Everywhere I look, it seems red hair is becoming more and more coveted in the fashion world. Celebrities like Christina Hendricks, Marcia Cross, and Nicole Kidman also sport ginger locks for the entertainment industry to go nuts over. This seems to have inspired a wave of women to try and achieve the same fiery tresses, in a brilliant array of shades.
As a natural redhead leaning on the more blonde side of copper, I am constantly approached by women and men alike about how I maintain color vibrancy, as even natural red hair fades over time. I always refer them to one product line no redhead, bottle or otherwise, should be without: the Pureology Reviving Red Line.
It’s no secret that red hair, and particularly dyed red hair, fades faster than any other color. Usually reds with a violet base (think burgundy) fade to pink, and reds with an orange base (think copper) fade to strawberry blonde. Environmental factors, shampoos, damage, and a host of other problems will make hair fade, and while we don’t have control over the majority of these issues, we can certainly slow down the process by use of good products. That’s where Reviving Red comes in.
The line comes with four basic products (all sold separately): shampoo/shamp’oil, conditioner, oil, and a color depositing treatment (in either copper or red, depending on your shade). If you were to buy the entire line all at once, it would run you about $110, which is pretty standard pricing for Pureology. I chose to buy full sizes of the S&C set, a travel size of the oil, and the color depositing treatment all at Ulta. I ended up paying about $66 after using a 20% coupon and my rewards points.
Having used all of these products extensively for about 8 months, I think I’m ready to give my final thoughts on each of them:
- Shamp’oil: This shampoo is bright red in texture and feels more like an oil than a shampoo, hence its name. I found that it’s really easy to overdo it with this stuff, so I recommend only using about a quarter size amount for long hair, or nickel size for shorter hair. It takes about a minute to fully emulsify in your hands after you rub them together, but once that’s finished it spreads easily throughout the hair. I usually left it in for about 2 minutes, as I do with all shampoos, then rinsed thoroughly. Hair feels clean, soft, and ready for conditioner. This product is sulphate-free, just like all Pureology shampoos.
- Conditioner: This conditioner looks pretty standard – white and somewhat runny in consistency. I found it incredibly easy to apply, and it spread effortlessly throughout my curly hair. I used about a quarter size, same as the shampoo, and let it sit for about five minutes while I exfoliated. I then rinsed thoroughly. Hair feels clean, soft, and hydrated. Color looked shiny and more vibrant.
- Oil: After drying my hair a bit with a towel to the point where it was damp rather then soaking wet, I applied a nickel sized amount of the oil to my hair to let it air-dry. If I could describe this stuff in one word, it would be sticky. Ew. It made both my hands and hair sticky and seemed to dry it out more than it moisturized and protected it, and caused unbelievable frizz when it came time to flat-iron my hair. I immediately put my hair up, because all the positive results from the shampoo and conditioner had been negated by the awfulness of the oil. I was so ticked off but more importantly couldn’t wait to wash the oil out.
- Reflect Enhancer: This is a color depositing treatment meant to be used only once a week, though I used it every two weeks. It comes in a tube, and four tubes come in one box. To be completely honest I’m not exactly sure how one is supposed to apply these, but I just squeezed the contents out into my hands (you have to wear gloves or you’ll get stained) and applied to my hair like conditioner, then distributed evenly with a wide-tooth comb. These enhancers come in two different shades, and I chose the copper shade because, well, my hair is copper. I left this in for about 10 minutes, then rinsed thoroughly, and holy cow. My hair which had been looking rather dull now looked shiny, vibrant, and refreshed! If you color your hair, you can use this stuff to extend the time between colorings, which is great because you not only reduce damage but also don’t have to spend as much money. Woohoo!
After trying the Reviving Red Shamp’Oil, Conditioner, and Copper Reflect Enhancer, my hair was very soft, smooth and shiny, but not at all heavy, coated, or greasy (I tossed the oil once I knew how gross it made my hair feel).
I know a lot of redheads out there might be turned off by the price of this stuff and will talk themselves out of buying it. When you add up the cost of the system, it’s an investment, but it is worth paying a bit more to protect what you value. If you need to convince yourself, just remember it’s more costly to have to go to the salon more often, both in terms of money and time. Ultimately, the benefits of better looking red color for longer, plus healthy hair, and a company that cares about the environment and your well being, is priceless. Also, depending upon your activity level, the weather, and how polluted the air is where you live, you might find that you don’t even need to cleanse as often, which means you get way more bang for your buck.
I highly recommend this to all redheads, natural or otherwise!
