Dark Neutral Brown Hair Gloss- Bittersweet

GOT ORANGE HAIR? GREAT HAIR DYE FAIL SOLUTION! Love this gloss. I plan to buy it every month for the next two years while I grow out a hair dye fail. I have orangey hair that can't be bleached because my strand test turns green, gets hot, and smokes... My only choice is to cover it up, grow it out, and cut it off incrementally. I wanted something that would cover up the orange and not dye the roots. I saw this in a Brad Mondo video, so I decided to give it a try: - Before photo: My hair fail... I have level 8 blonde hair which I accidentally dyed orange, then had to cover up with black for a couple of years. I got the black out during quarantine using Metally B + 10 peroxide and washing with Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo over and over again. I then covered it up with level 8 Clairol Natural Instincts, but it grabbed an uneven level 4, lifted my hair too much, and turned the new growth orange too. - Round 1 - Middle photo - I did an intermediary step of using the Smokey Topaz color to tame the orange. It did a little.. but still looked orange in the sun. I let it wash out and was relieved to find that my roots had not lifted to the point they were orange. The roots stayed the same color and washed out completely in about 3 weeks. The rest of my hair was back to orange in about 6 weeks. So it basically went back to the before photo. It is important to note that they have a video online on how to apply this gloss... Watch very carefully exactly how they handle the hair while it is applied and how they let it sit. I had a hard time getting started the first time and wasn't careful enough on the first section... There was a considerable amount of mid-strand breakage there. Not a big deal since I was planning on cutting it off anyway... But if you are trying to save the length, have a friend help you. It might even be worth getting it cut first so none of the dead dry ends tangle and cause breakage further up the strands. - Round 2 - No photo - This time I used Bittersweet (I knew from the Brad Mondo video it wouldn't be black... it's a really pretty ash blonde color... but it will take the brass out of anything which is probably why the model is black... that hair type has a lot of orange hair issues.) I loved it as soon as I saw it, even when it was wet. It evenly coated the roots and the new growth. I also loved it when it washed out 4 weeks later and left my roots unlifted. I almost thought about just leaving it and not dying it, but it would have probably kept washing out and I wanted what was left to be filler for the next layer. I will say that the dyed part I cut off looked very "flat" once the gloss part was gone. I had so much mid-strand breakage round 1, I decided to cut off as much as I could first, then apply the gloss. When I cut off 4 inches at the salon yesterday, I looked at it on the floor and the color was so flat and even I had a hard time seeing the individual strands on top of each other. The roots I had covered up were still "normal" though... So once the dyed part is all gone, flat color won't be an issue. I did notice that the color was a little streaky in spots the first week. Probably needed a second coat. - Round 3: After photo. 3 weeks in on Round 2, so the first box of Bittersweet was a good primer for the second box. No streakiness. I applied the gloss 2 days ago and took a shower yesterday. This is my result. I have about 3 inches of the old hair color that can't be bleached left to grow out. I have a few strands of grey here and there that the dye doesn't stick to, but not a big deal. I don't see any of the streakiness this time around... Probably because I did the second box 3 weeks after the first box so it was a primer. Also, it came off my bathtub very easily with Comet.

My natural hair his dark brown, almost black. I had 2 rounds of blonde highlights done and used this in color bittersweet when I was tired of them. This achieved the desired effect of darkening my hair to my natural color. It was easy to apply and looked very good when styled. It darkened my money pieces and made the texture of my hair very smooth and silky, similar to before I dyed my hair. I would recommend!

Easy, easy in your hair and great coverage. I colored my hair just two weeks ago with an amethyst hair color (not this products brand) and not only did it fry my hair. It stripped all of the color out of my hair and left it gray annd orange with bright purple roots. This product fixed all of those issues and left my hair feeling amazing. I could not be happier. In the photos below, the first picture was taken just before I colored my hair with the other brand and I did it just to cover my roots. The second photo was taken after coloring my hair with the other brand literally days later and the third photo was taken one day after using this product

