Hair Color
Clairol Nice N’ Easy Root Touch-Up: Product Review
What: Angela takes Clairol Nice ‘n Easy Root Touch-Up for a test run.
The Lowdown: When the budget gets tight, getting your hair colored somehow doesn’t make it to the top of the priority list (seems that everyone else in the household wants stuff like food and electricity—go figure). That being said, when you’ve already been coloring your hair and have a half-inch of unsightly root to contend with, what’s a girl to do? Take matters into your own hands, as cheaply as possible, that’s what. Enter Clairol’s Nice N’ Easy Root Touch-Up home color kit. For less than $7, it promises a perfect color match, no matter what product you’ve used previously, salon or home color. Hmmmm.
While a perfect match was hard for me (a veteran of multiple color disasters) to imagine, as it turns out Clairol makes good on this particular promise. Using the broadly-named “dark brown” shade, I slipped on the rubber gloves, mixed up the color in the plastic tray provided, and applied to dry hair with the handy little application brush. The color went exactly where it was supposed to, with relatively little fuss or muss. The best part? After rinsing out and blowdrying, my roots matched seamlessly with the rest of my hair (which had been salon colored previously), and here I am a week later, with my roots still looking great. Which means I can wait just a little longer for my next full color, which in the long run saves me some dough. Which makes me happy.
Yea or Nay: Yea, especially if you normally get your hair colored at the salon—it’s cheap, easy, and will extend the life of your regular colorings, meaning you save money. Your colorist might not like it, but he doesn’t have to pay your credit card bill, does he?
Buy it: Online for $6.99 at Drugstore, but I got it for closer to $6 at my local WalMart
.
Nice n Easy Perfect 10 Permanent Hair Color: Product Review
What: On her quest for the fountain of youth, Robin covers her gray with the new Perfect 10 Permanent Hair Color from Nice ‘n Easy, $13.99.
The Lowdown: It’s hard to go into any Target or drugstore and not bump into an endcap filled with Nice ‘n Easy’s new Perfect 10 hair color line. They weren’t fooling around when they launched this line. What makes this product the “advanced and sophisticated” color they claim is a new technology called AminoGylcine. It’s a new lightening system that allows hair color to be deposited on light roots in only ten minutes compared with the typical 20-30 minutes. Considering I could always use an extra 20 minutes, I gave it a whirl. The directions are easy enough and the formula doesn’t make my eyes tear. After ten minutes of root touch up, I wash and condition. Are my grays completely gone? No, but they are less noticeable. I feel that if I left it on for a few more minutes, it might have really done the job. Maybe they should call it Perfect 15 instead.
Yea or Nay: I’m on the fence with this one. You might save a few minutes of dying time with this product, but it is also a few bucks more than most other coloring options on the shelves these days. So, budget-wise it’s a nay, unless you’re really pinched for time.
Buy It: @ Drugstores nationwide
Repelle Skin Shield Wand: Product Review
What: Robin uses Repelle Skin Shield Wand, $4.99, to keep her hair color on her roots and nowhere else.
The Lowdown: Considering most people who attempt at-home hair coloring stain their hairline (and yes, I’m one of them), I was happy to find Repelle. It’s a cute little lip balm-like stick that you rub around your hairline, ears and neck before applying your hair color. Aside from containing petroleum (which is what many hair dressers use before dying hair in a salon), Repelle also contains Pretectin-22, which ionically-repels hair chemicals. As a result, I didn’t have to spend time scrubbing my scalp raw after the dye job. Repelle to the rescue.
Yea or Nay: Yea. You can even use it as a manicure helper. If you line your nails with Repelle it will prevent nail polish from sticking to your skin.
Beauty Trend: Simply Red Hair
What: Seems like more and more people are seeing red these days (red hair, that is).
What the experts say: This from the 2008 issue of Elle magazine: “Red heads have the best of both worlds.” says Lena Oh, a colorist at Bumble and bumble’s Meatpacking District Salon in NYC. “They have the same eye-catching pop as platinum blond without the ditzy connotation, and the intrigue of a brunette.”
What we say: It’s so easy to become bored with the same hairstyle day after day (hello, Britney!). Since color is an easy and relatively risk-free road toward a mini makeover (especially since there are so many semi-permanent options to choose from), we’re all for trying on a little red. But make sure it’s the right red for you—we don’t want you matching your mane to a fire engine just yet. Your skin tone plays a big role in choosing your crimson color. If you have olive skin, go for a cool red, and if your skin is fair, you’re better off with a red/orange cast. That hair color aisle can be tempting, but for this particular transformation, you’re safer in the hands of your colorist. InStyle.com has a great hair makeover tool that’ll give you an idea (and perhaps a good laugh) of what you’ll actually look like in this ravishing shade beforehand.
Advertisement
Featured on TBF
Copyright 2003-2009 TBF Group, LLC.