Why, where and how much?

I have medium thickness hair which is at bra strap level which is a dark reddish blonde shade naturally with a few ahem strands of white. I used to lighten my hair previously but over the past 9 months have enjoyed being a (run lola run) red head. Normally I use Special effects in hot lava as it doesn't damage my hair and lasts for a good 3-4 weeks but as is the case with all red hair dye it fades and can go much lighter therefore losing that intense RED that I like. Unfortunately a couple of months ago I couldn't get a hold of my usual dye as I have to order it from the U.S. and my hair had started to fade which drives me up the wall so I decided to try a color depositing shampoo and after a friend at work mentioned the Superdrug colour effects wash in, wash out shampoo I decided to give it a try. The range consists of quite a few shades including Rich Red, Mahogany, Cool Blonde, Chocolate Brown, Honey blonde and Warm Copper Gold. The shampoo costs £1.29 for a plastic container which holds 75mL of the product and I can honestly say that is a bargain.

What is it, how do you use it and does it do what it's supposed to do?

It's a conditioning colour depositing shampoo which actually imparts alot of shine to the hair without it looking greasy and has a light floral scent which is quite inoffensive. The bottle states that you can get upto 3 applications which is nonsense unless you've got hair like a hedge down to the heels of your feet as I get a good 6 applications out of this bottle. The Rich Red shampoo is very pigmented and is a lovely bright scarlet red which is orange based as opposed to pink based which is very important as I have a warm skin tone that looks hideous in pink/cooler tones. The shampoo states that you wet the hair, work in as much of the shampoo as is required and leave for 5 minutes which to be honest is ok for those of you who want a hint of colour but if you want it to last and be much brighter this is how I use it.

* Wash hair and use your regular shampoo to remove product build up and grease from the hair
* Towel dry your hair slightly to remove excess moisture and then apply enough shampoo to cover all of your hair. You don't need a tinting brush and somehow this product never seems to stain my scalp or face which makes a nice change from special effects/directions colourants.
* Wrap your hair up in either a shower cap or polybag secured with a clip and then use a crappy old towel that you don't mind getting stained to cover your head in a turban and leave the heck alone for an hour or as long as you can stand.
*Once you've reached your limit then rinse with warm water reminding yourself that its only hair colourant and not a scene from a horror film and use your regular conditioner ( if you have dry/long hair), rinse and then style as usual.

The colour I get from this wee cheapy shampoo definitely exceeded my expectations and I am forever indebted to my work mate. The colour is a lovely bright orange red which is exactly what I wanted and it has minimised the number of times I have to order SFX hair dye from the states which has saved me a considerable amount of money. The method described above needs to be done every 2 weeks but this can vary depending on how frequently I wash my hair (normally no more than 2 times a week due to it's length) so if you wash your hair on a daily basis you may need to use this product more frequently. I do tend to use this inbetween for a quick wash and leave on whilst I wash my body etc

Would I recommend this product?

Certainly! I can say with total honesty that this product has not damaged my hair and not left any build-up on my hair which can be an issue with other colourants/colour depositing shampoos. Another big plus with regards to this product is that it's BUAV approved meaning that no animal testing has been associated with this product which is quite important to some people out there and definitely gets the thumbs up from me. Please note that this product will not lighten your hair so unless you've got light brown-light blonde hair don't expect bright results but more of a tint to the hair which reflects in the sunlight.