Shhh but I'm not really raven black haired! (Schwarzkopf Poly Color Tint)

Member Name: xxfoxyredxx

Product:	Schwarzkopf Poly Color Tint
Date:	19/11/08 (725 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant colour, even coverage and gives great shine

Disadvantages: Bit of a devil to apply (but so are all black colours), no sachet of conditioner given

When it comes to dying my hair I find it to be the most annoying and most time consuming thing I have to do in the world, I hate it!! It's fair to say when I was hell of a lot younger than I am now I'd dye my hair for something to do and for fun and I always chose it by price rather than on the colour as I just didn't care what colour my hair was lol. I was a massive fan of reds (I'm naturally dark red) and loved my hair ginger one minute and pillar box red the next. I went purple, pink, orange you name I've been all sorts of deranged colours over the years as well as brunette and blond and I'm sure I haven't settled down and got into bed with this hair colour forever lol.

Due to the over dying process of my hair a couple of years ago I had to take a drastic step. I'd been blond for ages and it was costing me a fortune at the hairdressers to maintain it. Because I have so much natural red in my hair it sort of had an orange glow about it (think yellow dusters lol). My hairdresser used to quip that at least I wouldn't have to take tomato sauce on holiday with me (to stop it going green in the sun, chlorine etc) but I wasn't happy with the so called honey colour I'd achieved and spending so much time chasing my roots as they looked so dark and looked like I had a whole badgers bum thing going on and realistically cos my hair grows fast I could have done with doing my roots every fortnight to which my hairdresser put her foot right down with a firm hand announcing that being bald wasn't going to be a good look for me.

So annoyed I was! I bought a brown hair dye and a red one as I'd read to do somewhere and decided to take drastic action. I dyed my hair red first then used the brown dye on the top and it actually worked quite well. If you looked at me straight on I had reddish hair and it looked great but then look at the back of my head and it was a bit patchy looking. I stuck with it (cos I couldn't see the back so I could cope lol) and continued to dye my hair but some of the patches were very noticeable indeed and people were commenting on them. So once again I got annoyed. Now what?

This is why I ended up...black.

Now before anyone thinks oh I think I'll dye me hair black I fancy a change please listen up ok. Once you dye your hair black it's hard to go back. In my youth I had black hair and when I decided I didn't want it anymore it cost me an arm and leg to get the black hair dye ripped out professionally. Even wash outs don't wash out in my experience as they cling to the hair. So never ever think 'I think I'd like it' cos you are stuck with it believe me. Me it was a good option for. I knew it would suit me. Knew it'd cover up all my hair issues and I know when I've had enough I will have it professionally lightened and get back eventually to dying it myself but it won't be for a while as I do like this colour on my hair for the time being.

My Hair....

Is shoulder length and wavy. It's quite dry and frizzy and always has split ends no matter how often I have it trimmed and/or try looking after it. It needs dying (roots) every 4-6 weeks as it does grow rather quickly. I dye my hair due to root regrowth issues rather than colour fade (in the winter months) and I have one or two grey hairs. Not many I've only spotted a couple in the past few years but the I do dye my hair so I would hope not to see any daring to pop up lol

Now this colour is one of the cheaper options on the market. My Mum when I was growing up always bought Poly Color so it is brand I am familiar with. I purchase mine for £1.79 a box in Wilkinson's but I have seen it in supermarkets and chemists and it is a highly available brand.

The packaging....

Well mine is for the Colour 49, Raven Black (as on the review photograph). All packaging for Poly Color has the same theme which is a woman sporting the colour your buying of course on her head and it's all on a red cardboard recyclable box. So on the front along with the photograph I'm told it's Schwarzokopf, Poly Color 'Tint', Permanent Cream Colour. Then there is a picture of a strand of hair with a band around it that says 'with fortifying proteins'. Under that and very clearly stated I'm told it's 49 Raven Black that offers 'Perfect Grey Coverage' and gives 'natural, rich colours and improved hair condition'. On the back of the box I'm told about the product and given contact details for Schwarzkopf & Henkel and the recycle symbol is clearly stated. On one side of the box I'm told what variation this product is. So this is permanent but you can also purchase this in wash out and semi-permenant (lasts up to 24 washes) formulations. Under that information I'm shown natural hair colours it works on and the results you can expect to achieve with this colour. I'm then told the simple version of how to use it and given contact details once again ( this time for advice) for Schwarzkopf. On the other side of the box I'm given safety and warning instructions, given list of contents and ingredients are listed.

Open the box via the flip top lid (which once again tells me the colour and code and a picture of the colour and lets me know at a glance that it's permanent colour and your greeted with folded instructions inside (which are all in English), a 50ml white tube of colour cream, a 40ml of creme developer and a pair of see through disposable gloves (which are of very good quality). It's not the most sophisticated of packaging I grant you compared to so many other brands that are on the market but it is nice enough, looks practical and the instructions are fantastically easy to understand and follow and don't look cheap and nasty and everything feels ad looks good quality.

About The Product According To The Box....

Poly Color Tint Permemnant cream colouration with fortifying proteins guarantees a natural, rich colour result with perfect grey coverage.

The special colour pigment combination of Poly Color Tint gives your hair a natural, rich looking and long-lasting colour result.

The rich cream formula coats each hair from root to tip, so that the highly concentrated colour pigments can penetrate into the hair structure. For a vibrant and rich colour result on grey or even white hair.

For a natural, rich looking result with perfect grey coverage.

The rich cream formula contains valuable fortifying proteins that strengthen your hair structure during the colouring process. For healthy and strong hair that shines through and through.

To Use It....

