REVIEW: Schwarzkopf Brilliance Intense Permanent Hair Colour...

Well the next few months will be a bit of a Schwarzkopf-fest here on kats colourings :-) Sure I've scored a whole swag of freebies from their range lately (thanks to beautyheaven ♥), but I've actually been a fan (and regular user) of their hair colourants for many moons, and it's time to reveal what I use to maintain my flaming red tresses. My hair is actually snow white - has been for around a decade, and it's both a blessing and a curse. On the positive side, whatever home dye shade I choose invariably turns out exactly how it looks on the box (something that never happened in my youth while my mane still had some pigment of its own). The downside is that I have stark white regrowth that needs to be touched up every two weeks - boo!...

Some gals might think this high frequency application is a tad obsessive, but it's a commitment I made to myself when I went red, and I'm sticking to the plan for as long as I have the energy. I don't have an obvious part, so when I'm due for a touch-up, it's not like there's a distinct visible line anywhere on my head. But when the wind blows, or anyone towers over me (which is easy as I'm petite) my secret is a secret no more. And yes gals, it's true that dyeing your hair red automatically means "high maintenance" - but in my particular case, ANY colour (other than white blonde) is high maintenance because of the regrowth contrast. In my opinion, white roots have a tendency to make us older gals look like our hair is thinning even if it isn't because the white blends in with our scalps - not a good look! By the way, I'm under no illusion that one day I'll simply throw in the towel and cease this fortnightly chore, but being so incredibly passionate about COLOUR, I reckon that day is a long long way off in the future. So until then, here's what I have in my arsenal to maintain my vibrant redhead status...

I use two glorious shades from the Schwarzkopf Brilliance range - #37 Hypnotic Red, and #43 Red Passion. Why two? Well the bright Hypnotic Red is simply too light for my "natural" roots - for this blanched region, I need a deeper shade with some brown in it because the rest of my hair has been absorbing colour for months, and the result on the new growth is a fire engine red stripe which looks plain silly. Red Passion however is deep enough to match the white bits to everything else. But...if I use Red Passion on my whole head, it turns out way too dark, so I have to fiddle a bit...

Simply put, I split the cream colourant and developer solution into half and half quantities, and colour the roots with #43 for around 30 minutes, and then slather #37 on the rest for another 5 minutes just to freshen it up. It's actually easier than it sounds - I keep an empty developer bottle, and pour half the liquid into it, along with roughly 50% of the tube. That way the two packs last me 4 weeks (two applications). As you can see in the pic below (taken just after I coloured on Saturday), I end up with a shade somewhere in between the two you can see on the boxes...

Sadly there aren't that many really bright red hair colourants available at the supermarket, but of the brands I've tried, these Schwarzkopf shades are the most flattering for my skin tone. Everything you need is in the pack - each box comes with a capsule of Diamond Gloss Serum that you crack open and squeeze into the mix to help maintain the shine, a tube of conditioner, and a pair of disposable gloves. I can guarantee you the formula gives 100% grey (white!) coverage, and the standard ammonia smell is only a bit whiffy when you first apply it... 

Combined with several other products from the Schwarzkopf hair care range (which I'll be reviewing in the months ahead), my hair stays shiny and manageable, look and feels healthy, and there's very little colour fade till the next treatment. Incidentally, Schwarzkopf is German, and literally translates as "Black Head", but in my case, it's very definitely red ♥

While I'm content with the current condition of my mop, I'm not so enthused about the quantity of  chemicals my hair and scalp are bathed in on a regular basis - oh how I wish companies that make less damaging dye products would bring out some vibrant reds. I've noticed a couple of overseas brands entering the market recently, but so far their potent rouges aren't available in Australia - hopefully that will change soon :-)

What home hair colourant do you use?

Take care of you,

kats xxx