Clairol nice ‘n easy hair dye feedback thread - £300 voucher to be won. NOW CLOSED

[RebeccaEMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for Mumsnetters who are testing out nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, with a friend.

Here's what Clairol say: “Find your true colour with nice'n easy. nice'n easy permanent colour cream gives colour so natural looking it's the UK's #1. Colour lasts up to 8 weeks and provides up to 100% grey coverage.
For first time colourers, we recommend nice'n easy no ammonia; a non-permanent hair dye without ammonia, giving you natural & healthy looking colour. It lasts up to 24 shampoos and blends away greys. We're really keen for Mumsnetters and their friends to have a hair colour session and share their feedback”

Testers, once you have tested the hair dye, here are some questions to get you started, but please feel free to add your own comments too:

• What colour was your hair before dying? And what colour was your friend’s hair?
• Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose?
• Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other?
• How easy did you find the application process and why?
• How happy were you with the end result and why?
• Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Please also share your before & after photos on this thread.

Everyone who gives feedback as required will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Thanks and Good Luck!

MNHQ

-What colour was your hair before dying? And what colour was your friend’s hair?

My hair was a dark auburn colour and my sisters was light brown

-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose?

We used the Nice'n easy permanent colour
Me (Natural Dark Brown)
Sister (Natural light Brown)

-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other?

Yes we coloured each others :-)

-How easy did you find the application process and why?

Yes we found the whole application process very easy, the only thing i would change is maybe i would use 2 dyes as my hair is quite long and I'm not sure 1 dye was enough

-How happy were you with the end result and why?

Yes we both have beautiful shiny hair and it feels really soft

-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes we would but as previously mentioned i would use 2 dyes on my hair as it is quite long

-What colour was your hair before dying? And what colour was your friend’s hair? My hair were highlighted blond with dark roots and my friends hair were mousey blonde

-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose?
I have picked 101 - Natural Baby Blonde and my friend has picked 73 medium ash

-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other?
We coloured our hair separately but in each other's presence

-How easy did you find the application process and why?
it was a very easy and quick process, didn't find any problems as followed instructions

-How happy were you with the end result and why?
I'm not really happy with results as I have brassy roots instead of the color blending in, but it may be due to the shade and not the hair dye itself. My friend thought was thoroughly happy with hers

-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Would definitely consider using the same brand hair colour as it is in my price range.

-What colour was your hair before dying? And what colour was your friend’s hair?
My hair was dark brown and my mums was fairly light blonde.

-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose?
We both used prmanent, red/brown for me and ash blonde for my mum.

-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other?
We each coloured our own.

-How easy did you find the application process and why?
I found it straightforward enough, mum is used to having her hair done in a salon so was a little more anxious about the process but said it was simple and the instructions were very clear.

-How happy were you with the end result and why?
I was really happy, it's not a brand I had used before, I usually stick to the one brand I know I can do without messing up, so it's nice to know I can add another product to my repertoire and trust the results.
Mum was very impressed, the colour was a good match for her usual colour and it looks lovely and natural, and very soft and glossy too.

-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? If so, why? If not, why not?
Yes I would, as previously mentioned I've only ever used one brand before (thanks to some extensive research the Mumsnet talk boards to find the most recommended hair bye brands and going with the best reviews!!), and since I like it I never switched or dared try anything else - I'll definitely include this one in my repertoire!!

As someone who has been dying their hair now for more years than I care to mention, I was excited to try out this product. I used the permanent pack myself whilst my teenage daughter tried the semi-permanent pack.

My colour before dying was black whilst my daughters was brown.

The no-ammonia pack was just brilliant. It was hard to believe that I was using dye. It smelt great, went on easy and did a good job and I was really impressed at the simple process of applying it on my daughters hair.

I'm afraid to say that I cant say the same for the permanent colour though. It smelt really strong and I wasn't pleased with the end results which was a real shame after my daughter having so much luck with hers.

I would consider buying the semi-permanent colour again but I wont be purchasing the permanent brand because I know that there are other products like this that don't smell so strongly are have much cleaner results.