Well firstly I really would read these easy to understand instructions first. They do advise a strand test and cautions, hints and tips are given that I won't patronise you with. They're common sense about what to do it you get it on your skin or in eyes and stuff like that really and advise you to be careful during mixing this up and application etc.

Now to use it you have a couple of choices. One way of using it is for a full head application (i.e first time usage or a colour) and then there's using it to cover regrowth/roots.

Now me because this is a black colour I dye my whole head every time. I don't have to be worried about the colour building up etc and because it is black I do get a wee bit of fading going on (particularly in the summer months) so I don't mind doing my whole head and in fact think it's easier that way than applying it to my roots and then having to reapply colour to the rest of my hair. I may as well apply it everywhere from the beginning in my view.

To apply it is relatively easy enough (even though it's messy) no matter which method you want to use. I cover up my old dressing gown with an old towel and then apply this on dry hair.

Now when buying this do stop and think for a minute and think about the length and/or thickness of your hair cos you may need two boxes and not one. Mine is just below shoulder length as I stated already and it really isn't thick but I'm only just managing at the moment to completely cover my hair with the amount provided in one box so if in doubt I'd get a couple of boxes of this and if you don't need them both of course keep one unopened for next time lol .

Mixing the mixture up is simple just don't do it near carpets and if you do get it anywhere let it be a shiny surface like enamel and have tissue on hand to wipe it immediately as this stuff really does stain bad and very quickly. Just the other day I wrecked my mums bath mat and I touched a white plastic mirror with this stuff and it did stain it (I never caught it quick enough to remove it) so you do have to be incredibly careful mixing and using it and stuff.

So making sure you have the gloves on all you do is unscrew the the nozzle of the creme developer bottle and then open the color creme by piercing the tube with reverse of the cap. You then squeeze in the entire contents of the tube into the creme developer bottle. You then close the bottle up, discard the tube (carefully cos it's usually covered in dye by now lol), and get to work really shaking the bottle hard to mix up the contents really well. All of Poly Colors do go a creamy kind of consistency and texture when mixed (in my experience) and you can see that through the opaque bottle. In my case I have a dark brown creamy looking liquid.

Then on dry, clean (no styling products in) and on brushed/combed through hair I simply remove the little tip that's on the top of my bottle and using the nozzle I work my way through my hair slowly. I always do my parting roots first and towards the back or my crown as this is where I can always see my hair grows faster and I like to make sure that where I NEED dying is done first and foremost.

Now if you were only doing a root touch up application you'd coat where is needed with about two thirds of the colourant mixture and you'd leave that on your hair about 20-25 minutes and then with the rest of the mixture you'd quickly rub the rest of the mixture the best you could everywhere else and leave it all for a further 5 minutes or so till you rinse it off but as I say I can't be bothered with this method and I always get in a mess so I always put it on all my hair.

Smell wise well it does have a slight sort of dye smell to it but nothing major and/or overpowering or anything and it certainly doesn't make my eyes water when applying it or waiting for the colour to take or when rinsing it off. It doesn't ever tingle or agitate me at all but it does give me slight problems in applying it.

A little doesn't go a long way as it's quite a thick mixture. If you run out though and dampen your gloves with a some water you can make the colour go a little further at a push but the mess can be horrendous and with a black hair dye in particular boy do you have to be very careful! It is do-able though!

Never ever apply this on a day you want to go out! No matter how careful I am I do get it on my skin you see. Even if I try to remove it even after just doing it, it won't budge no matter how hard I scrub and you can't scrub too hard because if you do it does agitate the skin and I get a slight rash so if it's on skin I can give it a gentle rub but I have to wait for it to fade which is usually a couple of days (with washing my hair and skin on both days).

Rinsing it out of the hair takes ages and ages an then some more time. I rinse through my gloves and put them back on in the shower and this is the only removal method I can recommend with this. It takes me about 15 minutes stood in the shower rubbing my hair with warm water to get it running almost clear. I say almost I never get it completely clear so do have a darker or older towel on hand to dry barnets with or you could destroy some towels (believe me this is also something I know about! lol). It takes a couple of washes for the colour to run completely clear.

After you've rinsed hair with warm water then your advised to wash with some mild shampoo. I do this, twice to get rid of the smell of the chemicals on my head but to also try to get rid of some of the staining I have and I have to use conditioner because this does dry my hair out quite badly. However the shampoo and conditioner don't remove the staining on my face and nothing actually does. Even if I dry my hair the same day and then wash it again a bit later on the staining doesn't come off and for some reason it does take a couple of days to fade completely. I do give one big piece of advice and that is to not try and remove it with cleansers/ toners or anything of that type as skin doesn't like it and my skin reacts by going red and blotchy but if you leave it alone it does come right in the end you just have to bear with it and not be seen in public lol.

Overall...

Tricky to use. Yep this really is but then I have to be fair here so are all black hair dyes. They are all highly coloured of course. If your very careful with it you can make minimal mess but I doubt you'd ever be so perfect in it's application you could apply this, dry your hair and go out the door and if you can please let me know how cos I seriously salute you for that and want to know the secret lol

Although my hair feels a bit dry when first washed these effects after a couple of washes and using decent styling products disappear and this provides me with amazingly even coverage and also very shiny hair indeed that looks mega healthy! Not sort of fake shiny and healthy but it really does feel stronger and I feel like I get less breakage.

For me apart from some of the difficulty I experience trying not to colour my head this is actually rather brilliant. For me the colour and the shine are the most important thing and I get this cheaply and effectively.

This is the only make and colour I use nowadays and the most natural black I have found as I don't like blue shimmer tones to my hair! I dye my hair now as a matter of due course and to do a job and I can rely on this to do it!

Summary: Brilliant, cheap and lasts on the hair!