WARNING: This Dye May Turn Your Hair Black!!!

This is the message that should appear on every box of Clairol's Nice 'N' Easy 5RB (Medium Reddish Brown).  Seriously, I'm not kidding.  (And, yes, this picture on the left is what my hair looked like immediately after dying it.)

Just to clear something up, I am NOT new to coloring my own hair however I did just recently start doing it again in an effort to save money and have fallen completely in love with L'Oreal Excellence Creme in 5RB (again, a Warm Reddish Brown.)  Unfortunately, when I went to re-purchase this awesome dye it was sold out!  Everywhere!! So instead I grabbed a box dye with the same coloring and classification as the L'Oreal.

I was wrong......oh so very wrong.  How two separate brands can have the EXACT same color system/classification and yet end up so dramatically different is completely beyond me.

Oh, did I mention that this Clairol color was a foam?  Well, it was.  The foam brands have been getting rave reviews online and I selected this because of what others said.  I will say that the mixing of the colorant into the foam bottle was very easy as both were liquid.  (No messy containers or squeeze bottles.) 

However, the fun ended there.  First, the smell was absolutely atrocious.  As it was going into my hair, the first thought that came to my mind was rotten fish.  (I know, terrible comparison but it was grossly disgusting).  Second, the foam did not stay foamy; in fact as soon as I squeezed it into my hand, it turned to liquid.  This means that it dripped everywhere from my forehead and down the back of my neck.  Once on, the instructions said to leave on 25 minutes which I did.  I rinsed out, used the awesome (I say awesome because hair dye conditioners are amazing!!!) conditioner, stepped out of the shower and screamed.  Yes, my hair was black.  I crawled swiftly into bed, covered my head with the blanket so Allan couldn't see me and fell asleep.

I was up at 4:30 with an incredible plan of stripping my hair.  Armed with Head & Shoulders Dandruff Shampoo and a box of baking soda, I made my way to the shower and shampooed (a mixture of shampoo and backing soda) three times.  After that, I shampooed with my normal shampoo, twice, and conditioned with my Moraccan Oil Treatment Conditioner.  45 minutes later I emerged from the shower with a dark red hue.  Much better.  (Left: color after the backing soda application.)

Lesson of the day: Just because a hair dye claims it's the same tone/shade as another, does NOT mean they are the same.  Never again will I use the Clairol Nice 'N' Easy Foam Color and even if every single store in Vancouver is sold out of the L'Oreal color I love, I'll drive to through the States until I find it.  Case closed....

Here's a quick picture of me making the best of my new hair color.  What you CAN'T see from this photo are my bright red eyes and tear-streaked face.  Thank goodness for concealer....