-What colour was your hair before dying? Grey and medium brown!
And what colour was your friend’s hair? Grey and light brown
-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose? Mahogany brown and medium brown
-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other? We did it together and made a night of it
-How easy did you find the application process and why? Very easy, simple instructions
-How happy were you with the end result and why? Fairly happy, not quite all grey covered but the most noticeable covered
-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? If so, why? If not, why not? Yes it's good, easy, simple and not expensive

Thank you for choosing me for this product test.

My Hair Colour

As you can see from pics, my hair colour was horrendous (I wore a lot of hats). Mousey roots, bits of grey peeking through and loads of red ends. I needed to re-colour it to calm down the brassy ends but, as a full time mum, couldn't find the time to get to the salon (and the money).

I am a bit afraid of permanent colour (having had a regrettable goth black hair stage as a teen) and so I went with the no ammonia. I chose 91 Dark Blond.

Friend's Hair Colour

My friend was going to do the testing with me but, by the time I received the products, she had given up/forgotten and did her own colour! I've been in touch with mumsnet to explain this.

Easy?

Yes! And quick. And now I know the texture of the colour bit (it's quite runny), I won't spill precious drops of it in the sink when combining them. That's just me not paying attention. I did roots only for 10 minutes and then 5 minutes with a nice massage through to the ends. I thought my hair would take the colour quite easily as it has been quite abused, poor thing. I didn't want it to one, flat, dark uniform colour.

End Result

Very happy with the colour choice, that it has a bit of subtle (natural-looking, I think) variation to it. I am glad it hasn't come out too dark and one dimensional. It did not cover my little greys at the front. I was hoping it would make them look a little blonder and highlight-y but they still look grey. I think they might be some of those hard to cover greys. Wouldn't put it past them.

Use Again?

Definitely and definitely in this colour. It was less than half an hour and no need to spend loads of time and money in a salon - win!

-What colour was your hair before dying? And what colour was your friend’s hair?
My hair was light/mid brown with lots of greys! Friends was mid brown (no greys, lucky thing)
-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose? We used no ammonia, I chose medium golden brown, friend chose medium brown
-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other? Each did it ourselves
-How easy did you find the application process and why? I found it very easy the consistency was good and not drippy. Friend has used Nice and Easy before and also finds it easy to use.
-How happy were you with the end result and why? Friend thought her hair could do with being a little darker, but was pleased with glossy finish. I'm pleased its toned in most of my greys and brought out my natural blondey highlights.
-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? If so, why? If not, why not? We would both use it again, I'd use this shade but friend would choose slightly darker.

I'm a bit late to the party so big apologies my reason for the delay in trying out the product's is both myself and my mum (who is also trying the colour) had dyed our hair literally 2 weeks prior to the dye arriving (and it arrived the same day as the e-mail saying we had been selected).

I'll start with me (as I am the ones in the pics)

Before starting my hair was a red/brown colour - it had been dyed approx 4 weeks before using the nice and easy dye - and I have no grey - I do however have a natural white streak since birth which when I dye my hair comes up more vibrant than the rest of it.

I used Nice n Easy - permanent colour natural black (number 2) and I dyed my own hair. I am used to using home dye kits having been dying my hair myself since I was 13.

Things I liked about the Nice n Easy kit - 1. no sachets! sachets are impossible to open when you have gloves on or after you have rinsed off dye etc and your hands are soaking or soapy. I like the fact that everything provided with the kit is a screw top it made it a lot easier to use. 2. I was surprised that the gloves included were actually okay and did keep my hands from getting stained - normally the gloves are useless and I end up with dye between my fingers. 3. it was nice n easy to apply. 4. the smell - it smelled a bit like apples no nasty whiffs making me feel queasy whilst applying or waiting for it to set. Sometimes the smell form hair dyes can be so over powering that you have to be sat in a room with the windows open and a fan blowing!

