Review: eSalon, Part the Second

Yesterday, I did color my hair with the eSalon personalized color system reviewed in the previous post. I posted a couple of pictures as best I could, considering that it was an overcast morning and our bathroom light has been out for over a month because we have 12-foot ceilings and no ladder. Yep, folks, this isn't one of those blogs with photography light boxes or every picture painstakingly taken just to the left of a full-sunlight window, complete with a custom-selected tablecloth and perfectly-placed crumbs. Nope. This is real life. Welcome to it.

The first thing I did was to part my hair and section it into fourths, as the instructions dictated.

Something weird I've noticed in the past week or so is that, as my brown roots have grown in, the new growth since my last coloring is actually LIGHTER than the overall color of my hair. How is that possible? Any ideas?

Anyhoo. Next, I slathered the stain prevention (petroleum jelly, and not included in other hair color) around my hairline. I typically don't use jelly unless I'm coloring with Splat because most more true-to-nature hair colorants wash out of the skin fairly easily. But since they included it, I did it.

I was glad that I did! I wish I'd put it all down the back of my neck! The root dye was super runny. It did say that one might prefer to put the dye in a bowl and apply it with a brush, which I suppose I would do if I ever used this dye again. The jury's still out on that one. It was a MESS. I tried to wipe the drips up as I went, and I still ended up with this:

Fortunately, I have a specially-tie-die-skirt-stained sports bra I wear for coloring my hair. But good gravy, it looks like I was trying to recreate a zombie movie. Speaking of which...

Splatter.

So... I don't know. The color's fine. It's more of the Dr. Pepper can magenta than real-life red, but that will all change in a week or so when I've shampooed it a few times and it's back to "normal." I could post a picture, but it would look just like every other picture of me, so just imagine me. Without looking post-bludgeoning.

Pros: Made just for me! The color was spot on and I didn't have to pick it. My name was on errythang! It came with two pair of gloves, which is nice if you need to apply color to roots, wait a while, and come back for the ends. It had two bottles of dye, which works for longer hair. It also came with a brush, which is awesome for really getting the roots done. It rinsed out easily.

Cons: It was drippy. Also, I don't have counterspace, which is not the dye's fault. It's just that it came with so much stuff, I wish I'd had a vanity. If I'd paid $20 instead of $10, I'd have been frustrated that it was so expensive, because swag aside, it's pretty normal home hair color. Another con is that it had two bottles of dye... Which, yes, was a pro as well. The amount of stuff was nice. But it's just another step and more stuff to do. Plus, I had a LOT of root color left over so it felt like I was wasting product. As you can see, though, I'd gotten it EVERYWHERE and didn't feel like applying even more.

By all means, order it once and see what you think. It's a fun experience. I'd love to hear your take on it!