ok I have a young face, hardly any wrinkles and very pale peachy skin, but I am so gray! Now if it would just go white I could live with that, but it was nearly black and started to gray at about 17 and now at 48 it is more than half gray and what you would call salt-n-pepper emphasis on the salt. Makes me look older than I am and definitely older than I can look. My eyes are clear amber brown and any shades of red/auburn hair enhance them, but I have always preferred black hair, slightly brighter than my natural color.
So I tried to go au naturel for the last 2 years and I had hair below my waist that was gray about to my shoulders and the rest a faded dyed brown/black. I got Lee, my husband, to cut about 8 inches off and it is about to the middle of my shoulder blades now and I colored it. I used L'Oreal's new Sublime Mousse in Pure Black. (Did the allergy tests and all.) I love the new formula--best hair color I have ever used and I have used them all. No drips, pleasant smell, rich lather and more than plenty in one box to cover my hair.
BUT. It is not black! It is a rather intense dark cinnamon! It looks just like my black cat laying in the sun and you can see her red stripes underneath the dark! It left my hair super conditioned, in fact my hair is so curly and full of body it looks like I also got a wave! But it is just not black.
So I called them and they are sending me a coupon for a free box of another formula to try to get back to black. (I really liked the new foam tho.) Lee says he likes the color. I am just not sure, I was expecting something else. So what do you think I should do? wait it out to see what I get when it fades some?
And BTW, the "technician" I spoke to at L'Oreal (they called me back) said it could be the new "highlight technology" where they put more than one shade in bottle and they don't mix and the molecules of the pigments are different sizes so the hair shaft itself lets in the different size molecules according to what color pigment the hair can "fit" creating a sense of "highlights". Apparently gray hair is more pourous but mine can only accomodate the larger red molecules.
who woulda thot it was so complicated now? I have colored my hair for 30+ years and I started out with henna and indigo!
