Clairol Colour Strong Permanent Hair Dye - 8.1 Medium Ash Blonde

I wanted a reliable, ammonia-free permanent dye that could cover my stubborn greys and leave my hair feeling healthy. The Clairol Colour Strong largely delivered on the health and feel of my hair, but the final colour result was quite a surprise. I would rate it around 3.5 to 4 stars, as the quality is great, but the outcome can be unpredictable. The Best Bits: Formula and Hair Feel This product excels in how it treats your hair. The inclusion of an AHA bonding primer and a separate bonding treatment in the kit really makes a difference. My hair felt incredibly soft, healthy, and had an amazing shine after use—much better than many other at-home dyes I've tried. The formula is also zero-ammonia and has a decent smell, not that harsh chemical odour you often get. It provides great coverage for grey hairs, with many users reporting 100% grey coverage. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, making application straightforward. Areas for Improvement The main issue I experienced, which seems common with this line, is that the final colour doesn't always match the picture on the box. I aimed for a medium brown but my hair came out much darker, almost black, with no lighter tones visible in the light. This colour inconsistency can be very disappointing. Also, if you have long or thick hair, you might need two or even three boxes to ensure full coverage, as the quantity in one box is just enough for standard length hair. Recommendation I recommend this dye if your primary concerns are hair health, grey coverage, and shine. The bonding treatment is genuinely good. However, go in with an open mind about the exact shade you will end up with, and potentially choose a colour one or two shades lighter than your target to be safe.

Hi all ~ I bought 3 boxes of this ‘Clairol Colour Strong Permanent Hair Dye - 9.1 Light Ash Blonde’ to ensure full coverage of my long medium thickness hair (length almost to my lower back). In my review photo I am showing the colour of my hair before (the top photo) & the colour result after using (the bottom photo). As you can see ~ my hair was a coppery colour (also box dyed) and as much as I loved it I fancied a change so my aim was to remove as much of the orange as possible so I chose an ash blonde as ash is great at neutralising orange tones. I also had ‘hot roots’; my roots were a lighter colour than the rest of my hair, and areas of very dark hair (my natural colour) in various places. I added 2.5 boxes (it covers really well so I could of got away with using just 2 boxes really) to all of my hair (including the darker bits) except for the lighter roots on the top of my head (my parting) and the roots at the back of my head down to my neck. I left the dye on for approximately 30 minutes then I covered the roots with the dye for 20 minutes. So 50 minutes in total. This was a trial and error situation as I didn’t know how long the hot roots would need. In hindsight I would have only left the colour on my roots for 10 mins as my roots are still a bit lighter, however, not glaringly so, so I am still happy with the improvement. The result was fantastic! A gorgeous, light, ashy blonde with lovely subtle golden highlights! the colour result on my very dark areas of hair was also impressive - lightening the hair just enough to blend in without turning it orange (which will usually happen if you put blonde over dark hair). I have dyed my hair (with products containing bleach) 3 times over the last 6 weeks (PLEASE NOTE: people usually advise leaving longer between dyes but I am lucky that my hair is particularly strong & healthy so I took the chance ;-) … & I can honestly say out of all of the products I have used, THIS one left my hair feeling SUPREMELY nourished soft & shiny! I love the final conditioner ~ I am going to try and buy it separately because it is so good! Great price, lots of product, super easy to understand the instructions & to mix, no strong smell, and definitely worked to cover my orange/copper tones! Highly recommended :-) Happy colouring & I hope you have found my review helpful!

Nice colour, doesnt smell too strong and covers greys well!

This is an excellent product and great to see it available on the market for all to benefit from. I believe this is the first box dye that has this technology to rebond and protect your hair. Inside you get instructions, gloves (excellent quality gloves. Not the horrible plastic bag gloves), bond primer, colour developer, colour tube and a bonding treatment for after. You start off with the bond primer and then mix your colour developer and tube together, following the instructions depending on the type of application you need. Leave on for the allocated time and then as you rinse, don't rinse it all off straight away. It's good to emulsify the dye and you just need to wet it and then once it's frothy, massage it through like shampoo and then rinse thoroughly after that. This helps a lot! Once you've rinsed the colour, apply the bonding treatment. Overall, the colour is multidimensional and great for covering up those patchy areas, post bleach. Definitely will be buying again as my hair feels great after using this. 10/10! Clairol are known for being at the top end of hair colour expertise. You can't go wrong. If things have gone wrong, it can be down to your hair's porosity and if you needed to bleach beforehand to get the result you were looking for. You can't get better than this company, especially at home :)

My favourite permanent hair colour lasts for weeks and the colour is beautiful

I accidentally bought this for a second time and it's just not good. I gave box dyed black hair and I like it to be black. This doesn't cover greys well at all, and you can see my roots are visibly more brown than the rest of my black hair. Disappointing.

Good item have ordered couple

I’ve tried a lot of box dyes over the years, and the Clairol Colour Strong Permanent Hair Dye in 5.0 Medium Brown really impressed me. The instructions were clear, the application was smooth, and the formula wasn’t too runny or messy. The colour developed evenly and covered my greys completely, which is a big plus. The shade turned out to be a rich, natural-looking medium brown, not too dark, not too warm, and it left my hair looking shiny and healthy rather than flat or dull. I also noticed it didn’t have the strong chemical smell that some other dyes do, which made the process more pleasant. The colour is still holding up well after multiple washes. For the price, this is excellent value, and I’d definitely repurchase.