It’s been a long time since I colored my hair at home. I have been getting my hair professionally done for the last four years and counted it as one of my few splurges–even though my hairstylist friends never charged me full price. But, with some recent financial woes hanging over my head (we’re all feeling the crunch, I know), I decided that I would try coloring it myself. Granted, I colored my hair myself all the time when I was teen, and figure that it was like riding a bike–you never forget how to do it.
I started my journey at Sally’s Beauty Supply while flipping through dozens of color swatches, giving myself major angina looking for the perfect shade. To briefly describe my hair, I have medium to long dark brown hair with more than a few annoying grays streaking right through my bangs. I didn’t want to drastically change my existing color, but all the dark browns I found had just a little too much … something. Too much red, too much ash, too much purple, well, you get the idea. Then, I started adding up what I needed, in addition to the color, and I was even more discouraged–a bowl, tint brush, gloves, developer … arrrgh! I remembered just how much work coloring your hair actually was and had a moment of hesitation, but I’m nothing if not determined, and I decided to go with my first instinct.
My first instinct was to just go to the drugstore and pick out a box color that had everything I would need. I talked myself out of it because I was more than a little embarrassed at the thought of using a generic box! I got over it quickly when I got to Rite-Aid though, and saw that, not only were they “Buy one, Get One free,” but that I had a coupon too. Hallelujah. I picked up two boxes of L’Oreal Excellence Creme Hair Color in Dark Brown 4 and followed all of the included instructions for a first time application.
I started by applying the Protective Pre-Color Serum to my ends and mixed the color while I waited the two minutes it suggested. I’m not sure if it really helped anything, but it certainly didn’t hurt to use it.
Kudos to L’Oreal for almost eliminating that awful, eye-burning ammonia smell I remember from my teenage hair coloring adventures. There is still a bit of a smell, but it was very ignorable. However, I made quite a bit of a mess of my bathroom, so I suggest protecting your floor with old towels or clothing. It was a little difficult applying it to the back of my head, so if you have long hair you may want a helper. I used both boxes because I have a lot of hair, but was still able to cover all of my roots and half of the length with one box.
I left it on for a little longer than the suggested thirty minutes because my grays are stubborn, then I got in the shower to wash it out. I was really surprised how easily it all washed out. The color I dribbled all over myself while applying. came off with only a little scrubbing (and no staining) and the water ran clean after two shampoos. I was also impressed that I wasn’t stained head to toe with how much of a mess I had made. I didn’t even have to use a special towel when I was done or leave colored drips on the floor.
The enclosed conditioner tube is nothing special. I used my own deep conditioner after washing out the color because it did leave my hair pretty tangled and feeling a little dry, but as soon as I rinsed out the conditioner it felt fine.
I’m soooooo happy with the results. My hair is now a rich, chestnut brown and my grays are eradicated, now blending in beautifully. It’s shiny and feels just as healthy as it did when I had it done professionally. I’ve washed my hair twice since coloring and it hasn’t faded and was even complimented by a lady at the grocery store. I can’t believe how excited I was to tell her it was from a box!
L’Oreal, I’m sold. I am now a drugstore hair color gal. I’ll take the mess I made (which came off the floor easily with Windex) for the money it is now saving me every 10 weeks. Total cost for two boxes of hair color on sale with a coupon: $9.85
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