John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Luminous Color Glaze

Difficult to use, adds color then turns brassy

My hair is medium/dark ash brown and has gotten darker with age. Recently, I wanted to add some luminescence to my color so I put in highlights. I hated them. Instead of going straight for a bottle of coloring I wanted to find a product that would tone down the highlights gradually and gently. The John Freida glaze seemed to be the ticket and I had a coupon for $3 off so I went for it. I had a heck of a time getting the gel-like substance into my hair; it kept slipping out of my wet hands. The first few times I used the product I mixed it with my conditioner so I could actually get it in my hair and did notice some enhancement of the color, but my hair felt very dry, almost plasticky. Finally, I decided to try and follow the directions and use it alone after I conditioned and leave it on for a full five minutes. This time my hair was silky smooth and very shiny. The only problem I noticed was that the brown color was more of an brassy auburn hue than a neutral brown. If I would stop using it for more than a week there would be a noticeable brassy red tinge to my hair. The smell that others have mentioned didn't bother me much. It does stain everything and without a mirror in the shower sometimes it's hard to tell where you've spilled it on yourself. I ended up with a big splotch on my neck one day that took forever to remove. Though this product did tone down the highlights and postpone the need to dye my hair again the shade of brown was all wrong, not at all appealing. Two weeks later I couldn't take the red tone of the highlights and had to get a demi-permanent medium ash brown from Clairol Natural Instincts which did the trick. You could still kind of see the highlights, but they weren't an ugly brassy red anymore. I still have the John Freida glaze and I'll use it til it's gone, but I won't be buying it again. I'd rather dye my hair.

November 29, 2010