I’ve been experimenting with my own hair since Covid, and enjoy it so much I have continued and avoided paying too much at salons. I have been doing “ombré” hair, or at least that’s how it started. I don’t mess with my natural, medium brown on top, just the ends that slowly fade to a very bleach blonde. Over the years I’ve purposely bleached my front pieces that frame my face, and accidentally got bleach above my ear - which i’ve turned into a “money piece” (random chunk of hair that’s bleach blonde from root to end. I love doing my own hair (it’s therapeutic in a way, and so satisfying when it comes out better than I expected, even more satisfying when someone compliments my hair (it doesn’t always turn out great, I’ve definitely made some opes. However, the one thing that always trips me up, is the toning. If I want to tone my dark orange/copper mid-section, I have to use a 5A or light ash brown/dark ash blonde. While this works fantastic on the brassy part, it’s proven very difficult to avoid getting that darker toner mixed in with my bleached ends. Admittedly, this was easier before I started adding the front pieces and accidental money piece in the mix. Then whenever I tone the blonde to be less yellow and more of a natural hue, it comes out either gray or purple, or it only tones the very blonde and leaves a light orange mess behind. I’ve tried everything from demi/semi and permanent hair dyes and toners, to purple masks, purple shampoos - everything from the popular and affordable drug store brands, to the more expensive salon-quality brands. I was looking to try something new, basically just a toner or purple shampoo/mask but a different brand, and I came across this. I’ve used Kristen Ess products before (I looooove her hair detangler spray and swear by it) so I knew it was a good brand with affordable yet “expensive-looking” and high quality products. I searched through reviews on this Amazon page, as well as the Kristen Ess website & google images, for before-and-after photos, but mostly people just posted photos of the box 😭 and left vague reviews. I watched so many videos and tried to get an idea of how this would help with my brass, without darkening the blonde (too much) or turning it purple. Not much luck but… I decided to just go for it. I got the color “Smoky Topaz.” I love that it was a good price, no harsh or stinky chemicals (ammonia), and wasn’t permanent. So if I really messed up I could easily fix it with a quick bleach bath or color remover. I know it says “in shower” but I found it so much easier to rinse my hair with warm water in the sink and throw it up in a towel until it was damp, but not still dripping wet. A lot of videos I watched, girls put this directly on dry hair- while it is true that dry hair may absorb product much more quickly, in my experience, working with wet or (preferably) towel-dried hair helps so much with making sure the product is evenly dispersed. With dry hair, you can end up with patchy and uneven results. I mixed the product and started at my midsection which needed the most color-change. I noticed reviews here mentioning that it smells bad- have they never used hair bleach or dye with ammonia?! That’s open-a-window bad. This, on the other hand, smelled mostly medicinal in a way, but wasn’t overpowering and didn’t bother me one bit. After applying to my entire midsection, front pieces, and money piece, I mixed the rest into my ends and combed through to make sure every strand was evenly coated. I wrapped it up in a microfiber towel (since they are not very absorbent. But a shower cap, plastic wrap, or even a plastic bag work better! I just didn’t have any on me). I saw a few videos where girls rinsed after 10 minutes and didn’t see any results, so I decided to leave mine on for roughly 25-30 minutes, since my brass was BRASSIN. Next, I hopped in the shower and used shampoo as normal. I have very oily roots and dry, knotty hair, so I was surprised when I was able to run my fingers through my hair after just adding the shampoo! It felt like I was rinsing out a deep conditioner, rather than my shampoo. I then conditioned as normal. I let my hair towel/air dry for accurate before & after photos. Results: it definitely toned down the less severe brass, and darkened the blonde more than I thought it would. However, it got rid of ALL yellow and light orangey pieces. The darker brass is still there, perhaps toned down just a bit. This stuff did make my hair super soft and shiny! I shared 2 before photos and 2 after, each with the flash on and with just natural lighting. Hair looks much brassier in the flash photos, but is more subtle in person. I labeled the photos in case they upload out of order. All said and done, I would definitely use this product again, although maybe in a different shade. I think I’d try a darker neutralizer on the midsection, then blend with a lighter toner gloss on the ends. I do love that this isn’t damaging to my hair like other toners (I do enough of that on my own with the bleach) and that it will wash out in 8 weeks or so. I would recommend this particular shade for those with medium brown hair who want to get rid of yellowing or brassy highlights, or for those who just freshly bleached and want a more natural color (keep in mind, this *did* darken my level 8 or 9 ends to a 6 or 7, so not recommended for bleach blondes looking to just get rid of yellowing- try a much lighter shade!)

Easy to use and leaves a beautiful shine, with no damage to the hair. Definitely, I must buy it again.

Wouldn’t buy again didn’t really do anything way to much money for this product

Unfortunately this product did not change the colour or tone of my hair. I was expecting it to cancel out the brassy tones and be overall a darker shade of brown but it almost looks more red than before. What a waste and it wasnt cheap. I paid almost $60 for this product.

Fantastic stuff, brings back the vibrancy to my auburn hair now I am getting a little older.