What a difference a day makes (Superdrug Performance Permanent)

Member Name: kirstymack80

Product:	Superdrug Performance Permanent
Date:	21/07/06 (548 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cover those roots and greys, get pretty new hair, cheap

Disadvantages: are you kidding?!

I blame Julia Roberts. Ever since I saw her in ‘Pretty Woman’ and she took off her blonde wig and her long hair came tumbling out and said “Red” and Richard Gere said “Better” KM decided she had to have *that* hair on her head. So she’s been dyeing it that colour since she was 19 years old. And yes it’s curly like Ms Roberts’ too - shame I don’t have her bank balance but we can’t have everything.

So La Mack is always on the lookout for a new and cheap alternative to keep her copper locks a lovely reddish colour. She’s tried nearly every brand on the market and was fed up with forking out up to £6 every couple of months when her roots started to show through.

Red is notorious as being the worst colour for fading fast and boy is that true! Having spent the best part of 15 years on and off with this colour, I have watched many of my favourite brands disappear off the shelves never to be seen again. However as I was perusing the aisles of Superdrug, I captured a coy looking gal peeking at me with one eye beckoning ‘come hither’ behind her perfect, straight, red hair. Aha! I grabbed the package, paid my £2.89 (bargain!) and off I went to try it out.

* The package *

The box I chose was shade 7/34 which is Warm Copper Gold. There are a couple of red shades to choose from (the other being far brighter for those that are brave enough). In the box there are 5 items:

A bottle of crème developer
Crème Colour
Intensive Conditioner
Rubber gloves
All important instruction leaflet

* Application *

I was doing a ‘touch up’ job which basically means re-doing the roots rather than the whole head. As my hair is very dark at the top and light at the bottom, the idea is to keep the dye on the roots for the longer part of the procedure and just touching up the ends towards the end of the time to ensure an even colour. My hair is just below shoulder length and one box of the dye just about covers it but if your hair is very thick or much longer then I recommend buying two boxes.

So …

Make sure you put an old towel around your shoulders. To start, empty the crème colour into the crème developer bottle - then shake until the two are mixed. Remove the top of the bottle and then apply.

You are advised to part the hair into sections but I just ensured that all the brown parts were covered. This took about 10 minutes. I did clip my hair up after so that it didn't make my towel *too* mucky!

The smell is pretty horrendous - bleachy and nasty but that is typical of all dyes and I don’t think this is worse than any other one I’ve tried.

* Waiting time *

Again, dependent on which application you are doing, if it’s a full head of hair then waiting time is 30 minutes but for regrowth it’s just 20 mins.

After my 20 minutes are up, I then distributed the rest of the mixture over the ends of the hair. I didn’t have an awful lot left - less than a quarter of the bottle - but I wasn’t concerned as it does blend in easily and as I mentioned previously, the ends were very light anyway.

The remaining dye is then left on another 10 minutes.

* Shower time *

When the time is up, then starts the tedious process of washing the dye off. It always goes everywhere and I haven’t managed to perfect the art of a clean bathroom just yet (make sure you get it all up the tiles, gawwww on, you know you want to!). Once the water starts to run clear then you know you’ve reached your goal and the dye is all down the plug hole. After that the instructions recommend that you shampoo your hair.

* After care *

You can then apply the intensive treatment conditioner. This is just a small sachet which should be left on for 2 minutes then washes out. I must admit I don’t always use this as I usually use a leave-in conditioner. I have curly hair and any other conditioner tends to make my hair sleek and smooth which just screams horror to me as it takes the curl out of my hair.

Anyway .. whichever conditioner you decide to go with, you can then dry your hair as normal.

* Result *

From start to finish (including 20 minutes drying time) took about one hour and 15 minutes. Not bad for a whole new look!

I hadn’t realised how brassy my hair had been - the red had all but gone and I was left with golden ends. After dyeing it my hair has gone back to its even red/brown colour and I love it! Think … Grace from Will and … yes Grace!

* What I liked *

I think the fact that you apply this on dry hair makes things *so* much easier. I have used dyes in the past where you have to wet your hair first. Speaking of my nearly black hair when it’s wet, this is a nightmare! You can’t see where you’re putting the dye as even a red dye is very dark when it’s applied. So from the very beginning this is easy to apply and the instructions are simple and easy to understand. There aren’t pages to wade through - there are just 2 sets to look at which are first time applications or regrowth.

Also you don’t have to be too ‘precise’ with the application. I admit I’m fairly slapdash with it and don’t tend to worry too much about whether the underneath bits are done. I find it blends in really easily with my natural hair colour and as long as you stick to the times stated, you can’t really go wrong.

Finally the price is right. OK so this doesn’t have a groovy young gal on the front of the box. But really why do we pay extra just because of the brand name or a well known celeb advertising it? I’m sure all the colours are very similar and frankly if I’m going to save 3 pounds every couple of months then I’m not going to complain. I admit I took a chance - I didn’t like the red colour when I tried ‘Nice and Easy’ but all I did with this Superdrug colour was lift the box up and take it over to my old brand and compared the colours on the back. They were almost identical and yet one was so much cheaper!

* Overall *

There are around 21 shades from light to dark to try in this range - seven in the blonde range alone. The back of the box will tell you which shade you will get when used on your natural hair colour.

I am fairly pale and find that the Warm Copper Gold really lifts my colour and suits my complexion. I’m happy that I have found a cheap and cheerful colour that I really like. I’m always pleased with the result from this product and will continue to use it.

I have to award it five stars. It’s quick and easy to apply and a new colour is very easy to achieve in a short time without spending a fortune. What more can you ask for?!

* Points to consider *

A strand test is recommended before application.

Do not use anywhere near your eyes so don’t try dyeing your eyebrows/eyelashes or *ahem* any other body hair! (Eh?!).

Always ensure any unused product is disposed of by diluting with water and pouring down the drain.

Keep out of reach of kiddies.

This dye contains Resorcinol, lanolin and hydrogen peroxide and has been tested under salon conditions. For a full list of ingredients please check underneath the box before purchasing.

For more advice:

Write to:

Customer Relations Department
Superdrug Stores plc
Admail 838
Croydon
CR9 4WZ

Thanks for reading!

Summary: Cheap and cheerful hair dye with easily achievable results.