As you're well aware, I dyed my hair at the end of March taking it from brown to purple. I did really like the colour but soon realised that it wasn't incredibly practical with having a baby on the way. From what I'm told, its better to have an easy to maintain cut and colour when you're a new mum as it makes life so much easier.
So, what did I do? First of all, I did plenty of research. I checked around online for reviews of Colour B4 to see what experiences others have had. The one I used was the extra strength and this was supposed to work for heavy build up and darker colours. However, nowhere could I find a review of someone who had purple hair and had attempted to strip that colour out! Argh!! Things I did read were that it smelt very bad, and that it is very runny. They weren't wrong. I bought mine from Bodycare for a bargain price of £6.99, it retails at about £12 in other shops like Superdrug or Boots, so I would advise shopping around.
So, here is a picture of my hair before starting. As you can see, its rather dark and incredibly purple. Thankfully, the colour I used picked up on colour difference and kind of highlighted my hair with different shades of purple.
As mentioned above, the Colour B4 smelled rather awful and was rather runny. I didn't take pictures of this stage because I did it at my mums and had to wear a bin liner to stop it from staining my clothes. The instructions say to wrap hair in cling film and to sit somewhere warm and to leave for one hour. I did this, in front of my mums telly, carrier bag on my head (I forgot my cling film). After an hour, hopped into the shower and rinsed it out. The rinsing process is rather laborious I'll be honest and takes 12, yes 12 minutes! But as far as I'm concerned, so worth it.
As you can see from the pictures, it worked! It was a total success! I was so impressed. The colour was incredibly warm, but from what I'm told this is to be expected. After what I had read of the instructions, it does say that the colour pigments in your hair are lightened because all hair dyes contain peroxide which acts to lighten the hair. I was literally staggered with the results. Of course, I did need to dry it for the colour to show properly - it did look very dark when wet.
Things to bear in mind when undergoing this process:
1. The mix is really really runny. A towel won't give your clothing maximum protection. Grab a bin liner, rip some arm holes and a head hole and you're good to go.
2. Leave it for the full time given. It won't work any more if you leave it longer and the result won't be as good if you rinse before.
3. Hair is left in very good condition after completion. It does say that hair can be coloured again immediately although hair could be left a little porous when done and dried. On this note I'd say be very cautious.
4. The resulting colour will be very warm hued.
2. Leave it for the full time given. It won't work any more if you leave it longer and the result won't be as good if you rinse before.
3. Hair is left in very good condition after completion. It does say that hair can be coloured again immediately although hair could be left a little porous when done and dried. On this note I'd say be very cautious.
4. The resulting colour will be very warm hued.
I was incredibly pleased with the result, and for £6.99 I think this was definitely the best thing for me.
Tomorrow, I shall review the next stages of my hair "transformation".
