Hair a mess from repeated dying? Try this... (Herbal Essences Fearless Colour)

Member Name: Nichelette

Product:	Herbal Essences Fearless Colour
Date:	05/11/08 (494 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells much better than regular hair dye, will dye over greys

Disadvantages: Liable to fade after a while

Having constantly dyed my hair from the age of 15, I'm no stranger to most hair dyes, and Herbal essences Fearless Colour is no exception.

Obviously dying my hair so frequently had dramatically affected the condition of it, so I was attracted to this particular hair dye as it is ammonia free, and claims to leave your hair feeling glossy and shiney.

On first inspection the product has nice attractive packaging, inside which you will find the dye, the mixing bottle with the developing creme, and a (allegedly) six week supply of deep conditioner, along with the regulation pair of disposable latex gloves. The mixing process is very straightforward, you simply open the dye, empty it into the bottle with the developing creme, and shake until everything is thoroughly mixed up. The neck of the bottle is sufficiently wide, so you shouldn't get the mixure all over the place. I find the gloves provided with this dye to be much better than most plastic gloves as they are (I believe) latex, and fit to your hands well. In my experience there is nothing worse than those gloves made out of a similar material to plastic bags that are not only huge, but won't stay on properly. You won't have that problem here.

Obviously the box recommends that you perform a strand test prior to using the product all over, and once you have done this you are ready to start. You apply the dye in prettymuch the same way that you would apply any dye. How long you leave the dye on for is obviously up to you, though the leaflet states 20-40 minutes as a guide. Personally I've always left my dye on towards the longer end of the suggested time to achieve a bolder result. If you have grey hairs which you would like to cover, this product will cover them, though it is advisable to leave the dye on for the full 40 minutes if this is the case. I'll be brave and admit that at the tender age of 22 I'm actually starting to go grey (I blame stress), and the dye has successfully covered the grey for me. The best thing about this dye is the smell. Until I started using this dye I was resigned to having my hair smell bad during and after dying, but that just isn't the case with this dye which does actually smell very similar to the shampoo & conditioner range!

So, the next step is to wash the dye out. You are supposed to continue rinsing your hair until the water runs clear, but personally I have never been able to make any brand of dye run completely clear. I do have very thick hair though, so this may be more as a result of this than the product. As a consequence the next three or four times I wash my hair, the water will have a tinge of the dye. My advice would be not to use your best towels the first few times you wash your hair after dying. When the water is as clear as I'm able to acheive, the next step is to apply the deep conditioning treatment. This is a lovely thick conditioner which smells really nice. This claims to provide six washes, but I find this isn't anywhere near the case. As my hair is quite long and thick I have to buy two boxes of the dye, but one tube of conditioner still doesn't last three washes with me, more like one and a half. Personally I'd like a bit more conditioner to be included. This does leave your hair feeling lovely and soft though, so it is good stuff.

When I dried my hair I was happy with the colour result. As I've already mentioned the dye covers the greys that I do have, and the colour is good...initially.

So far I have used three different colours of this dye. Firstly I tried a red shade as an alternative to the Live XXL dye which I love but my hair hates, however I found that the red faded quite quickly, so I had to dye it again quite soon after to prevent myself from going completely ginger! Next I dyed my hair black, however I found my hair going a dark shade of brown quite quikly. Finally I've settled on using their dark brown dye. Naturally my hair is a mid brown colour, but it's very dull so I like to dye it to liven it up a bit. Now, although this colour has faded a bit, it isn't so noticable (though my greys are very obvious). That said, having dyed my hair red for many years, there is still some red left under the layers of dye which is starting to become visible when it is sunny, though the red wasn't visible straight after I dyed it.

The dye is permanent, and comes in a wide range of colours, going from cream lightening, through the reds and finally ending at sapphire black. The dye is usually priced around £4.49, so on a par with other dyes, though for those of you who need two packs or like to stock up superdrug often have offers on this product when you buy two.

All in all, although this dye has a fading problem after a while it is very much worth trying, particualrly if your hair has become a state from repeated dying like mine had. I've now cut down the amount I dye my own hair, and I believe that this combined with the lack of ammonia in the Herbal Essences dye has helped my hair to start repairing itself. My hair is now in much better condition that it was, and there is an obvious difference between the hair that has had live dye and that which has only had Herbal Essence dye used on it.

Summary: Really worth trying if you have long suffering hair