The last thing anyone would expect (including myself) is a post about beauty stuff. But today, let me talk to you about hair color boys and girls.
I don’t have the budget for high-priced salons and truth be told, the times I did splurge to go to them, I can’t remember anyone telling me ANYTHING about how I looked. I get it, I’m that person, not exactly a wallflower, but pointing out something different about me seems to be too hard for 99.9% of the people I know. Don’t worry, I can compliment myself.
So over the counter hair color has been my thing for years. Usually in some blonde range (ash blonde since I hate it when the blonde gets brassy), my “go to” has been “Light Ash Blonde” from almost every drug store brand imaginable, I’m pretty sure I’ve tried them all. Same results, it turns blonde, there done.
Well this winter has been harsh, and I let my hair grow out for a good six months or so and it looked pretty cruddy, just a mish mosh of regrowth, bleached and fly away hair. But hey it’s winter, which means hats can hide the worst of it most of the time. Well, Spring has sprung (almost) and the hat is no longer, what is a girl to do? I could go to my tried and true color and just be done with it, or I could try something else. A better hair color, something that won’t torture my already sad hair.
After doing some interneting, there really isn’t much choice out there for a comparable light blonde I was seeking. It looks like the ammonia-free formulas all were for brunettes or in the darker shades, which I wanted to avoid. Unless I go to a salon of course, but that would require the walk of shame without a hat, and I have a small bit of pride left, so it was going to be in the privacy of my own home. What complicated things is that I live in Canada, which limited my options.
I stumbled upon a brand called Madison-Reed, never heard of them before, but on their website the information I read was what I was looking for, plus they had light blond shades that I could live with. I first took their online color test, to determine which color I would prefer. It suggested one, that would have probably done in a pinch, but me? I’m more daring than that. So I contacted their online help to see what silly things they would tell me. It turned out, they were super friendly and kind. They told me where I could buy the product that could be shipped to Canada and wanted me to take a photo of my hair so they could help with determining which color. They were vague when I asked, “Which color is closest to “Light Ash blonde by L’Oreal?” That was frustrating, I know they wanted to help, but I just wanted a similar color but without all the harsh chemicals of the $10 box at the stores.
Anyways I wimped out on sending them a photo, that pride thing you know. It is dastardly.
Long story short, I ended up purchasing this crazy overpriced hair color. I ended up getting the Pisa blonde shade, as it seemed to be the less brassy. It was misleading though, the description said “medium ash blonde” when I hovered over it, so I was concerned I would end up way too dark and sad about it. Lucky me, the shop that shipped it to Canada had a deal and they paid duties if you purchased a certain amount. I felt daring that day my friends, I decided to get two boxes of the Pisa hair color, to get to the amount needed and I figured what if I liked it and wanted to use it again? (It came out to $33 CDN each. Certainly not going to break the bank, but three times as much as the drug store brands.)
I couldn’t wait for it to arrive, it was so needed. I had to wait about a week, which isn’t so bad when you consider shipping and customs, etc. It finally did and within two hours I was ready to give it a go.
To say I’m impressed would be an understatement. I mean I was really IMPRESSED. From the “Hello Beautiful” on the box, (I’m sure I muttered to it, yeah right) all the way until the final shampoo/conditioner. It was cute and very well described.
There was no discernible smell. For real. I smelled everything, mixed and non-mixed and it was not there. I mixed it all up, applied the thick scentless creamy goodness and then waited (well, I washed the dishes while the time ticked away). It was very painless, there was no tightness as it processed, nothing dripping down my neck or forehead and no terrible smell to hit you in the face. How was this even going to work?
Then it came to washing and rinsing. The shampoo and conditioner they include with it is to die for. SO DAMN SOFT, not greasy, smells wonderful. I can’t afford to buy it (I checked) but if I could, I would have made an order THAT very day. I want that stuff so bad, it made my hair feel healthy and wonderful.
Ahem, oops back to the color. I thought for sure it was darker than usual. My hair is fine, so it usually dries in two shakes, but this took at least a half an hour to dry naturally. The color turned out fantastic, there are so many subtle highlights and nuances. How was this my hair, and how did it turn out so well on a whim? This my friends usually ends poorly in my experience.
I have now shampooed and rinsed once more since the hair coloring experience. It is even more beautiful than it was. For the first time in months I even flattened my hair so I could see all the shiny goodness. This stuff is amazing. Simply amazing. I have not felt any of that dryness from regular hair colors, and I’m not checking to see if all my hair is falling out either. This brought me to a magical hair color place.
Y’ALL TRY MADISON REED COLOR, I MEAN IT.
Thank you for giving me hope Madison Reed that I could look human again. I can’t afford the shampoo/conditioner, but I will continue to dream about it until that day that I can.
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