If you have been a regular reader of my blog (thank you!), you probably know that I dye my own hair. If you missed my post on my FAVORITE hair color and shade, check it out here. I have tested and reviewed a few other at-home hair color kits in the past, find more on those here. After I saw the commercial for the NEW Vidal Sassoon Pro Series London Luxe Collection, I knew I had to find the Deep Velvet Violet (3VR) shade ! I love my burgundy red shades but this particular shade had more of a purple tint which I was pretty excited about. Read on to get full details with before and after photos!
In the Vidal Sassoon box, you will find the VSPrecisionMix Permanent Color Creme, VS PrecisionMix Developer Creme, VS HydraBlock Color Preserving Conditioner and instructions/gloves.
As with any at-home color, you mix the hair color with the developer. The first thing I noticed was that after mixing, the solution was quite thick. This made it difficult to squeeze out of the bottle and on to my hair. I also feel like I did not have as much color to put on as with most color kits. It was impossible to get the last bits out of the bottle. Needless to say, I wish the hair color solution was thinner in consistency!
THE GOOD:
I really fell in love with the color result of Vidal Sassoon 3VR Deep Velvet Violet! You can see that it covered my grays and blends my natural-color roots with my previous box color. My hair had a nice shine and vibrant color. I do think the color result matches the photo on the box, but certainly not the color they show on the commercial! I’m sure I would have to bleach my hair and then color to get the bright violet shown on TV. I should know better :).
THE BAD:
Since I have thick and stubborn hair (and plenty of grays) I always leave the hair color on for the maximum time, sometimes longer. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS FOR OTHERS. I know my hair. From many years of home hair color I know what it takes for my very best color result. That being said, I made a mistake leaving this particular hair color on for longer than the suggested 30 minutes. I definitely felt scalp irritation after washing out the color and the worst part…I feel like it damaged my hair from roots to ends. I wasn’t sure at the time, but after using several different shampoos and conditioners over the course of about 2 weeks, I can confirm that it was the hair color. At times my hair feels like straw, especially after shampoo, I can’t run my fingers through it. After blow-drying, there is a definite change in the way my ends look. There is a “fried” quality to my hair, if that makes sense? I fully realize this is my own fault for leaving the color on too long. However, I have never had these results with any other at-home hair color I have used over the past several years. For that reason, I personally would not buy Vidal Sasson hair color again.
Overall, Vidal Sassoon Pro Series London Luxe Collection in Deep Velvet Violet delivered a very nice color result but (due to my error) left my hair damaged. I ALWAYS recommend that you follow the directions in the kit and never stray from that to avoid what happened to me. As for claims on how long the hair color lasts, the box boasts “up to 8 weeks of vibrant color”. With any hair color, that will depend on how you take care of your hair: what shampoo and conditioner you use, how often you shampoo, etc. Some of my favorite products for color-treated hair (reviews): Aveeno, L’Oreal, Marc Anthony.
Available at Walmart
More hair color before and afters: L’Oreal Feria Chocolate Cherry, Revlon Buttercream, Nice N Easy Dark Warm Brown, John Frieda Foam Colour, Redken Hair Color, Hair Cuttery.
I purchased this product. Affiliate link.
Have you tried Vidal Sassoon yet? Have you had a similar experience with hair color before?
I just finished using this color….left it on about 45 min bc my hair has never taken color well. I felt the exact same way about the damaged feeling…rinsing the color out was hard when I couldn’t even get my fingers through it. I wouldn’t blame it on the timing though bc about 6 weeks ago I tried the other purple, london lilac, and left it on for a lot less time and it reacted the same way. Feels a lot better when you get the included conditioner in it…but it doesn’t feel as healthy, and doesn’t straighten as well either! Love the color though!
Author
Hi Tiffany! Thanks so much for letting me know your experience was so similar. I was devastated by the condition of my hair for more than a month following use of this hair color. I actually ended up getting a hair cut and just really conditioning my hair quite a bit during that time. My scalp had never been more dry during that time, it was pretty awful. I’d say it took about a full 2 months before my hair felt basically back to it’s previous state. I was SO disappointed because I truly did love the color result like you said. Totally agree about it not styling well afterwards either. Gosh it was a real nightmare! I’m happy to say that since then I have used a demi color from Sally’s since then and am super happy with the color and how it treated the condition of my hair. I’ll have to do a post on it the next time I use it!
Thanks for the thorough review – with my thick hair, I would avoid it!
Sheila (Painted Ladies) recently posted..307/365 Days of Makeup IV
It’s interesting that there are Vidal Sassoon branded hair cosmetics in the US but we don’t have them in Australia. We have VS Sassoon hair tools but not the products.
Kimmi @ The Plastic Diaries recently posted..MBFWA – My Favourite Spring-Summer 2014 Looks
Author
Hmmm I wonder if it will be coming your way some time soon, these are pretty new.
Wow, your hair looks really good! I love the color.
Tina, I saw that commercial last weekend and was mesmerized by the beautiful deep purple shade! I went for a similar shade last spring and loved it. What I didn’t love was how much this shade bleeds. On towels and everything else! I’m so tempted to try this but I’ll probably pass!
Author
YES I still love that commercial but not it just makes me mad, haha!! I didn’t find that this one transferred at all on towels etc. how strange!
I dyed my hair the same color from this London luxe collection few weeks ago. I’ll probably update my short post on it because the color didn’t really last long.
Kath TheFabZilla recently posted..TheFabZilla ChitChat: Project Makeunder
Author
Let me know what hair product you used after. I know mine did not last long either but that’s because I was trying a few different hair products right away to try and get my hair to feel halfway decent :(.
This looks great! I have thick hair too though, so not sure if I would do it
Lisa Heath recently posted..F.U.N. Lacquer The Luxury Set Foil Effect Swatches & Review