I have been itching to try the
Touch Back Plus Shampoos and Conditioners I bought at ULTA. Two things, before I start my review, ULTA was doing some serious markup on these. Their
website sells the shampoo and conditioner for $12.50 a bottle, though they do charge shipping (but it's a $3.95 flat rate), so if I like the stuff, I'll definitely be ordering direct! And second, not only do these not contain ammonia or peroxide, they are free of sulfates. They also have a few other products that I'm curious about, like the gray root marker. Anyway, I decided to do the color tonight. As you can see from above, I bought several different colors, as my natural color has dark brown and reddish highlights and quite frankly, I couldn't find another Dark Auburn (Dark Brown, Dark Auburn and Light Auburn). So, I'm going to force myself to breath and show you my before pictures first. My husband swears that the photos make it look worse than it really is (was? I'm still waiting for my hair to dry before doing the "afters") but I think it looks pretty darn accurate, unless I'm in a dark room, and to be 31 with so many obvious grays doesn't really make me feel great. Procrastinating again... here are the "befores".
This was taken directly facing my right temple.
The left temple.
The top part. Not as bad as the temples for sure, but still more than I would like or expect at my age.
The application of the product is very easy. I actually applied the foam shampoo in front of the sink because without my glasses, I really can't see anything. I applied some Vaseline along the hairline and as the stylist at ULTA recommended, I used a fine tooth comb to comb the foam in, alternating between the dark brown and the dark auburn. She recommended that I left it in for more than 2 minutes (what the instructions say) because white or gray hair doesn't take dye well but I followed the instructions more or less since it was my first time. It was fairly easy. My comb rinsed off clean and when I washed it off in the tub, it didn't dye the white tub either.
With the conditioner, I used a slightly different method. Since it is a fairly thick cream, I did the application just over the tub with my hands. Still alternating between the dark brown and this time the light auburn. I left it in for a few minutes and combed my fingers through my hair (the entire length versus the various spots with the shampoo) and then rinsed it out until the water ran clear. There was no facial, body or bathroom staining that I could see. Here's the tub, but my husband rarely deep cleans and the bottom isn't smooth so it usually always looks like this.
Ignore the soap scum. But, there's definitely no dye sticking around.
After, I finished taking my actual shower, I wrapped my head up in a brown towel just in case and eventually took it down once it had dried a bit. My husband claimed that it looked better but I knew I would have a better idea when my hair was dry, or at least drier.
Here's how it looks down. Pretty standard since you can't see my temples or part. Below are side-by-side comparisons. Clearly obvious different lighting. I look like a vampire in one and some of them make the red look super red, but it's really not. So what do I think? I think it did something, but it didn't cover all my gray. I think it covered some of it. If it didn't, it certainly gives the illusion of covering more of it because of the additional gradient of tones. I'm going to give it a few more tries and leave it in longer like the stylist said. I had no burning or irritation. It doesn't dye the scalp or really anything else that would make it something I wouldn't consider using. But something tells me it isn't as effective as the boxed dyes with a host of nasty ingredients, so I will keep trying. A bonus, my hair doesn't feel dry.
Part before (left) after (right)
Right temple (left) after (right)
Left temple (left) after (right).
What do you think?
Oh! I almost forgot! The only thing it dyed that I wasn't expecting were my (apparently) super dry cuticles and underneath the nail bed. Other than that... nothing else.
