I was dyeing for a change! (L'Oreal Excell 10)

Member Name: azana

Product:	L'Oreal Excell 10
Date:	31/08/09 (183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: quick and fairly easy

Disadvantages: careful no more than 10 minute use required

I first discovered a grey hair at the tender age of 18, and since my late 20's I have found that my hair needs dyeing to cover the grey bits. Depending on time and finances I have gone down both the salon and at home route, recently I have been most likely to colour at home and I have used a variety of brands.

I first bought this item as it was on offer (currenty £4.82 at Tesco, but more normally £7 or so), and I thought it would be a good idea if it worked as billed - in 10 minutes. I often find it hard to find 5 minutes for myself, so 10 minutes as opposed to 20 with most products seemed a good idea. The shade I first tried was 4.0 "natural dark brown", which I figured sounded like my natural colour (yeah like I can remember) from the description and also the shade picture on the box. My hair isn't totally grey but I would guess about 20% or so, based on regrowth, and on first use is really needed doing as I hadn't found time to dye it for a while.

Ease of use:

Like most kits this one came with gloves, a developer cream, a colourant cream to be mixed with it and aftercare conditioner, here called "cashmere cream". The instructions were pretty clear in the main, advising you to do a test patch with a dab of the colourant behind your ear 48 hours before use (like I am sure many users I skipped this as having never had any problems before, but if a first use you probably should do as advised).

The instructions could have done with making it more clear that application was on wet non-shampooed hair - this info was a bit hidden amongst the rest of the text, but the pictures made it clear how to mix, prepare and use the colourant. A nice touch is that the box has a hole to punch out to stand the cream on mixing in, and also unlike other kits there is a choice of applicator - a comb sort or a spot applicator depending on whether you are doing all over colour or just the roots, again the instructions on both were clearcut and fairly easy to follow.

I found that the colourant once mixed was not too runny and there was plenty to cover my mid-length bob, 120ml of product once mixed. I kept a wet wipe handy to wipe off cream from my hairline but mess was minimal, as was "collateral damage" - with more runny creams I've ended up with a coloured ear before, no such problems here. The gloves provided were of good quality and everything is nicely packaged in a glossy, expensive-looking box. The colour doesn't smell as strong as most other colourants, though it is hydrogen peroxide and amonia based.

Now in the instructions they do say that longer 10 minutes will mean a darker shade, I would say follow the time to the letter and perhaps include the time you are massaging the dye in, it does indeed work fast and as billed. It all washed out quite easily and I used the conditioner and left in 2 minutes as advised.

Results:

I was really amazed but this dye does work as billed in 10 minutes flat. Once dried my hair was quite pleasingly salon glossy. I did find that the shade I used 4.0 was a bit darker than I had anticipated, so used natural brown the next time, but after just one use I was converted to using this dye regularly, the time saving is just so good and coverage of greys is excellent, and multi-toned, which I think always looks better. This is a permanent colour, which I find ideally needs re-doing after about 6 weeks.

Overall:

This is a great product if you need to cover grey or just fancy a change. I have been using it regularly since I discovered it, but like I say do be wary on the time, they really mean 10 minutes. Apparently it works quicker due to its "optomised pH" - no idea what this means, but work it does. The fact that it just takes 10 minutes is a real boon for me as with other products I found I had to go longer than I would have ideally liked between applications as I just don't have much time to myself. I've given it 4 stars purely as the colour was darker than I thought, and also as full price it is quite expensive. If you are planning on using the dye and I would recommend using a shade lighter than you think the first time of use and following the tips on the manufacturer's website. I probably prefer the "excellence" L'Oreal colour, but timewise this product is unbeatable.
Recommended for those who, like me, are short on time but needing a bit of help with their hair colour.

Summary: does as it claims to do