Review: Joico Vero K-Pak Color Intensity Semi-Permanent Hair Color

Hello everyone!

Today I will be sharing you with you my experience using the Joico Vero K-Pak Color Intensity Semi Permanent dyes: Magenta and Ametheyst Purple.

Prior to using these products, my hair colour was a faded burgundy that turned into a brassy brown. This is something extremely common when you go for colours like red or purple. I have always loved dyeing my hair in between those colours, but of course there is no permanent dye in the market that will actually ensure zero fading. Then, it hit me: why do I only use permanent dyes on a semi permanent colour?!  It's not meant to last anyway, I might as well use a semi-permanent product that would do less damage to my hair! 

Joico Vero K-Pak Color Intensity Semi Permanent
Magenta and Ametheyst Purple
118ml (4 fl oz) for $12.50 each

WHERE I PURCHASED IT

I purchased these products from Nail Polish Canada. Aside from carrying a wide variety of nail polish from well-known brands such as Essie, OPI, and Zoya, the store also sells makeup and hair products that are not easily attainable at your local drug stores (such as the ones in this review). 

APPLICATION

You do not need a developer to use this product. The instructions on the back tell you to apply this product to clean, dry hair to process for 20 minutes. However, since this product is very pigmented, I decided to mix it with some conditioner upon application, for 45 minutes. This is the fun thing about these semi-permanent dyes: you are able to mix any colours you want, and the possibilities are truly endless! Have fun with it! :D

I mixed more Magenta than Amethyst Purple into the consistency

RESULTS

After Application

Extremely happy with the results :D

VERDICT: Pros & Cons

1. Very Pigmented Product & Easy to Use

Since this is such a concentrated cream, you don't need to use that much product. Mixing it with a conditioner will allow you to use this product more frequently, and it would surely be practical when you are re-saturating the colour as it fades each wash. No developer = less products to deal with.

2. Easy on the Hair

My hair did not feel damaged or dry after using this product as it has from some permanent dyes.

3. Decent Lasting Ability

For a semi-permanent dye, I'm surprised the colour has not completely faded after 3 washes. With some permanent dyes, the red colour fades even within one wash!

After 3 washes

4. Bleeding and Stains 

It's surprising to note that although this is a semi-permanent dye, the amount of staining to my sink AND scalp was unexpected. I have never experienced something like this even with regular permanent dyes. No need to freak out though, just make sure you have some bleach readily available to clean up the mess on your sink and counter top.  HOWEVER... when it came to addressing the staining to my scalp, I really had no choice but to use colour treated shampoo to wash it off. Despite doing that, the colour did not fade significantly.



I love these dyes, and I will definitely be purchasing more to play around and experiment with!

Many more colour options from the product line

How I Manage My Cool Tone Red Hair

Hello everyone!

Today, I will be sharing with you the products I use to manage my cool tone red/burgundy hair.

Colour Treated Shampoo

Here are the shampoos I've been using. They are listed in no particular order. I love the scent of all these shampoos, except the Matrix Biolage shampoo took a few washes for me to get used to.

Matrix Biolage Color Care Shampoo/Conditioner
(1L, on sale for $15 each)

Description                                                                                                                               

• Low pH shampoo for color-treated hair helps prolong color vibrancy
• Gently cleanses to prevent unnecessary stripping of color
• Paraben-free formula is suitable for color-treated hair

Pros

• Helps maintain vibrancy of colour
• Slowed fading process (4/5)
• Easy to lather therefore don't require a lot of product
• Cleans well (4/5) 
• Paraben free

Cons

• Not very moisturizing
• Orchid scent which may be unpleasing to some
• Expensive

John Frieda Radiant Red Color Protecting Shampoo
(250ml, $8 on sale)

Description                                                                                                                               

"This advanced formula addresses the way red colour fades on three colour dimensions. 

With daily use it helps maintain rich, vibrant red tones.

Enhanced anti-fading technology and a gentle formula preserves vivid red colour and magnifies shine. Attracts light and amplifies rich tones to transform red hair.

For all shades of natural or colour-treated red hair."

Pros

• Slowed fading process (3.5/5)
• Cleans well (4/5)

Cons

• Difficult to lather therefore requiring more product
• Expensive for amount of product you get and have to use to wash your hair

Gosh Professional Colour Rescue Shampoo/Conditioner
(500ml, on sale for $8 each)

Description                                                                                                                               

".....protects the colour in dyed hair from fading and from daily UV-exposure.

HELIOGENOL, a herbal extract, locks in the colour with its amazing protection system, leaving colour-treated hair looking fresh and vibrant. Hair is wrapped in softness with increased manageability, movement and radiant shine."

