using this wasnt a highlight (Multi-Lights Kit)

Member Name: pink_glitter

Product:	Multi-Lights Kit
Date:	24/09/06 (4190 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap

Disadvantages: doesnt work

Recently I decided to add a few highlights to my hair to brighten it up. I was originally going to use L’oreal Experte, which includes a semi-permanent dye and highlighting kit, but when I got to Boots I noticed that they had the Garnier Multi-lights kits reduced to £3.99 and decided to try that instead.

~About the kit~

Multi-lights is a hair highlighting kit made by Garnier, which contains all you need to highlight your hair from home. There are four kits in the range, with colours ranging from light brown through to auburn. I bought kit four for brunette hair.

~What’s included~

In the kit you get the following:
- Full instruction leaflet, which includes diagrams
- Plastic gloves
- Clear plastic mixing bowl
- Double ended applicator brush – one end for mixing, one with a brush for application
- One bottle of developer milk
- One sachet of lightening powder

~Using the Kit: My experience~

First of all your hair will need to be unwashed, dampened, and towel dried. You will need to comb your hair into its usual style, and they recommend you put a towel over your shoulders to protect your clothes.

The next step is to mix the sachet and developer milk to make a cream. I liked the fact that you are supplied with a bowl to mix the cream, as I have bought hair dye kits in the past, where you have to use an old saucer and a teaspoon to mix it, so it’s much more convenient to have everything included in the one box. The bowl is made of clear plastic and split into two sections – one to mix the cream, another to rest the brush. Preparing it is easy, simply pour the milk into the large section of the bowl, add the powder and mix using the flat, spatula end of the applicator. I found this process to be very quick, and more importantly mess free!

Now for applying it to your hair. The leaflet simply suggests selecting strands of hair, and applying the highlighter by dipping the brush into the cream and then running the brush through your hair. You then need to work the product through your hair with your fingers, so that it’s properly coated. It sounds simple, and mainly it was, but I did experience a few problems. Firstly because you need to load the brush with cream, a lot of the time I seemed to end up with a blob of cream near the root of my hair, and hardly any near to the tip. Also because you have to work the cream through your hair, it was hard to tell which strands had already been done, and which hadn’t.

Next you need to wait 20 minutes for the cream to develop, or if you want a strongly contrasted result leave for 30 minutes. Then you simply rinse with warm water, wash with shampoo and rinse again. Then, supposedly you are left with beautifully highlighted hair. However for me, this wasn’t quite the case. I have light brown hair, therefore, according to the box, I should have ended up with quite strong highlights. Despite following the instructions to the letter, what I actually ended up with was hair that looked no different, apart from, that is two orangey coloured patches near my scalp – one on either side of my head! Fortunately these were not too noticeable, and thankfully for me, they faded after a few days. If, however the highlights had actually worked, I would have been pretty disappointed if they had disappeared that quickly.

~Prices~

These kits usually cost £4.99 in Boots, however are currently on special offer of £3.99. They are also available in Bodycare for £4.19.

~Other info~

This kit can be used on coloured or uncoloured hair. It should not be used if you have previously had a reaction to a lightening product, or if you have a sensitive or itchy scalp.
Visit www.garnier.com for more info

~My Verdict~

Well on paper this kit seemed like a good idea, however in practice I cant say I was impressed. I definitely won’t be using this again, and next time I decide to highlight my hair, I’ll get it done professionally.

~Please note this is also published on ciao, by myself under my ciao username pink_champagne

Summary: home hair highlighting kit