ClairolNatural Instincts Demi-Permanent Hair Dye, 4 Dark Brown Hair Color, Pack of 1

I used to use this product years ago, but then for some reason when I became almost fully grey I decided I needed to start using permanent hair dyes. I regret that decision! There's really not a need for the harsher dyes, especially when you need to re-dye to cover your roots every 4 weeks like I do. I do lose hair when I use this product, but I have not found a single dye (I've tried probably 20 types) that doesn't cause this, I don't know what kind of magic one must possess for this not to happen, but I don't have it.I have been having problems with hot roots the past year or two (where the top 1/2" of my roots turn orange), but did not have that problem with this product. I do always turn a little fan on low and keep it pointed at my scalp while I wait 20 minutes for the color to set, just to be safe! Since hot roots is caused by the heat from your scalp, I figure might as well keep some cool air flowing and so far it's either been luck, or it's helping prevent that.I generally use a 4 (dark brown) hair dye and wasn't sure this demi would be "strong" enough to notice any color difference, but it did make it a half shade darker and also got rid of a little bit of the reddish tone (it's still reddish though, just not quite as much - but it does turn more red as it fades over the course of a month though, FYI). Before and after photo attached.For grey coverage this does a decent job for a demi. I've attached a photo of my scalp where I'm pretty much 100% grey so you can see what it looks like. The greys are blended pretty nicely, but definitely not the exact same shade as the rest of my hair. I really don't think it's noticeable at all that the greys are lighter in person, it's blended well enough to not draw your eye (unless I'm purposefully tugging at it to show my roots like in my photo).Plus my hair actually feels soft and silky after using this product - which is DEFINTELY not the case with 90% of the permanent dyes I've been experimenting with over the years. I do use 2 boxes for my long hair. The conditioner it comes with is really nice, smells great (fresh and not perfume-y at all) and leaves my hair feeling better than it did before dyeing. I'm glad I re-discovered this product and plan to keep using it! Would recommend.

Pleasantly surprised! I have been dying my hair my entire life, mostly bleaching it very light blonde. This not only was damaging my hair a lot, but takes time to properly tone, conditioning treatments, etc. After I had my daughter i didnt have time to keep doing all that and had the salon try to darken it, and they did, but it was a hard transition from blonde to a more “mousey” brown. On top of that, it faded severely die to my hair being bleached previously, the ends lightened up alot and looked bad. I read that this type of hair dye was less harsh on your hair and picked a color close to my natural color and chose BBZ, or light carmel brown. First off, it didnt smell offensive and like chemicals, which I was shocked by. It actually smells nice. That alone made it a positive experience. The conditioner is pretty decent, and the color came out beautifully. Its thin, and drips easy, but if you take your time i find that it is very easy to apply and make sure you do not miss any spots. Color is vibrant and not brassy. Hair feels soft. I will use this product again.

This works great as long as you know what to expect from this product.* It will NOT lighten your hair. If you want to lighten your hair significantly, you have to have it professionally colored at a salon.* It doesn't darken gray hair completely, it blends it, which means that those strands of hair will be darker than gray but not as dark as your regular hair color. It creates more of a highlighting effect. So if your hair is dark brown, the grays will be colored a lighter brown and will blend into your other hair. If you want your hair all one color including the grays, go with a semi-permanent hair color instead of this product.* After I used semi-permanent dye, my hair always felt dry, damaged, and rough. After using this, my hair feels normal and soft.* The dye doesn't stink like many hair dyes do. The conditioner they provide is in a tube so it can be resealed and it contains several uses. The conditioner smells nice and works quite well.* This stuff really stains so be extremely careful with your clothes, counter tops, floors - anything it may come into contact with. If semi-permanent hair dye stains your skin, be sure to apply petroleum jelly around your hair line and always use gloves. Double check everything after you apply it because once the stain sets in, it is likely permanent.This product is easy to use though I find I have to leave it on for about 30-35 minutes for it to fully cover gray. Overall, this is a good product at a reasonable price and there are plenty of colors to choose from.