25 September 2009

Naturtint, I'm sold.

Since the horrifying "Annie" perm stage in 5th grade, I've been a little paranoid about my hair.   A bad haircut or coloring job is pretty much a girl's worst nightmare, is it not?  

My hair lost its virginity sometime in high school when I used my first package of Clairol Glints.  I became very attached to my trusty reddish-brown and practically shed a tear when they discontinued the line.  Most recently, I've been a dedicated user of L'Oreal Natural Match but have become increasingly uncomfortable with the fact that hair color is loaded with harmful chemicals and carcinogens.  I try not to put chemicals in my body, so why would I put them on my head every 6 weeks?   Still I was afraid to try herbal hair color. I'd seen it on the shelves at Whole Foods but frankly dismissed it - "There is no way that stuff works."

Then, I found Naturtint.  I read one glowing review after another on Amazon and Vitacost that heralded its many benefits - multi-dimensional color, full grey coverage, great conditioning, and gentleness on your hair due to the vegetable ingredients.   And, bonus, it's one of the top hair colors in the U.K.!  Not surprising.

It does have some synthetic ingredients but far less than regular hair color. It's not 100% natural like henna, but I live in Dallas, not a hippie commune.   A girl's gotta draw the line somewhere.

So, after practically driving my husband insane by pondering out loud over and over which color I should choose, I finally settled on Naturtint Light Chestnut Brown (5N).  I returned home with the box and was still nervous to open it.  "GOOD GRIEF!" my husband exclaimed.  "Just do it!  How bad could it be?"  He actually opened the box, handed me the ingredients, and read the instructions aloud to me from the living room.  The best part?  They provide a small bottle of conditioner you're supposed to use after you rinse the color from your hair.  But only use half, because the other half is supposed to be used "in a fortnight."  A fortnight?  I had to Google that sucker.  It's 14 days.

So, 20 minutes on the roots, 10 minutes on the rest of the hair, then rinse.

How did it turn out?????

I LOVE IT.  L.O.V.E.  Here it is about a week later, still going strong, and it seems to have given me natural coppery yet non-brassy highlights.  Plus, the gray is non-existent!







So give Naturtint a go.  If you end up trying it, I recommend a few things:
  • Get a shade lighter than you think you'll need.  I read that in the reviews, so I chose "light" chestnut brown.  As you can see, it's not light!  
  • If you have a lot of gray, leave it on your roots for more than 20 minutes.  Next time I'll probably do 30 minutes just on the roots.
And of course, dearie, the most important part.  Don't forget to use the rest of the conditioner in a fortnight!

8 comments:

Tara said...

Gorgeous! I'm going to be on the lookout for this stuff. :)

The Velvet Trunk said...

Ooohhh....Sounds perfect! Maybe this will give me the courage to play with my color... ;-)

Lauren said...

it looks AWESOME stine!! i've been looking to backtrack to a slightly richer shade for fall (after inserting some highlights during the summer months), and love that something more natural gave you such stunning results. i'm headed to WF today anyway, so i think i'll pick out my shade!

the bowlin family said...

it looks great, you look beautiful, but i do have to admit i miss the gorgeous curls!! :) when i FINALLY decide for my hair to loose its virginity i'll be calling you.

Monica said...

So funny, we have another thing (or rather memory...) in common, Christine: Clairol Glints!! I was disappointed, too, when the line was taken off the market. I'm curious whether I'll find Naturtint over here. Thanks for the recommendation!

Anonymous said...

Hello,
What was your hair color to begin with. Was it dark brown?
I am wondering because my hair is medium brown, and I am scared that it might look this dark on me too. I want it to me medium brown since I am just trying to cover my greys, and wondering if 5N would be ok or not..

Christine said...

Anonymous - yes, my hair is already dark brown. I would try 5N if I were you. It actually faded a lot as time went on and ended up way lighter than when it was first dyed. I actually use Naturtint 4N now because I wanted it to stay darker rather than being so lightened in the sun after using the 5N.

icare said...

Thanks for your review of Naturtint, I was glad to hear it. I just started using this.. before I was using Revlon until I had an allergic itching reaction then I switched to Garnier. But, because I don't buy products tested on animals, this did not set right with me. So, for awhile I've been trying to find natural permanent hair color that is cruelty free. One day, my hubby brought this home from the natural food store and I've been sold since! I wanted to pass something along that I think you'll like since I read you like to 'be healthy'... you may want to check out a vegan product called GoodBelly. I back this 100% and have been drinking it over a year. If I go a day without it, I go crazy! Check it out at http://goodbelly.com