What I didn't like? It was really hard to remove from the skin. Normally I use dilute teatree oil and it removes any excess dye on the skin with ease but this stuff did not want to come off despite trying this, trying soap and water and scrubbing til the point of turning purple! 3 showers later and I still have a faint black line on my neck!

The colour itself is supposed to be black and it mostly is BUT the previous red on my hair isn't completely covered and as you can see by the picture I now have black hair with some reddy highlights! It doesn't look bad but it's certainly not the complete coverage I would expect from a black hair dye.

Would I use again? Probably but I tend to range in hair colour from bright red, to mahogany to purple to black. The nice n easy range of colours dont really include the colours I would generally pick (except black) as they are a more natural looking colour.

From my mum:

Colour before - ash blonde, honey blonde, dark blonde and grey. (she tends to go for an all over honey blonde with high and low lights but is naturally grey now)

Colour chosen - natural baby blonde 9.5A

Applied herself with ease - her hair is short so it was easy.

Her feedback: The colour blended well on her hair with the other colours already on. Easy to apply, nice smell, pleased with result.

Would she use again? Yes but would choose a slightly darker blonde colour.

I am a medium blonde and my mum is a light blonde/grey
We both had the permanent colour cream mine was a 8A and my mums a 9B
We coloured each other's hair
Application was very easy, as it's a good consistency not to runny or thick
The colours covered what grey hair I have and my mums, it was a great all over cover
We will definitely use again as happy with the results and quick and easy to use.
Unable to post photos at present but hope to get them upload in next couple of days

My hair was brown but with lots of greys showing through at the roots.

I used the permanent one, shade 6, natural light brown. Unfortunately my friend had requested medium red brown but we were sent just medium brown. She wishes to stay red so was unable to do hers,

I coloured my own hair.

I found it easy but felt it was quite runny. It seemed to require a lot of mixing and I felt like I had to be really careful not to splash it everywhere. It did seem to cover well though and was quite quick.

I am happy that all greys have gone and it has given a nice even coverage.

I would consider it but am not sure I would choose it over some of the other brands that I like, unless it was a very good price. Obviously my decision may change depending on how long it lasts. I find some can look good at first but roots start showing within a couple of weeks. If this one lasts longer then I would definitely consider buying again.

Here is the feedback for our colours! Will add photos later x

What colour was your hair before dying?
Light brown with terrible grey roots
And what colour was your friend’s hair?
Dark brown
-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose?

Permanent colour cream. It did smell very strongly and wasn't entirely pleasant smell to be honest

-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other?

We did our own but helped each other with the back bits!

-How easy did you find the application process and why?

Easy to apply, straight forward no issues

-How happy were you with the end result and why?

Yes good colour and coverage.

-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Possibly not the permenent colour as the smell was so strong it was not nice at all!

-What colour was your hair before dying? And what colour was your friend’s hair?
My hair were kind of redish, with very washed out colour. My natural hair colour is dark brown.
Claire hair are medium brown.

-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose?
We both went for no ammonia. Dark warm brown (82) for me and medium brown (765) for Claire.

-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other?
We both coloured our own hair but we checked each other just to make sure that all hair are covered.

-How easy did you find the application process and why?
It was very easy mainly due to the texture of the hair colourant which isn’t very runny.

-How happy were you with the end result and why?
Very happy. The colour achieved was very spot on as to what was advertised on the pack which is a huge plus. No nasty smell during the process and the hair come soft and shiny. Very pleased.

-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? If so, why? If not, why not?
Yes, I would be more than happy to use it again but I would love for the hair conditioner packet to have some cuts… both of us struggle a lot with opening it (yes, I know scissors exist but I do not keep them in my bathroom)

Pictures:
me before colouring - red-ish hair
me after colouring (middle pic)
me after two weeks

I have already posted my feedback so this is my mums who had the second colour to try.

And what colour was your friend’s hair? dark blonde

-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose?my mum chose Natural Baby blonde in the permanent color cream.

-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other?
We both coloured our own as it was so simple.

-How easy did you find the application process and why?
very easy mum was worried about getting an even coverage until she started then realized it was really easy.

