Well, i have had quite the hair adventure. On monday we have our engagement photoshoot with Chris Barber. So, last weekend, i thought i'd put some colour on my hair to make sure it's nice and rich. I used Live Colour XXL for the first time, it was supposed to be a nice dark brown, and as you can see, it went black. Proper, gothtastic, flat, dull, blackest black. Urgh.
I consulted my friend who is a hairdresser, i tried a hot oil soak, i used anti dandruff shampoo (because it fades hair dye, who knew?) But short of a very expensive trip to the salon it seemed there was no hope. However, my googling kept bringing up a product called Colour B4. Available from Boots and Superdrug for about £10 a box, found with the hair dye.
Many years ago, when i was at uni, had black hair for a while by choice. And when i wanted to get rid of it i had to use a bleach kit, which left my hair white and orange and a bit crispy. I was prepared for this to happen again, but anything would be better than black! I was also prepared to postpone the shoot, thats how much i hated this black hair!
Here comes the science bit...
Colour B4 is different to those bleach kits, for one, it doesn't contain any bleach or ammonia. Apparently, hair dye enters the hair shaft as tiny molecules, which then swell and take colour as they oxidise. Once they have swelled they are trapped within the hair shaft, so no amount of rinsing will shift them.
Coulour B4 shrinks the molecules, so that you can simply rinse them straight out of the hair, leaving your natural colour behind. Genius!
It goes on like a hair dye, you mix this with that, spread it through the hair, wrap it in clingfilm and leave it for an hour. It's a bit stinky, but i soon got used to it. After an hour i looked in the mirror - still black. Hmmm. I rinsed it for ten minutes (timed, this is important) and the water ran clear, no black muddy water coming out. Hmmm. After ten minutes i looked in the mirror, it was gone!! Just like that, amazing! There's then a bit more rinsing to do, and another lotion to apply then rinse off to finish. But really, it was all very easy and straightforward.
After the Colour B4 treatment i didn't colour my hair again, it left it a lovely natural rich and even colour, as you can see. It's not any drier than it was before (it's naturally curly, so always a little frizzy) I'm over the moon, and can't wait for our photoshoot! Now i'll be able to put these pictures up in our house forever, and see a lovely photo, not a hair mistake.
