Ion Color Brilliance Hair Color: 7RR

*BIG SCARY DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional, please do not attempt to dye your own hair based solely on the information given in my blog. Do some research and make sure you have the proper understanding of the process before you attempt coloring your hair at home; I have been lucky enough to figure out something that works for me, but that is after slooowly working my way up through difficulty levels from semi-permanent tints to more complicated systems. And even now, I don't do half as good a job as people who actually know what they're doing, I'm just too broke to pay a salon to color my hair every 6 weeks. So be careful, you can seriously damage your hair if you don't understand how the process works! END OF BIG SCARY DISCLAIMER* 

Hi Guys,

Sorry for being gone for so long! If it's any consolation, I had a really nice vacation and a great birthday :) I'll try getting a couple of pictures from Disneyland up once I get them from my friend and boyfriend... I took absolutely NO pictures while I was away! It was kind of nice to not have to worry about being the one to take pictures!

This is going to be a short post; I did my long post on coloring my hair here.  I used Ion Color Brilliance again, but this time I used 7RR (last time I used 7IR). Now, what's switching out the I for an R do color-wise? It made my hair orange-er as opposed to violet-er, which I prefer. I like coppery auburn leaning reds, as opposed to purple and violet leaning red hair color. The result was very similar to my last effort, though. I also used the cream color this time instead of the liquid, which made it less messy and easier to get from the mixing bowl to my hair, but harder to spread throughout my hair evenly once I got it there... I guess it just boils down to experience and personal preference.

I used two 2.05 ounce tubes and mixed them with an equal volume (so, in this case, 4 ounces) of Ion Sensitive Scalp 30 volume developer, and applied with a hair coloring brush for 30 minutes. If you're curious at all about the supplies I use, please take a look at my last post on hair color. I did the exact same thing I described in that post.

Here's the result:

Tooooo many metal devices to try to keep a fraction of my hair in one spot! 

Pretty vibrant! The color has faded some since thing, which I am ok with; I tend to dye my hair a touch brighter and darker than I want it since red fades notoriously fast. As far as the Ion product goes, I have been happy with it, but it hasn't exactly been a revelation to me; I may do some research and see if there is another comparable product that people like even better (although reviewers on www.sallybeauty.com seem pretty stoked on the Ion product). Why? Well... why not? Although I've been thrilled with the color and it hasn't fried my hair, it doesn't leave it looking especially shiny or healthy (I know, I know, coloring your hair is bad for it... but some hair coloring products leave hair looking healthier than others, and this is pretty middle-of-the-road where that's concerned), and I do see some of the color rinsing out each time I wash my hair. This is normal for the first two or three washes, but not for every single wash. It's not a huge deal, as I don't see any more fading than I have with other brands, but I worry that one of these days I'm going to get caught in a downpour and stain my clothing.

Summary: Would I use Ion Color Brilliance again? Yep! And I have returned to it several times in a row. That being said, it's not reached Holy Grail hair color status for me, and I like trying new things, so I can't promise I'll keep coming back to it.  I have to say I really like this color, though; 7RR is a winner!