-How happy were you with the end result and why?
She was very happy, it wasn't as light as the colour on the box but still a really nice colour that didn't look like it came out of a bottle
-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes definitely would use again.

-What colour was your hair before dying? light brown with some ombre blonde higlights through the bottom.
And what colour was your friend’s hair? medium brown
-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose? we both chose natural medium brown permanent
-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other?
we did it together, I'm too messy otherwise!
-How easy did you find the application process and why? I liked the mixing bottles and applicator nozzle, it was similar to the brand i usually use and pretty standard for hair colouring packs in general I think.My friend found it easy too. The instructions were very clear and easy to follow. It was a bit more fizzy/tingly than my usual brand. The conditioner is great, really light and moisturising and seemed to zap the hair dye smell right out of my hair!
-How happy were you with the end result and why? The coverage is good and the colour is rich, but the tone of the shade has a funny chemical khaki/golden especially at the roots which I really don't like, i think I'll put over a shade with a more red tone in a few days.My toddlers reaction was priceless...'Is it poo?' after I showed her my new shade! on my friends hair the result was nicer, it worked with her last shade better than mine.
-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again?
Yes, I especially liked the conditioner, it really neutralised the hair dye smell.

If so, why? If not, why not?

will add before and after pictures from my phone :)

My hair was a mid brown with grey mainly at the front asnd roots.
My sister was unable to dye hers as she had a reaction to the patch test.

The dye I used was 5RB

It may be because my eyes are going but I spent ages searching for the ratios to do the patch test. I wish there was a small packet of dye included to use for the patch test.

My sister dyed my hair and the application was simple enough though the smell was very strong and unpleasant.

I was very pleased with the results and would certainly consider nice n easy instead of my usual box dye, dependent on price.

I've just completed the skin test and stand test with nice n easy "natural baby blonde" 9.5A. The skin test has left my inner elbow throbbing so I'm going to wait to see what happens there. The strand test hasn't gone well either, I tested two pieces of hair (dark thick bit and lighter bit) and neither of them have changed colour. I'm not sure if my light brown/dark blonde hair is too dark for this shade? I think I may have selected the wrong colour, really sorry.

Before and after, before is the stripey hair.

Just wanted to add that I absolutely love the conditioner. It smells great/ leaves hair soft and silky.

N&E need to develop a range of shampoos and conditioners please

Sorry for the very late reply, I had recently dyed my hair and wanted the test to be effective so waited for some roots to come through. I tested the products with my sister.
I have tried to add before and after photos but my computer keeps telling me there is an error, I will try again later.

My hair was a dark blonde although my roots were starting to come through and my natural hair colour is auburn.
My sister's hair was not previously dyed and she has light brown hair.

We both used non-permanent nice'n'easy shades. Mine was 5RB, chestnut brown and my sister's was a dark mahogany brown, I forget the code on hers.

We coloured each other's hair as I think it is easier to get a full coverage this way.

The application process for both dyes was straightforward. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. The smell from both dyes was quite strong but I expect this when I am dying my hair. The applicator on the bottles made the dye easy to apply and there wasn't much mess. We enjoyed the application process.

In the past, when I have coloured my hair, the end result has sometimes been patchy which actually caused me to stop using hair dye for a while. The end result here was not patchy, there were no places that hadn't been dyed. My hair looked shiny and healthy and the conditioner really made it feel soft. I am pleased with the colour and think it suits me. My sister's final result was darker but this is what she wanted. The mahogany tones came through well and again her hair was shiny and silky. She commented that her hair felt a lot more healthy after dying it than before which was surprising to her because hair dye in the past has dried out her hair.

We would both definitely use nice'n'easy hair colour again. I would probably go for a permanent colour in a slightly darker shade, perhaps closer to the mahogany colour my sister tried. The hair dye I used is quite close to my natural shade and I like using colours that are different to my usual colour. I loved how healthy my hair felt afterwards as did my sister.

Thank you for allowing us to try this product, we enjoyed the experience!

