So, what's different about Olia? It's oil-based, and is supposed to be more gentle on hair. What does this mean? It means no ammonia, with 60% oil, and that oil is flower-based. Sounds good, right?
I have dry, curly, fine hair. It damages easily. I look for hair products that won't hurt my hair, and haircolor is always a big variable. I usually use some of the top-end products like Excellence and Feria, although I have used Garnier's Nutrisse. My natural hair color is a light to medium golden brown with red highlights. When I color, I generally use a dark golden blonde to provide some oomph. I have tried using auburn shades in the past, but they tend to come out too red for me, and much too brassy. Sometimes I'll use light golden brown.
 |
| 4 days before Olia. I had colored my hair with Excellence Light Golden Brown at the end of January. |
I received my BzzKit with a coupon for a free box of Olia last week. Over the weekend I went and picked it up, but didn't have time to do any coloring. First issue: there's no dark golden blonde. The color selections for Olia aren't as varied as they are for other dyes (including their own Nutrisse line) and the Light Golden Brown looked a bit darker than I would have liked. I decided to bite the bullet and picked up 6.43, Light Natural Auburn.
 |
| I went with Light Natural Auburn! |
On Monday I decided I'd color my hair when I got home from work. My friend Linda was there when I got home, and she was able to partake in the whole adventure.
 | ||
| Even the directions look high-tech |
I mixed the developer with the colorant and proceeded to put it in my hair. I was slightly disappointed by the amount of the mixture - I would have liked a bit more product. My hair is very thin and one bottle usually does it, but I barely squeaked by this time. However, when I had finished putting the color in my hair and opened the mixing bottle to rinse it out, I discovered that there was still a lot of the mixture adhering to the inside of the wide, black applicator tip. I think that the design of the bottle doesn't allow all of the product to come out. The dye has a great, light scent! It doesn't have a harsh, chemical scent at all. It's very pleasant and kind to the nose. This was a major plus.
The process took 30 minutes. That's pretty average. I know there are some that are quicker, and some that take longer. I was afraid that if I went any longer it would come out bright red. Years ago I colored my hair with auburn and it came out the color of Ariel's in Disney's The Little Mermaid, so I've been auburn shy ever since.
I rinsed my hair and applied the conditioner. Not bad, it has a nice scent, too. It's a bit heavier than the scent of the dye, but still pleasant. It was reminiscent of papaya. I rinsed, toweled my hair dry, added a slight amount of Carol's Daughter's Hair Milk to control frizz, and waited.
I have to say, I'm very happy with the color. I was afraid I wouldn't like it, but I do. It is a very natural auburn and is not brassy at all. My hair doesn't appear to be damaged and is soft to the touch. I've received a few compliments at work, and my husband says that he likes it on me. He doesn't think it's very different from the colors I normally use, but he likes it and says that it makes my skin glow.
 |
| Badly light bathroom shot, but this is my after color. |
OK, my badly lit bathroom shot taken at work this morning. You can see that the hair is shiny, there's no gray and the color is even. I'm happy with it. I'm not wearing makeup in order to show just the hair.
Would I use it again? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes. Are there others out there that do the same thing? Yes, of course, it's hair dye, but as far as boxed dyes go, this is a good one.
No comments:
Post a Comment