This product is quite good – lovely scent without the strong smell of ammonia. And the conditioner that is included is also very good. It’s also very easy to use.

I mixed the colour as instructed and applied to my hair. The chemical smell wasn’t completely removed with the exclusion of ammonia, however the smell I did detect was mostly masked by the strong fruity floral fragrance of the colour.

Unfortunately I have long thick hair and I really needed at least two boxes of colour. I had trouble ensuring the dye was applied evenly and that all of my hair was covered. I was fortunate that I had selected a shade very close to my natural colour. I haven’t coloured my hair in years, it’s a light ash brown colour. At the 20 minute mark my hair looked copper and my centre part looked bright orange. I was panicking a bit at this stage thinking “what have I done to my hair?!”

At 30 minutes my hair was looking less red, still coppery all the same so I left the colour in until the 40 minute mark. It is important to take the time to emulsify the colour with water before rinsing the hair as usual. The colour is very thick and like a rich conditioner, hard to rinse out. I had to use shampoo to help remove it and used a super gentle organic shampoo formulated for sensitive skin as to not strip the colour right after application.

I followed up the shampoo by using the Silk and Shine conditioner provided with the Olia colour. The conditioner was rich and nourishing and did make my ends feel softer after the colouring process dried them out a little. After rinsing thoroughly I allowed my hair to dry 70% naturally before blow drying.

I should note that I did get colour on my skin, tiles, shower curtain etc. It was easily removed and only stained the shower curtain slightly. There was no nasty damage that I have experienced in the past from other colours.

The end result is that I went from having natural dark ash blond/light ash brown hair to dyed brassy light brown hair with a copper tinge to my roots. My hair is super soft, frizz free and smells great.

I have a fair bit of grey now but garnier covers it beautifully. I love how soft my hair feels after colouring and it lasts well too