I absolutely love colored hair and this is no secret considering that I have had my hair dyed every single color of the rainbow. A few years ago I couldn’t go a month without sporting a new shade of red or purple or any color in between. But, after trying to embrace my “natural” hair, I stopped bleaching or stripping my hair of color and stopped with the bright bold shades. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I don’t like them anymore, it’s just that I was noticing my hair was not as strong or as silky and shiny as it used to be so I decided to make a choice to change how I treated my tresses. Having tried temporary hair color, chalking and other things, I was quite interested to see if Redken Color Rebel Hair Makeup would offer me great temporary color for those days where I’m feeling I need a little color in my life. Here’s my thoughts on my use of this product.
Redken Color Rebel Hair Makeup is available in five different shades:
Purple Riot, Rebel Without a Coral (both of which I have tried), Red-Y To Rock, Gilty As Charged, Punked Up Pink. Each canister can retail anywhere from $19.00 to $25.00 depending on where you purchase the product and should be found at most salons or beauty supply stores that sell Redken products.
Using the product is very easy… So easy that it will be a great addition to anyone looking to add color to their hair for Halloween or for the holiday trends. After choosing the color you are interested in you can go ahead and start the process. Make sure your hair is clean or day-after hair so the product will adhere well to your tresses.
- Prime the product by shaking the canister well. Remove the cap and take off the little black plug that is on the white tip. Push the sponge onto the white tip and make sure it is secure. Twist the cap in the direction of the arrows until the tip is saturated with color.
- Divide your hair into sections that will make it easier for you to work with. Pull each section taut and apply the color in a smooth sweeping motion. Start off applying a light layer and then add on more layers to build the color intensity.
- Let your hair air dry (about 10 minutes) or blow dry for faster results. After applying the color, keep your combing and brushing to a minimum so you do not break up the color pigment.
I divided my hair into four sections and only applied the color to the bottom of my hair to create an ombre type look. Applying the color was simple and quick so if you are looking to add some color before a night out on the town or a big Halloween party or other, this is quick and effortless. After the application, my hair felt like it had a bunch of hairspray in it… it had a crispy/crunchy like texture and felt a little sticky. The first day I used the product (before my first shampoo), the color was very vibrant and you could see the color easily in or outdoors.
While the application was easy and I would use this product again if I needed to add some color, I did not like the way my hair felt – even after my first and second shampoo. The Color Rebel Hair Makeup will last in your hair on average 2 shampoos depending on the quantity applied and the porosity of your hair.
After washing my hair three times – shampoo and conditioner and in two cases a hair mask, I still have some color left on my ends. The parts of my hair that I colored remained stiff and dry and felt like straw until the third wash and some portions that still have color feel dry. My hair also tangled really badly (after the first and second wash) and it took me a long time to untangle my hair. My hair doesn’t tangle as bad as it did with the product but I think the product made the ends of my hair so dry that it caused it to consistently tangle on its own. The color made my hair brittle and after washing my hair it still felt like I had hairspray in my hair after it had dried. I did an all over color with a dark brown/black shade about a month ago and I also notice that on the places where I added the Coral shade, it stripped some of the color I had so those ends are lighter and show the blonder side of my hair.
Overall – I would use this product again because I liked the effect it gave my hair and allowed me to use a product that was quick with big color payoff. However, I did notice that I had to do a lot of damage control, adding both hair masques and oil treatments to bring back the soft silky feeling that my hair once had. Even after three washes, a few strands that still had color are still rough and coarse. I think using this product for me is a bit of trial and error. While I did really enjoy the color, I wish I could figure out how to use it so my hair was not so dry, brittle and coarse after use. There is a possibility that my hair is just too fine to use products such as these, but I’m not sure.
If you have tried this product before, definitely let me know your thoughts on it. If you have had any similar experience with temporary colors like these, I would love to know how you dealt with the hair issues I did.
Products mentioned in this post were provided to me by Brandbacker for review. All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased and I was not paid to provide a review.
28 Comments
Very cool! Love the ombre colour look
That looks super cool! I’ve always wanted a secret splash of color in the back. Maybe this is the way to do it!
Thanks for your honest review! I wanted to try these but my hair is already dry, so I don’t need it to be worse! LOL! Too bad because I would love to add temporary color from time to time.
This sounds really fun! I’ve had pink, purple, and firetruck red hair before, but am now 100% natural color because I wanted my healthy, silky hair back. This would be fun to add a bit of color for the holidays. And I REALLY appreciate an honest review like this…thanks! 😀
Sounds so fun! I really was interested in reading a review about this, so thank you for posting your honest opinion! I may have to try some. 🙂
That´s very cool! I´m not sure if this kind of color is good idea for my blonde hair, because I´m scared that maybe it won´t come off 🙁
These do look and sound like a lot of fun! My hair leans dry on the ends nowadays anyway, though, so I’ll likely steer clear of these, especially since they do cause some permanent alteration. Thank you for an honest review.
What fun! I love the colors too!
This really showed up nicely on your hair!
Disappointing about the damage because the color payoff looks great!
That stinks about the damage. I just recently dyed mine but once it gets a bit healthier, I wouldn’t mind trying these out!
The damage isn’t so hot :/
I love the idea of this, but that’s such a bummer that it’s so damaging.
Sorry to hear about the damage. I’m terrified of it, which is why I never end up coloring my hair.
I love the effect but I’m sorry to hear that it caused so much dryness. I have really long hair too so I’d be very weary of that.
What a shame about the dryness because these look awesome. My hair is quite similar to yours, curly and long, I know I need all the moisture I can get!
I love the purple on you!
The colors are really gorgeous, but my hair is reeeally thin and breaks easily, so I’ll pass I think.
I love the purple, and the ease of a temporary color, but I’m not sure about all the damage! Bummer!
Oh no, I hate tangles. Too bad it does that otherwise, I would’ve wanted to try it.
I had the same experience, just waiting for post approval right now. I only colored little strands, but they started coiling like crazy. Definitely not something I’d use as an all-over color, but it’s nice on a small area I guess.
The color looks good though!
This sounds like an awesome product for colour pay-off but the tangles do worry me a bit.
I hated this product like no other !
I wouldn’t be very happy with the tangles. However, I am amazed that the colors took to your hair so well.
I really enjoyed this. I didn’t experience any of the issues you did 🙁
I think my hair would soak this up, and I’d be terrified of that since I have a corporate day job! I’ll pass. I’m glad you gave your honest view on this!
Great thorough review! I tried these as well and I had a really hard time w/ the application process and ended up not using the sponges. I agree the feeling of my hair after application was awful, kind of like I put mud in it. This stuff ruined my hair too. It felt like straw for like a week!