Herbavita Herbatint Permanent Haircolor Gel

I never normally write reviews but my experience with this product has led me to sign up to this website just so that I can warn others out there!

 

I have dyed my hair for years and years, you name it, I've done it! I've had red hair for a good couple of years now and recently chose a red colour which was far too dark for me. In order to get back my 'bright' red hair I knew I would have to pre-lighten my hair before using another red dye :(

I searched for agesss online looking for the perfect colour and finally came across this product, Herbatint in Crimson Red. There wasn't many reviews around so it was difficult to get a clear picture but I loved the colour on the box and it seemed an added bonus that it could actually be good for my hair with the natural ingredients! I went for it and ordered two boxes online (not off this website) and chose next day delivery as I had the next day off work and was excited to get on with the har dying process.

 

To my disappointment, the company did not deliver on time so I was stuck with an awful shade of pre lightened orangey yellow blonde hair! I made it my mission to find a local shop which stocked Herbatint and found a healthshop nearby which did. I went and bought ANOTHER two bottles thinking to myself 'Never mind, I can always use the other two boxes when they come through to do my roots in a few weeks!'

 

When I got home I read the instructions a couple of times and it seemed pretty simple, the only difference between this product and other packet dyes I have used is that you have to mix the mixture yourself, but this was fine as I already owned a mixing bowl and tint brush. You have to apply to dry, unwashed hair which I did (I had prelightened my hair previously and so to wash the bleach out I did have to use some shampoo but I know from experience that using baby shampoo leaves no barrier to hair dye penetration so I used this, and I ensured I used no conditioner) and I sectioned the hair and coated each section from root to tip thoroughly. One box was just enough for my medium thickness, just past shoulder-length hair. On the box it clearly says that best results will be on bleached to dark blonde hair, and it is not recommended for darker hair, and so I thought I would achieve the perfect colour as I was starting with bleached hair.

 

I left on for the exact recommended time, washed it out and conditioned, and then set upon drying my hair. I was extremely shocked at the colour result! It was simply an extremely murky orangey/light red colour, NOTHING like the colour on the box! PLEASE do not make the same mistake as me; I was sooo excited for this colour but I was left with orange hair on Valentines Day! I had no option but to use the second box as I hoped this would solve whatever had gone wrong the first time. Again, I dried my hair and was gobsmacked at the results. It was literally a tone darker, still orangey/light red, and miles away from the colour on the box. It wasn't patchy or uneven, which was the only miracle as I was already late to go out for dinner, and so I just had to brave it. 

 

I had to go to the Hairdressers the next day (which I haven't needed to do colourwise for a good couple of years!) and pay £50 to sort it out (and that was because they had a half price colour sale on otherwise I hate to think how much I would have spent!). They used a colour called Magenta Red by L'oreal which was very similar to my intended colour shown on the Herbatint box, and it came out perfectly thank goodness.

 

Fast forward a few weeks and my roots hadn't really come through but my midlengths and ends had faded (as is the case with red hair unfortunately) so I thought I would give the Herbatint one more chance seeing as I had two bottles which had since arrived sitting in my drawer. I thought that because my hair was already red, the least it would do would be to refresh it until I could get to the beauty wholesaler and buy the L'oreal that the hairdresser had used. I was mistaken, again!

 

The dye did nothing but dull down the lovely vibrant red I had from my roots down to the midlength, and then from the midlength down to the ends it did absolutely nothing! If anything the midlengths and ends were even more dull than before, I wished I had left it alone to be honest there wasn't even that much fade I should have just waited!

 

If you're not that fussy about your hair, then by all means go ahead and use this dye as it didn't exactly do any damage to my hair (only my bank balance) and it doesn't really alter your hair colour all that much - my guess is that sadly it just isn't strong enough and unfortunately it seems some harsh chemicals are needed if we are to get the hair colours we desire girls! Please either go to the hairdressers or wholesalers, or use a hairdye commonly seen in drug stores such as schwarzkopf XXL live which always served me extremely well for vibrant hair colours - red passion and real red are amazing and even lift pretty dark hair. There's gotta be a reason this hairdye isn't widely available and thats because it just aint' good enough!

I have used this a few times over the past few years and it is by far my favorite hair dye. The first thing I noticed was that the smell was not only non-offensive but rather pleasant. This is the most important reason I prefer this hair dye to anything else. I have had horrid experiences with conventional, ammonia-containing, dyes whose smell burned my nostrils and throat for a day and were overall too unpleasant to work with. The other option available is temporary dyes that on the one hand do not really cover grays and on the other fade away in a matter of days.... That was until I discovered Herbatint. I thought the price was steep but I really wanted to try something greener. And I must say it was worth the money (plus now I can find it cheaper online).

It is very easy to apply and I have managed to apply it on myself successfully without any help. All you have to do is mix the contents of the two bottles in the box and then apply to your hair. Best of all, if you make a mess, it cleans up easy. When my hair was long I used the whole amount that's in the box. Now that it's mid length I use half, I mix half the contents of the bottles and keep the rest for next time. If you don't mix them they keep for a long time. The result is pretty good in my opinion. The color is very vibrant and quite visible even on my hair that is almost black! I use the plum color from the "flash fashion" line and it's quite good, even though last time it came out more reddish than plum. Gorgeous either way! It covered grays superbly and I have way too many these days. It totally changed the way I looked. However, after a month or two you can see the grays peeking under the color, but they are not that obvious. As with all hair dyes the color has faded some, but overall it works great and is a wonderful green hair dyeing option.