Pros

• Affordable
• Helps maintain vibrancy of colour
• Slowed fading process (3.5/5)

Cons

• Scent may not be appealing to everyone
• Difficult to lather therefore requiring more product

Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Color Protect Shampoo

(750ml, around $6)

Description                                                                                                                               

• For perfectly vibrant, fashionable colored hair
• Damage protection for vibrant, colored hair
• Perfected by experts

Pros

• Cleans OK (2/5)
• Slowed fading process (3/5)
• Moisturizing 
• Affordable
• Easy lather

Cons

• Scent may not appeal to everyone

 Colour Depositing Shampoo

Left: Tressa Watercolors Shampoo "Crimson Splash"
(250mL, $30 from Shop.ca)
Right:  John Frieda Colour Refreshing Gloss "For Cool Reds"
(177mL, regular price$10)

Tressa Watercolors Shampoo "Crimson Splash"

Description                                                                                                                               

• Use on Deep Brunette to Medium Red hair
• Infuses deep browns with crimson reds, creating sultry, black-cherry tones

Pros

• Easy to lather, but need a lot of product to maximize vibrancy
• Helps revive cool tone reds (4.5/5)

Cons

• Expensive
• Can leave stains on your bathroom/towels (but this is expected from colour depositing shampoos)

My hair with "Crimson Splash"

 

John Frieda Colour Refreshing Gloss - "For Cool Reds"

Description                                                                                                                               

• Refresh the tones of colour-treated hair between salon or at-home colouring, regardless of which brand you use to colour your hair (the following EXAMPLES):
• John Frieda Precision Foam Colour: 6R, 5RV, and 3VR
• Clairol Nice 'N Easy Gel and Foam - Natural Reddish Blonde/Brown colours
• L'oreal Excellence Creme Pro-Keratine - Burgundy Brown colours
• Garnier Nutrisse Cream Nourishing Colour Cream - Red and Burgundy Colours
• Revlon Colorsilk - Burgundy/Mahagony Brown colours

Pros

• Helps revive cool tone reds (4.5/5)
• Has violet undertones (3.5/5)
• Affordable

Cons

• Can leave stains on your bathroom/towels (but this is expected from colour depositing shampoos)

Review: Garnier Olia Hair Color in 6.65 Light Garnet Red

First of all... WOW. I was super intrigued when I first saw that Garnier had these 3 lovely Garnet hair shades.

Left to Right:

6.65 Light Garnet Red

5.60 Medium Garnet Red

4.62 Dark Garnet Red

What comes in the box

Image was taken with my iPod and have not been colour corrected.

Left (Then): used mostly burgundy/auburn hair dyes from Revlon Colorsilk and then attempted to ombre with L’oreal Feria.

Right (Now): used Garnier Olia in Light Garnet Red. Love it. Have never had such a vibrant result! 

Garnier Olia in Light Garnet Red (6.65)

This is a lovely red wine shade with cool tones. I was debating whether to purchase this shade or Dark Garnet Red (6.65), because the results on that box showed a more violety red which looked just as pretty. Actually, I love how all three of the Garnet Red shades look. I guess the real reason I chose the lightest shade is because I know my hair doesn't lift colour easily (I do have stubborn, dark Asian hair after all!) :/ And as you can see based on my photo, my hair looks more true to the Medium Garnet Red.

• Pros: 
• 60% oil blends translates to better restoration of healthy hair and preservation of hair colour
• Less damaging and contains less fragrance since it is ammonia-free
• Short waiting time; colour develops pretty quickly. Suggested to leave dye on roots for 10 minutes and elsewhere for an additional 20 minutes
• Hair felt pretty soft after applying the conditioning that comes in box
• Easy application, easy to clean up mess
• Cons: 
• Didn't exactly lift my hair to the colour shown on the box, but I still love the results!

Precautions on Red Hair

If you don't know already, red hair fades the easiest so if you do decide to go for this colour, make sure you are committed or you will be disappointed! 

In general, you should always invest in a good shampoo specifically for colour treated hair. I noticed my hair colours fading less quickly when I switched over to one, such as Vidal Sassoon... but with red hair, I recently purchased the John Frieda Radiant Red Shampoo because it's affordable and particularly for red hair. It is also recommended to wash your hair in cold water to ensure the cuticles are closed so the colour doesn't wash out as fast.

I'll try to take pictures weekly so I can post an update in a month or so.

Review: Vidal Sassoon Color Protect Shampoo & Conditioner

Maintaining your "freshly" dyed hair colour is certainly not easy, especially when it's red. However, after discovering VS's Color Protect Shampoo and Conditioner, I've noticed my hair colour fading slower.

My hair background

My hair is pretty damaged from the years of dyeing I've done to it. I have only used drugstore dyes. The last two brands of dyes I used were by Revlon Colorsilk (Burgundy, Auburn) and L'oreal Feria's Ombré kit. As Revlon Colorsilk's dyes contain no ammonia, less damage is done to the hair, but this also means more difficulty in lifting the colour.

When washing your red-dyed hair, it's common, yet unfortunate, to see your sink water becoming reddish because it means your dye is being washed out. This was very apparent to me when I would wash my hair with warm or hot water, or with select shampoos I used such as Tsubaki Shining shampoo with Natural Tsubaki Oil (the red bottle). It made me so sad because I felt like I just killed my hair even more for nothing!

Verdict, Comparisons

Vidal Sassoon's products not only kept shine and moisture to my hair, but it in fact helped with colour preservation. A downside to these products is they do contain sulfate. Sulfate helps with easier lathering to hair, but is also known to be harsh for hair. The next downside, the function of a shampoo itself--- to clean. Compared to my favourite shampoo brand Organix, the VS shampoo does not clean as well as Organix, as my hair gets oily faster. I've previously tried L'oreal's EverPure Sulfate-Free Color Care System (moisture shampoo & conditioner) and I've used it twice only... Because it made my hair extremely dry! Never again :/ Overall, I do enjoy this product because it gets its job done at a reasonable cost for such a big bottle.