Why Budget is Best
by The Budget Babe's Beauty Expert
For the past five years, I have been using the cheapest haircolor available: Revlon Colorsilk. It's just $3.99 a box and it's always given me great results.
Left: What the box promises. Right: Actual results. Revlon Colorsilk delivers!
I like the color, and people often ask if I get my hair colored professionally. Normally, I just scoffed at them—making your hair blonde (in my case blond-er) is the easiest thing ever! All blonde dyes are basically the same: peroxide—right?
Wrong! Just this past month I decided to do a little test. Is the more expensive blonde dye better? Will my hair be more “multi-faceted,” “healthier,” and will my “color last longer?” (although please note, blonde doesn’t really go anywhere really, since its more like a lack of color…).
So, I picked up what seemed to be a really enticing box of Garnier Fructis 100% color (ooooh special) in extra light ash blonde. After doing what I’ve done for the past 5 years without fault (dye my own hair), I removed the towel from my head to reveal beautiful, multi-faceted, healthy, long lasting gray hair.
Left: What the box promises. Right: Actual results. What gives, Garnier?!?
Yes, gray. Any normal person would be horrified and never touch the stuff again, but I, for the sake of a truly scientific conclusion, undid the gray and tried it again. Needless to say I now understand why they suggest those with gray hair not use their product. So, in the world of do-it-yourself dyes, I know one thing is true: Price does not always ensure quality (unless you want gray hair, which, I must admit has grown on me).
When its time to dye again, I will return to my super-cheapness, which just so happened to also be the best overall option. Once again proving that the more expensive option is not always the best option.
Have any of you ladies ever been shocked by the cheapest product on the market (in a good way) or shocked by the high(er) ticket item (in a bad way)? Now’s the time to spread the word!
by The Budget Babe's Beauty Expert
For the past five years, I have been using the cheapest haircolor available: Revlon Colorsilk. It's just $3.99 a box and it's always given me great results.
Left: What the box promises. Right: Actual results. Revlon Colorsilk delivers!
I like the color, and people often ask if I get my hair colored professionally. Normally, I just scoffed at them—making your hair blonde (in my case blond-er) is the easiest thing ever! All blonde dyes are basically the same: peroxide—right?
Wrong! Just this past month I decided to do a little test. Is the more expensive blonde dye better? Will my hair be more “multi-faceted,” “healthier,” and will my “color last longer?” (although please note, blonde doesn’t really go anywhere really, since its more like a lack of color…).
So, I picked up what seemed to be a really enticing box of Garnier Fructis 100% color (ooooh special) in extra light ash blonde. After doing what I’ve done for the past 5 years without fault (dye my own hair), I removed the towel from my head to reveal beautiful, multi-faceted, healthy, long lasting gray hair.
Left: What the box promises. Right: Actual results. What gives, Garnier?!?
Yes, gray. Any normal person would be horrified and never touch the stuff again, but I, for the sake of a truly scientific conclusion, undid the gray and tried it again. Needless to say I now understand why they suggest those with gray hair not use their product. So, in the world of do-it-yourself dyes, I know one thing is true: Price does not always ensure quality (unless you want gray hair, which, I must admit has grown on me).
When its time to dye again, I will return to my super-cheapness, which just so happened to also be the best overall option. Once again proving that the more expensive option is not always the best option.
Have any of you ladies ever been shocked by the cheapest product on the market (in a good way) or shocked by the high(er) ticket item (in a bad way)? Now’s the time to spread the word!
Other cheap goodies:
1. Chapstick. Hands down the best lip stuff on the planet. I've gone all around the block on this stuff and I'll stick with my $1.29 tubes that I keep everywhere (in every bag, in my desk at work, in my car, every room of the house). Winters here are very cold and dry, and it gets me through every time.
2. Johnsons and Johnsons Baby Lotion - Classic Pink stuff. Lots of people don't like the smell, but I've got to say that I use this stuff from head to toe, especially in the winter. It's made for babies' skin, so it's great for those with sensitive skin. It works as well on my face as it does on my feet and it's the the best thing I've found for my cuticles.
Jenny
I've always had disastrous results with drugstore dyes (either orangey-brown or dull-black goth ), so now I do the second-cheapest thing -- I look on Craigslist for students going through hair color training. It's around $15-$20 and most people do a good job...except that one girl who somehow managed to tint my hair simultaneously purple and orange when I just wanted to go a shade lighter! I complained and they fixed it the next week, though. And I think she eventually got fired because she was just really stupid. Another time she was assigned to blow-dry me and managed to style my hair like Conan O'Brien.
Anyway. All the other times, I've had really good results from the student hair color jobs.
who knew?
You imply in your post that your hair is naturally pretty light to start with. The Revlon box color is intended to deposit color more than to lift color (which is suggested by the words "no more grey" on the box). If someone with dark hair were to use that exact color, they would not get the same results you did.
The Garnier box says, "Ultra-lift blonde". Ultra lift means that it lifts the color and likely has peroxide and/or bleach in it. For someone with very dark brown or black hair, the Garnier dye is the one they would want to use to get the results you got with the Revlon dye. The reason your hair went white/grey is because it lifted TOO much, since your hair is already light.
I love your blog by the way! I'm subscribing.
I use to dye mine black, always, and I always figured black is black is black is black, so I used Balsam Color or something like that for about 1.99 a Box. Couldn't beat it! Haven't seen any in ages though.
I have been doing mine that fine line between platinum\silver\white and saw the colorsilk in lightest ash blonde, but when I got home I had grabbed the ultra light sun blonde. I needed to see the results before possibly ruining this color that's so hard to get and keep! It's definitely more buttery than I was hoping, so thanks, you've saved me from killing my highly agonized over color! It's taken me weeks to get it so light without frying it, I'm a level 1 or 2 natural dark, dark brown.
I read online a few years ago a stylist saying he thought that every woman should experience blonde at least once in their life, and that blondes really do have more fun. He was sooooo right! The eyebrows use to bother me until it was pointed out that Marilyn had obvious brown eyebrows and she didnt GAF! Lol so I don't either now, I just take them down thinner and go, although they say wild brows are in this year, ummm, no thanks, I'll leave the crazy brows to Einstein! He pulled it off nicely! (They also are saying fanny packs and mullets are back in this season.Who decided this stuff?! I guess I'll be fine with being "so last season." Lol