Colourb4 Extra Strength Review + How To Use It, 2014

Colourb4 is a company that sell hair dye removal products. The company promise to strip unwanted hair dye and colour build up to help you achieve the colour you desire.

If you're not clued up on hair dye and removing it then here's a few common questions you may have:

What is colourb4?

Colourb4 is a hair stripper for DYED hair. 

Hair stripper?

A hair colorant remover removes hair dye from your hair - this means hair that has been previously dyed with permanent or semi permanent colour formulas. 

Doesn't bleach do the job of lifting colour?

In short, yes, however due to the hydrogen peroxide, it can be very drying on the hair and in some cases extremely damaging. If you're planning on going blonde, it's inevitable you will use a bleach but a colourb4 can achieve what at least 2 colour processes (with bleach) can do - without the damage,

Surely a hair colour remover will damage the hair?

Nope. This product contains no bleach or ammonia (common ingredient found in hair dyes/bleach kits) that can cause damage/irritation. This is why colourb4 is so popular.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Colourb4 CANNOT lighten your hair. Yes, stripping dark dye out of hair will make it appear lighter but that is your TRUE colour showing face. It is likely your hair will have brassy/ginger tones - this is completely normal and shows the product did exactly what it was meant to do. As previously stated, this isn't a dye or bleach, it just strips the colour out of your hair, nothing more. You may have to use this for a maximum of three times to get the desired results but that should only apply if your hair was extremely dark prior to using the product. Make sure you give your hair at least ONE week's break in-between sessions and DO NOT dye it with another colour straight away, give it at least a week after removing your old colour. The reason I ask you to wait before applying your new colour is that this product alters your hair molecules, opening them up and preparing them for something fresh - therefore, the dye will cling onto your hair and the result will be a lot darker than planned. Isn't it weird how science works?

Please note, I am using Colourb4 in EXTRA strength. The regular strength is very effective but I had dyed red hair and darker colours need extra strength effects in order for a noticeable difference to be made. Removal of lighter colours such as pink and light brown tones should not actually require the extra strength product but truth be told; NEITHER are going to damage your hair so you might as well use the strongest Colourb4 available. 

THE PROCESS:

If you are planning on using Colourb4 you'll need the following:

An old towel

Mixing bowl with a tint brush (however this can be achieved without neither, just expect more mess!)

Newspaper to cover surrounding areas in-case the formula drips!

Conditioner - your hair must always be nourished!

As you can see, I was prepared for de-colouring my hair and I cannot stress how important it is than you protect your clothes and the areas around you! I will admit I did not perform a 48 hour safety strand test - this is not advisable, make sure you read the instructions and do a strand test INCASE you are allergic to it. I ALWAYS cover my hair in oils on a daily basis but I strongly recommend you consider the likes of coconut oil to help grease up your hair (hair colourants of any kind take kindly to dirty hair) and keep it as healthy as possible!

Colourb4 comes complete with gloves, remover, activator and post-treatment forumula. Each bottle of product have all been labelled according to what order they should be used!

I bought this pink mixing bowel and brush from Primark for about £1.50.

Instructions MUST be followed carefully otherwise this will NOT work. This is the third time I've ever used Colourb4 and the first time didn't work due to me not reading the instruction leaflet provided properly.

• First, you must mix products A and B together which is the activator and remover. It works the same way as hair dye does in terms of shaking the mixture in the larger bottle (B) and applying it to the hair starting with the tips and working your way through the roots. I personally empty the mixed formulas into the mixing bowel and use the tinting brush to apply the product into hard to reach areas such as the back.

• You must leave the product on for an hour - use a stopwatch on your phone to make sure you time yourself correctly.

• Once the product has been left on your hair for an hour, you MUST rinse it ALL out. If you need that 10 minute to do it then just do it without question, that's all I've got to say on that! 

• Whilst still in the shower/bath, you must open bottle C which does the real work in the process - it completely strips your unwanted colour out, the A and B processes have enabled product C to be able to work it's magic - does this make sense? :) Pour half of bottle C into your hand and spend at least 5 minutes scrubbing your hair. Spend another 5 minutes with it lathered up in your hair then spend at least 5 minutes washing it off. Then you MUST repeat the process using the rest of the product. Spend at least 10 minutes making sure you have washed all traces of Colourb4 out. This was the result on my hair. It went from ruby red to this:

I was really pleased with the result. As you can see, even on wet hair, it's bought out a lot of my natural lighter tones. I wasn't expecting it to look this light, I thought the result would be a medium brown at it's lightest. Colourb4  has done exactly what one or two bleaching sessions would of achieved on dyed red hair.

You may use a semi permanent colour after using Colourb4 but expect the result to be darker than you'd initially expect as your new stripped hair is will find new colours and pigments very inviting and cling onto the dye faster than it usually would. DO NOT use a permanent colour till at least a WEEK after your Colourb4 process.

Please do not expect miracles from this product. Consider your natural and dyed colours and ensure your hair is in tip top condition before proceeding. I personally do not blowdry my hair but once my hair dryed, my result was considerably lighter so make sure you don't judge your result when your hair's wet!

If you dyed your hair dark brown/black or several bold fashion colours, you will MOST LIKELY need to carry out this process one or two more times. Leave it a week in between using Colourb4 and again...FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS, you will thank yourself for it!

I went from:

To this, in ONE Colourb4 EXTRA STRENGTH session:

Lastly, yeah this product doesn't smell the best, I don't care, get over it, it does the job, I used air freshener after and that was that. :)

To find out more about the product and to see other before and after pics, check out:

http://www.colourb4.com/

Thank you for reading :D

Shez