Sorry for the delay it was hard to find a good time to do it!
My hair is light brown at the roots but blond elsewhere where I have previously dyed it. My sisters hair is very similar, perhaps a bit darker than mine.
The application process was easy and straight forward, although I did have to open all the windows as doing two hair dyes at the same time, was very smelly! The conditioner is lovely, it really makes the hair feel like it has had a very deep treatment.
We were both very happy with the end result and will definitely be buying this again. My sister has used peroxide in the past which is a far more complicated and laborious process, so she was really pleased.
I will upload the photos!
Highly recommend this dye!

-What colour was your hair before dying? Dark blonde with bad roots
And what colour was your friend’s hair? Light brown

-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose? Both permanent
Friend medium brown
I used the natural ash blonde
-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other? Did it on our own my friend had the 7.2 but failed to use it after allergy test reaction
-How easy did you find the application process and why? Yes easy to read and steps clear to follow
-How happy were you with the end result and why? Not really I don't like the brassy tones I've got now will need to redo or change hair colour!
-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? Yes for darker colour

I found the product really easy to use I have used it previously and will use it again. My camera is not working hence the delay however my sisters is she ordered dark brown her hair is really thinning so looks bad when it needs dyeing but she loved this one left her fuller and thicker she found it easy to apply and feels much more confident 😊

Apologies for v late response, have had a manic few weeks and only got around to doing this last weekend

-What colour was your hair before dying? And what colour was your friend’s hair?
My hair was a darkish blonde, not dyed. DD's was almost identical.

-Did you use nice'n easy permanent colour cream or nice'n easy no ammonia, and which shade did you/your friend choose?
N&E permanent. Me: natural light neutral summer blonde; DD: natural light beige blonde

-Did you each colour your own hair or did you do it for each other?
We did each other's.

-How easy did you find the application process and why?
Very easy. Clear instructions. Wasn't hugely enamoured with the smell though.. Conditioner lovely though. Agree with PP that a range of shampoo and conditioners from N&E would be good.

-How happy were you with the end result and why?
Hmm. At first I was horrified! It looked yellow. Like, really yellow! But it faded after a couple of washes (thank goodness) and is now more of a strawberry blonde, which everyone has said looks really good. Even my hairdresser, who I thought would flip!

DD's didn't look all that different to be honest. She has natural highlights and they have now gone, which is a shame really, but she's cool with it as obviously realised this would likely happen.

-Would you consider using nice’n easy hair colour again? If so, why? If not, why not?
I'm undecided. It's easy, quick and apart from the glowing beacon of yellow I was first greeted with, it's settled nicely. I'm a hit bleugh about roots becoming a bit prominent, so I may have my hairdresser add a few foils to blend it. But we shall see. It tends to go very light in the summer anyway, so I may get away with it.

DD will for sure. She hasn't dyed her hair much (she's 22), but as an impoverished student, this is a cheap and effective way to do it, with pretty good results.

Photos of mine added, DD didn't want hers posted - sorry, and I hope that's ok.

Thank you for the chance to test though. I've learnt that the packets aren't so bad after all and definitely worth it for time/cash poor moments when a change is fancied!

Pics the wrong way round, and the before looks more orange, but it was very definitely of the sunshine yellow hue!

My hair is dark brown and i used the medium brown on my hair. Application was easy to apply and instruction were striaght forward. The colour was lovely and covered all my grey roots but found no real colour change. I found if you put vaseline around your forehead before application the dye will not stain your head. I would use nice'n easy again but will stick to similar colour to my hair.

Apologies - thought I had already replied to this, but apparently the message wasn't received.

I have highlighted hair and hoped to use this to touch up the roots. However, I couldn't easily tell whether or not the product contained ammonia or was suitable for lifting darker colours (as the three shades demonstrated on the box were all blondes - which is not my natural hair colour). I didn't want to risk turning my existing highlights ginger, so could not try it out.

My feedback would be to make it clearer whether it can be used on highlighted hair, and what the likely results would be on darker shades of brown to turn blonde.