In this blog I am reviewing another product that I got to trial for Beautyheaven - a permanent hair colour from The Shade, a colour-kit subscription service which you can use to colour your hair at home with results said to be comparable to salon colour. Each colour kit costs $24.95.
Claims
Our Italian made colours are free from ammonia, PPD, parabens and phthalates.
Our permanent colour has been developed to give you the confidence of complete grey coverage in a gentle, no-itch formula which is suitable for sensitive skin together with exceptional multi-dimensional colour and the condition and shine results you expect after visiting the salon. Formulated with Argan oil, Aloe Vera and Ginseng extracts, our colours will reduce damage to your hair, and support hair and scalp health.
The Shade was born as an alternative to lengthy salon appointments and to bring you a flawless home colouring experience that respects your hair, scalp, money and time.
The product
The colouring kit comes with:
a tube of cream colour
a packet of developer
a packet of shampoo (20 mL) - can be used multiple times
a packet of conditioner (40 mL) - can be used multiple times
a packet of barrier oil
a colour removing wipe
a pair of gloves
The reusable salon set "salon in a bag" includes:
a mixing bowl
a tint brush
4 sectioning clips
a bench mat to prevent staining
a cape
a storage bag
My experience
Colour selection
There are 27 different shades in the range. For those who use home colouring kit, the online "colour consultation" tool is supposed to find a colour matched to your existing colour. I typed in L'Oréal Preference in Brown - which was what I had been using - and the tool matched me to The Shade's "Brown". As you will see from the pictures below, this colour is not a good match - The Shade's "Brown" is a significantly darker colour than L'Oréal Preference's Brown. That said, I do not mind this colour at all (see reasons below).
If you are intending to rely on The Shade's online colour consultation, just bear in mind that the colour may be different from what you expect!
Salon kit
The salon kit is of very good quality. The bowl, the brush and the clips are very sturdy. The inclusion of a cape is a fantastic idea and it can be re-used for other purposes too.
Application
The application was pretty fuss-free and easy. The colour mixture has a very good creamy consistency and there was no dripping and no mess. Also notable was the lack of nasty smell of this product which made it pleasant to use.
My hair is just past my shoulder and of medium thickness. The colour mixture (from one tube of colour and one packet of developer) was not enough to cover all my hair. In my application, I concentrated the product on the roots because I have stubborn greys but there wasn't enough product to cover the ends of my hair. At the end of the application the ends of my hair were pretty much dry with no colour mixture. There is an option to purchase the kit with an extra tube of colour and developer for an additional $10 (taking the colouring kit to $34.95), which is recommended for "extra long or thick hair". I have neither of those. On top of that, all the other home colour packets I have used so far contained enough product for me even when I had longer and thicker hair. The amount of product supplied in the kit is probably the biggest disadvantage of this kit.
I let the colour develop for 35 minutes, as stated in the instruction card.
Barrier oil, shampoo & conditioner, gloves
Before applying the hair colour, I used the barrier oil on my forehead, my ears and hairline. The barrier oil is very effective. After I finished applying the hair colour, any unwanted colour on my skin could be wiped off with just a tissue. I did not have to use the colour remover wipe at all.
The gloves were a bit flimsy considering the overall "salon-feel" of the colour kit. I used my own latex gloves instead.
After rinsing off the product, I applied the shampoo - it was quite difficult to work the shampoo through my hair at that point because my hair was quite stringy. The hair strands were all stuck together, which is typical for me immediately following colouring. However, the conditioner has rescued the condition of my hair. After rinsing off the conditioner, drying off my hair, my hair felt smooth and manageable.
Results
Although the colour turned out to be a darker colour than I expected, and I normally do not like my hair to be this dark, I was surprised how much I liked this particular colour. Partially because it looks very healthy and glossy. Also I think that because the colour is quite rich, my grey hair has been completely covered.
Because there was not enough product to cover all of my hair, the ends ended up in a lighter colour. Luckily, the colour blended gradually from mid-length to ends and it still looked quite natural.
Exactly 2 weeks after colouring, I took some more pictures of my hair. I wash my hair every day, so that was 13 washes altogether wthin that time. Overall I am still very happy with the colour. The colour has slightly faded but not by much. There is no brassiness in my colour except near the ends (where there was not enough mixture to cover the hair).
Summary
Pros
Easy to use. No drip. No mess.
Complete grey coverage
Glossy and rich colour
No nasty smell
Salon quality
Comes with a reusable tool kit
Cons
The online colour consultation did not give me the colour I want
Need to order an extra tube of colour ($10 extra) for hair longer than shoulder length
Recommendation
For the standard pricing of $24.95 I would highly recommend The Shade colour kit. Both the user experience and the results are far better than many other home colouring packets of similar pricing. Because I will need to buy extra product each time I want to do an all-over colour, I would probably stick to the standard kit for now to touch up just the roots every 4-6 weeks, while going for the bigger kit when I want to completely refresh or change the colour.
About me
Makeup artist and hair stylist based in Sydney. Founder of the well-known award-winning bridal specialist team Faces Makeup & Hair. Beauty junkie with an obsession for skincare.