Revlon Permanent Hair Color Black

After trying ZILLIONS of red hair dyes from just about every brand imaginable (from the cheapest to the spendiest) this is my go-to for color that really POPS without looking incredibly "metallic" or otherwise far afield from anything nature could possibly produce. (At least not on medium-to-dark hair. If you applied it to lighter hair, it would look utterly artificial - which is great, if that's what you're going for.) I always let this product process a looooong time. (As much as an hour following complete application.) Because naturally darker hair requires significant lift (chemical lightening of your natural hair color) to create a more porous and "grabby" surface on which to deposit the chemical color (in this case, bright auburn), you want to ensure the mixture doesn't fully oxidize (develop/process) PRIOR to application. (The reason for this is that most of the chemical "lift" or "pull" comes early in the oxidation process.) In other words, if you mixed your color with the developer and then let it sit in the bottle for 20 minutes before application, you'd get much less lift, which also means you'll get a dramatically more subdued deposit - not nearly as vibrant a result. The tricky part is that the mixture oxidizes very quickly. So, unless you have fairly short hair (which I obviously do not), by the time you get past treating your roots, the product is mostly oxidized. (Again, this means less lift and therefore less availability to deposit.) To prevent this, I mix only half of the product at a time (using a separate application bottle). I use the first half of the bottle to treat my entire hairline (front to back) followed by the crown, temples (these are most visible areas for root-show), and then the remainder of my head. (At this point, I'm ONLY aiming for my roots - the healthiest and therefore most deposit-resistant portion of your hair.) Only after I've completely covered my roots do I mix the remaining half of the product for the rest of my hair. I use a small portion to re-treat the most deposit-resistant portions of my hair (the front of my hairline and temples where I have some graying areas) working downward from the roots to cover as much of my hair as possible. As I near the end of the product, I add a teaspoon or so of water to thin it out and get the last of it out of the bottle. (Since your ends are always more damaged than your roots, the mixture doesn't have to be as concentrated to do its job, so it's perfectly okay to dilute it with a little water.) Because this particular color is VERY vibrant (unnaturally so - they don't call it "bright auburn" for nothin') I use dish-washing soap (horror, I know, lol) to shampoo it out of my hair. (I shampoo it 3x in a row, followed by my regular conditioner, resulting in the color you see in the photo for this review.) Like all reds, this red will not remain rich or vibrant with repeated washings. (Red hair dyes have smaller color molecules than blonde or brunette shades, making it harder for the hair to hold on to the chemically deposited color, which means much faster fading.) Comparing the staying power of blondes and especially brunette shades to red ones is an apples-to-oranges affair, so given this is a very "true" red, it performs as expected for its category and class. (This is about the cheapest hair color you can buy.) This said, it has less lift than most other boxed brands (which also means it's less harsh and less damaging), but this can be overcome with the approach I've described above. (Double applications of non-fully-oxidized product to lift-and-deposit-resistant areas.) As you can see, with strategic application and extended processing times, this product delivers gorgeous shine and excellent gray coverage. (Keep in mind that you're looking at hair that is super, super healthy to begin with since I shampoo only 2-3x per month, RARELY blowdry or use hot-tools, or even apply any styling products.) If you begin with damaged or otherwise non-lustrous hair, you won't get the same level of shine - this isn't a miracle product, after all - but I bet you could still get really beautiful results!