Clairol Hydrience

OK, well I tried Clairol Hydrience thanks to the recommendations & reviews from my fellow Ciao members, and hence I thought I'd post my own findings!

Those who want to read about my last flirtation with red can read my review about L'Oreal Feria...... and bad news, L'Oreal, because when it comes to hair colour, customer service and all-round impressions, Clairol think I'm 'worth' a lot more than you do! To find out why I rate them ...
...I can now understand why Clairol plumped for this delicate package, I think the product looks slightly out of date when compared to the Schwarzkopf Live Colour and L'Oreal Feria - a shame, as I feel it is a far superior product.


How easy is it to Use?
-----------------------

I'm no hairdresser, and therefore when I first used the Feria colour a few weeks ago (I'm 36 and hadn't dyed my hair since age 13!!!!) ... more

OK, well I tried Clairol Hydrience thanks to the recommendations & reviews from my fellow Ciao members, and hence I thought I'd post my own findings!

Those who want to read about my last flirtation with red can read my review about L'Oreal Feria...... and bad news, L'Oreal, because when it comes to hair colour, customer service and all-round impressions, Clairol think I'm 'worth' a lot more than you do! To find out why I rate them so highly, please read on:

Price
------

OK, well judging by all the other reviews, I got a bargain here at £4.50, thanks to my local chemists having a promotional offer on hair colour. It is also considerably cheaper than the glitzily packaged L'Oreal Feria. There were cheaper colours available, but there were also more expensive, so I'm going to disagree with many other reviews and say it was reasonably priced rather than expensive, even at the full price paid by other Ciao members.

Package
-------

Well, unlike the Feria, this one didn't exactly entice me. It didn't stand out as any different among the many packages on the shelf, unlike the Feria & Live Colour which both scream 'young modern woman' at me! However, as I was examining colour rather than packaging, I found myself attracted to '3RR Ruby Twilight - Intense Deep Red'. The carton is based on a blue, watery background with the obligatory 'woman with bright gorgeous hair pic' which seems to come as standard on all these products.

After reading the literature which came with the product, I now understand that the reason for the water is that this colour is water based and very gentle. Whilst I can now understand why Clairol plumped for this delicate package, I think the product looks slightly out of date when compared to the Schwarzkopf Live Colour and L'Oreal Feria - a shame, as I feel it is a far superior product.

How easy is it to Use?
-----------------------

I'm no hairdresser, and therefore when I first used the Feria colour a few weeks ago (I'm 36 and hadn't dyed my hair since age 13!!!!) I was quite surprised to note you had to be somewhat of an amateur chemist to use these products, mixing bottles of lotion, shaking them up before applying etc., I didn't realise how much work was involved!

I was using Hydrience 'cos the Feria faded within a few days (see my review), and by now, I had roots.....

With Hydrience, again, you do have to combine 2 bottles (as I presume you do with all hair colour), but with this being my second colour, of course, I can claim to be a veteran and therefore was not quite so daunted by the bottles! It smells grim... but then, don't they all?

Anyway, it seemed simple enough to use, mix the bottle, bung it on your hair, wait a while (20-25 minutes to be precise) and rinse - no real rocket science! I would add that this colour was really nice to apply, it didn't drip everywhere like the Feria one did which was an added bonus - Shaun's jeans were one of the casualties of the Feria when I walked past him and he wasn't (and still isn't) happy as he is very picky about jeans and rarely finds a pair he likes......ooopppsss.

The only downside of applying this colour is that the packet recommends that with long hair you use 2 packets, I didn't read that until I'd already bought it so I only used one, but they are right, it wasn't really enough and my colour is uneven as a result.

And the conditioner?
---------------------

The essential stage in hair colouring for many people, and this is one area where the Hydrience was very good. My hair has been left in really good condition, again far better than the Feria.

OK...... Acid Test..... the Colour?
------------------------------------

This is the hardest part, because I love how soft my hair is, I really felt this was a superior product and one I would both recommend and use again. Sadly, though...... the colour is as described on the box, but it doesn't suit my complexion and it is uneven because I didn't follow their recommendations to use 2 packets on my long hair! In fact, I now look like a long haired version of Anne Robinson and have been having hair traumas ever since! However, having skin and eyes that don't go with my hair can hardly be blamed on the product, I just should have chosen a more suitable shade, so please don't let that put you off, I like this product.

And is this the Ultimate in customer Service?
-----------------------------------------------

First - I'll apologise for this tirade in advance, (you can even jump to the next paragraph if you like), but I freely admit to being one of the world's biggest gripers with regard to customer service. To be honest, I don't really think I expect very much, just polite service, attentive staff and good products which do what they claim. However, I am frequently disappointed and am sick and tired of speaking to faceless robots reading scripts without an ounce of personality or helpfulness in their overworked, stressed out bones. Poor service is my pet hate and it appears to be endemic within our culture to the point that I sometimes feel I must be the most unreasonable person on the planet for expecting civility and perhaps even enthusiasm from so called 'customer service' representatives. They are supposedly employed purely to interact positively with customers on a day-to-day basis.... so why do I dread interacting with them and expect to be routinely patronised during each encounter? I rarely spend a day when someone, somewhere, hasn't given me appalling service. (Apologies again for those my ranting has sent to sleep, psssst... its over!!!!)

It was therefore a real pleasure to also speak to Clairol's team today, and I will now actively make an effort to buy their other products because this level of service deserves my business. I dyed my hair on Friday, so left it until today (Monday) to call the Clairol helpline.

I was not complaining at all about the product, I indeed had a laugh with the lady explaining that I hadn't bothered to do the recommended strand test and also that it wasn't the new colour of my hair that was the problem, just that it didn't match my face! I was only calling to check how long I would have to wait before I could cover up this shade with another one, and didn't get the 'we tell you to do a strand test so there' attitude one may have expected, on the contrary, I spoke to real human beings who were personable, friendly and above all, helpful! What a nice surprise.

Not only did the staff offer sensible, non-judgemental advice as to when I could re-dye my hair (in fact, only 48 hours), and offer advice as to which shades I should consider, but they were also kind enough to post me out a voucher so I could try a different shade free of charge, something I hadn't asked for and didn't expect, as I had no complaints with the product.

This level of customer service is rare but very welcome, all I can say is a really big well done to the Clairol Team, perhaps they could share their training methods with some of the other big names out there. Incidentally, those of you thinking of giving the product a try can call them free on 0800 181184, and they will happily offer you a free colour consultation, I can't recommend their service highly enough.

VERDICT
--------

Big thumbs up! Overall, a great product from a really good, customer-focussed company and even though I didn't like that particular shade, I will definitely use this brand of colour again. In the meantime, Clairol, liven up your packaging a bit, so that the others realise they have got some tough competition, 'cos I really wish I'd tried this one first!!!!!

 

...less