Review: Clairol Perfect 10

I was skeptical. How could at-home hair color possibly cover my gray in only 10 minutes?

But then I read the consumer reviews online and women were saying that it actually works.

So, I gave it a try.

First, let me tell you about my hair. I started going gray in college and I’ve been coloring my hair at home for a long time. For the past few years I’ve been using Nice ‘n Easy by Clairol. Last year around this time I was using a dark blonde shade. But I tired of it and missed my natural brown, if you can call 40% gray natural brown.

My hair is very long, half-way down my back. I progressed through light brown and have settled on Medium Cool Brown. My hair grows very quickly and I usually need to color every three weeks. If I try to stretch it to four I get a big silver stripe down my part. If I just need to touch up the roots, I buy one box of color. If I want to refresh the whole head, I need to use two to be able to saturate all of my hair.

There are more shades in the Nice ‘n Easy palette than there are in the Perfect 10 line. I couldn’t find a cool brown that wasn’t ash. I’m not a big fan of ashy colors. I think they look a little green. So I chose Mocalotive, a true Medium Brown.

Perfect 10 takes just as long as any hair color to apply. But the waiting time is drastically reduced. My hair is not very porous so I usually have to wait about 40 minutes with the regular Nice ‘n Easy. If I get lazy and don’t wait the whole time, I always regret it because my gray coverage is not as complete.

So, in trying Perfect 10, I decided to really go for it and rinse in exactly 10 minutes. And it worked. My grays have disappeared and my hair is soft and shiny. I’ve been through a washing, so I know that it didn’t all rinse out. It looks just as good today as it did when I first colored it.

Application was easy. I used the root application method, which means I used the usual squeeze tube to apply color to my roots. The color goes on the same color that you get, which was a nice change. Some hair colors, like the regular Nice ‘n Easy, look purple when they are sitting on your head. They end up brown. But with Perfect 10 what you see is what you get. It looked a lovely brown as I was applying the color.

I had a little left over from my root application so I tried out the comb applicator. I really liked it. I combed the remaining color through my hair as a touch up. It makes coloring long hair much easier.

Ten minutes later I was ready to style.

I highly recommend Perfect 10. My hair color looks natural, not freshly dyed. And I saved so much time. The only drawback is that it costs about $13-$14. Still much less than at a salon. But the regular Nice ‘n Easy is only about $7 or $8.

Clairol Perfect 10 Hair Color

Looking for a New Haircut

I want a new hair style for summer. But I can’t decide between two celebrity looks. Neither one is current. I just like them. My hair is very long right now and the color is a cool medium brown.

My first hair obsession is Gwyneth Paltrow’s look from The Perfect Murder. I like its casual elegance.

This look is gaining my favor, though. It’s Rose McGown from Devil in the Flesh. I like its sultry glamour.

Which do you prefer?

How Often Do You Shampoo?

A new study shows that washing your hair every day helps it better respond to treatments.

Your hair is exposed to the same environment as the rest of your body, so it needs to be cleaned just as often.

Personally, I wash my hair every other day. I have a lot of hair and it takes too much time to dry and style every day.

But don’t be afraid of drying out your hair. Get into a lather.

I Want Purple Hair

I’ve always wanted purple hair. I was just reading a post about the many hair looks of Betty the Geek and it reminded me that I still want purple hair.

One time I had it accidentally. I colored my hair at the last minute for a Christmas party with a temporary Clairol kit that was supposed to rinse out in 6 shampoos. It looked great for the party, but after one shampoo I thought I noticed a purple glow. Not the punk purple I had always dreamed of.

I remember facing a mirror with a friend and she quietly asked, “Is your hair purple?” My response, “IT IS, ISN’T IT? OH MY GOD.” I immediately called Clairol and pleaded for help. The colorist told me to buy color remover and Clairol refunded my money for the color, the remover, anything I needed to correct it. But it didn’t work. I ended up just coloring over it with dark brown permanent color.

Now, I’m afraid I’m too old to have purple hair. Perhaps a few stripes in the front?

Shiny Hair In A Spray

In an effort to have shiny hair, I think I’ve tried every product on the market from glossing shampoos to hot oil treatments.

But all I really had to do was buy shimmering hair spray.

It’s such a simple concept. Why didn’t I think of this? It’s brilliant, in more ways than one.

Girl-of-the-moment, Sienna Miller, wore Nicky Clarke All A-Shimmer Finishing Spray, to the premiere of her latest film Stardust. The effect is subtle but attention-getting.