Clairol Nice'n Easy Foam Dye

When I switched from using semi-permanent to permanent hair dyes my dye of choice quickly became Nice'n Easy in Medium Ash Brown (5A). I think I first found the recommendation on a forum and despite the occasional dalliance with other brands, I have pretty much stuck to this one. So, when I spotted that they had brought out a new foam formula I was keen to give it a try, especially after my success with the other foam dye.

I picked my usual colour, Medium Ash Brown and you probably already know about what happened in terms of the colour from my other post. I don't want to dwell on that here, as a seasoned home dye-er it's happened before and I wouldn't necessarily dismiss a colourant because of this. I'd just be more careful with colour choice in future. What I wanted to talk about here is my experience with the application. In particular, in comparison to the original non-foam formula and the John Frieda foam I have used before.

Before

First of all, the instructions in the packet are not as thorough as I have to come to expect from home dyes. There was no mention of how to use it to colour roots only or different times for stubborn greys. The foam was easy to prepare but I found that it didn't seem to mix very well. The foam isn't very stable and dissipates quickly. As a result the dye didn't mix evenly within the foam. Also, because the foam dissipated quickly, it was tricky to apply and tiny splatters went everywhere as the bubbles burst. I hadn't covered my bathroom as I was expecting it not to be messy and I quickly regretted this. A week on and there are still signs of my escapades!

Although the foam didn't remain foam for long, I experienced no problems with drips once it was applied. I have never experienced drips though with the original Nice'n Easy formula though and to be honest I prefer the original formula for easy of application. I didn't feel confident enough to comb my hair through with the foam, especially as it seemed to knot my hair up as I applied it.

It didn't have some of the nice extra that I liked about the John Frieda foam. It had the usual unpleasant dye smell and the gloves were the regular cream variety. These are not deal breakers of course but worthy of note. The other thing that I noticed was the usual tube of ColourSeal Gloss conditioner was absent and had been replaced by two sachets. Again, not a major deal in the grand scheme of things. I would assume that the Clairol ColourSeal Gloss conditioner that you can buy separately is suitable for use with these dyes.

I left the dye on for the recommended time and then started rinsing. I found my hair felt strange and was very tangled. This was sorted once I applied the conditioner but it did make it difficult to rinse my hair thoroughly and I found that a lot of hair broke off whilst I was trying to rinse. I also discovered afterwards that a lot of dye had remained on my scalp. It took several washes to remove this.

After

As you already know my hair came out much darker than anticipated. I did find that my greys were covered well and my hair looks glossy and in good condition. Though it's not quite a soft as it normally is with the non-foam version. When taking the 'After' photographs from the side I thought that the colour looked a little uneven. I had already quizzed my husband about whether it looks patchy but he's says not and I cannot see it myself so I'm hoping that this is just an artifact of the photographs.

My overall experience of this dye has been disappointing. I was especially disappointed as I have always got on well with the original formula. I think the foam still needs a bit of tweaking and I hope Clairol will reformulate this one. For now, I will stick to the regular Nice'n Easy formula or use the John Frieda foam. I am aware that hair dye is a bit like marmite though and I would recommend looking at other reviews before you make a decision. I would also be really interested to hear if you've used this foam dye and how you've found it?


Disclosure: This was sent to me without payment for review purposes.