streaks in my hair which was not the worst outcome ever; but the colour had not taken on most of my hair, which was a shame. The parts that had taken were a lovely colour; it was semi-permanent which I was rather glad about. In fact had I not pointed out the different streaks to people, it wasn't really that noticeable. After two and a half weeks, the colour had pretty much gone completely. It was a shame because had it worked all over my hair, it would have been the most awesome hair colour ever.
I won't be buying the colour again, I don't know when I will dye my hair again but when I do I won't be using this. At £4 it isn't the most expensive dye on the market but you still expect it to work. Disappointing.
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La Riche Directions
by perpetual
I am a hair dye enthusiast - name a colour and I will have had some variation of it in my hair ! A couple of years ago, I decided I was bored of my white bleached hair, and thought I'd add some colour. I researched dyes, and decided that La Riche Directions seemed to be my best bet.
1. What is Directions dye?
Directions ... is a brand of hair dye that specialises in bright colours - nearly any colour you can imagine! It is semi-permanent, so do not penetrate as far into your hair shaft as permanent dyes. It lasts various amounts of washes depending on the original colour and condition of your hair. This also means the colour doesn't do too much damage to your hair, but the bleaching beforehand will!
2. How do I use the dye?
Unlike permanent dyes, the dye goes straight onto wet, shampooed hair, with no mixing of fancy bottles required. The consistency is quite putty like, so you can easily lather it into your hair or "paint" it on with a mixing brush. Make sure you use gloves, the colour is very difficult to get off your hands! The processing time is only around 15-30 minutes, and the longer you leave it, the more intense the colour is likely to be, but more than half an hour is unnecessary.
The dyes can also be mixed together to create your own unique colours - try mixing a dye with the Directions toner to create a pastel shade.
3. My Experience with Directions
I have used several directions colours, namely Lagoon Blue, Lavender and Pastel Pink. I have also used the toner both to tone my hair, and mix colours to pastel shades.
The first time I applied the dye, I used Lavender mixed with Toner, and Pastel Pink as a dip dye, over white bleached hair. I left the dye on for the recommended amount of time, and covered with cling film to help the process and avoid mess. After washing the dye out, my hair was exactly the colour that I wished, so I was very satisfied with the process.
The second time I used it, I put Lagoon Blue over my Lavender/Pink hair. I was unsure of the results of this, as I was technically mixing colours! But the intense shade covered all the hair with no variations of colour :)
I only had the pink/Lavender hair for around two weeks, but the colour stayed perfect throughout this time. The blue colour was in for over two months, and it didn't wash out at all! Everytime I showered, however, the water ran a lovely shade of bright blue, as if the colour was coming out, but it didn't fade at all.
4. Is Directions for you?
This really depends on what you want from the colours. If you have dark blonde or even darker hair, and you want a very bright colour, then you will have to bleach your hair. Using the colours over darker hair will result in much deeper shades more like tints, especially with brown base shades. If you are wanting the opposite effect - a tint to your hair - and you have very light hair, then I would recommend you avoid Directions and use a more natural shop bought dye, as using "Fire Red" over your light blonde hair for example will result in Rihanna style locks!
I would also highly recommend the toner for those with bleached hair that are wanting to go a whiter shade, or neutralise brassiness - leave it on for just five minutes and your hair will look much better :)
5. Where do I get Directions dye?
I usually go to the local "alternative" shop, as they stock nearly every colour, and it's only around 3 pounds a tub (enough to do a full head of hair and some). If you can't do this, then it's available widely online from Amazon and other websites, a quick google search will find it.
Overall, I would say Directions worked very well for me personally. If you are looking for a crazy bright hair colour, then go for it, but make sure your hair is very light coloured first if you want prime effects! From what I've seen, it does work well for a nice interesting tint on darker hair colours, so if this is what you want, do a bit of research and see what you think.
The application process is very easy and quick too, and the dye isn't too messy, just make sure you wear gloves and put some vaseline round your hairline or have hair dye removal wipes on hand.
Good luck with your unique new hair :) !
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John Frieda Precision Foam Colour Hair Dye
by claire405
I have been using home hair colour on and off for about 8 years now. It used to be mainly to get a different colour, or to brighten up my hair and make it more glossy. These days, I am mainly looking to cover grey hair :(.
It is quite often on special offer in boots or supermarket either as multi-buy deals, or just a special ... purchase. This means you can offer get it for around £4-5, sometimes less.
You apply the colour to dry unwashed hair. As far as I am concerned, this is the best starting point to colouring your hair, as minimal preparation is required and which helps to keep the whole process quick. Furthermore, adding the colour to dry hair makes it very easy to see which areas you have missed.
The supplied gloves are thick and black. They're really good quality and don't fall apart or split and the colour doesn't get through to stain your hands. They're proper gloves, not those hand-shaped sandwich bags you sometimes get with this type of product. I work in a lab and used to take gloves from work to colour my hair, but I don't need to with this hair colour. However, I would say they may be a little snug if you have medium to large hands.
The first step is to add the colourant to the developer in the supplied bottles and mix gently by tilting. This is all very straight forward and it's easy to see when it is mixed enough as the bottle is just about transparent enough. The instructions say to tilt 5x, but it usually needs a few more. You then replace the cap with the supplied foaming spout cap and tighten it up. The dye is dispensed by squeezing the bottle and the liquid turns to foam as it comes out of the spout. The foam really is non-drip, which is just brilliant. I remember the days when there used to be little splashes of stains all over the bathroom no matter how careful I was. This doesn't happen with this product and I can go of and do something in another room without worrying about. You add a tennis ball size amount of foam to your roots at the parting and repeat working your way out to cover all your hair and it is completely saturated, then massage it in. This is then left for 20 minutes, or up to 30 minutes if you have course hair or stubborn greys. The smell is quite strong, but not as over-powering as some hair dyes which give off a strong ammonia smell.
After the developing time, you just rinse it off and use the provided conditioner. The provided conditioner is very good, I would say it is salon quality. The bottle should last about a month and really leaves the hair glossy and soft - it's almost worth the money just for the conditioner.
The final finish is very good. The colour is rich and my hair always looks and feels healthier after using this product. As far as the colour matching the description goes, this depends on your natural hair colour. I have very dark brown hair and use the the 3N deep brown-black colour. Th picture is lighter than my natural hair colour, but actually makes my hair a shade darker.
The only problem I have with it is that I don't think foam hair colours give as good coverage of grey hair as the liquid ones. I have used other brands of foam colour and had the same issue, so it's not the John Freida one that is causing the problem, I think it just doesn't saturate the hair as much. Having said this, if the main reason for colouring your hair is to give you a natural glossy finish, I can highly reccomend this product.
As with all hair colours, they recommend that you do the skin allergy test 48 hours before colouring your hair even if you have used this product before. This involves applying a small amount of the mixture to you skin, allowing it to dry and leaving it there for 48 hours to see if you have any reaction to it.
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