Another Avlon MoisturColor hair color Complaint

In some of my past articles, I have complained about Avlon's MoisturColor hair color. Well, here is another one!

Pictured is a very old, unopened tube of L'Oreal Majirel permanent hair color that I bought at a discount probably three to five years before I purchased this unopened tube of Avlon's Moisturcolor. Notice the corrosion on the new, unopened Moisturcolor tube?

So the L'Oreal haircolor probably had three years shelf life sitting in the store when I did buy it???? So I am guessing that the L'Oreal hair color is at least eight years old. You may be wondering does hair color expire? I don't know. If it is a sealed and unopened tube, then you could prepare for use and have a plan B for backup purposes in case when you open the tube it smells sour, looks dark, or looks separated. By the way, developer does get old. Fresh developer is important!

But let's get back to the original point that I was making. The Avlon MoisturColor tube is probably three to four years old max. In other words, the MoisturColor tube is half the age of the L'Oreal tube, but the Avlon MoisturColor haircolor seems to corrode within a year of its shelf life. It seems to be the highlift colors that seem the most volatile within the MoisturColor line. That is another reason that I stopped using their color line. The other reason was that the color darkened if left on past the 45 minute processing time. They really probably owe me for a few foil color services that went darker than I wanted. Nonetheless, they had been trying to fix their haircolor packaging for years because the tubes were leaking before the distributor could even sell them. I really did give up on them after a year or more. I just felt that Avlon had let me down.

Anyway, the proof is in the picture. The Avlon MoisturColor packaging will not hold up. In the trash, it goes.

Hair color: Progressive versus Non-progressive oxidation processing

Yes! Color was calling me!!! I decided to experiment with this new color: DX3427. And yes, it's protective styling! "Wink" It is the same style as before: "B. Morning".

On a more serious note, I just took a Chi color class. They are advertising it as ammonia-free as well as ppd-free. Those who are allergic to hair color are usually allergic to the PPD's. Please see my separate article about hair color allergies.

Also, while in the class, it was mentioned that the Chi hair color is non-progressive as far as its oxidation process. This technically means that it will not turn the client's hair darker than desired if you leave it on the hair past the normal processing time.

You may ask why is that important? Well, if you are foiling a client's hair for dimensional coloring, then unless you are a speed foiler or have an assistant, then hair color can be on a client's hair for an extended period of time. Imagine the first foil that you place in comparison to the time lapse on the last foil that you place. Get the picture?

Okay. If the color is progressive versus non-progressive, then the first foil you put in may have lifted to the desired color and then it may have started to darken back up. So you will not end up with the desired color by the time that you rinse all the foils out.

Your multi-dimensional color service would be ruined. Yes. I have had this happen to me in the past, and I had no idea why. Through enough color classes like Igora10 and Chi, I learned about non-progressive oxidation versus progressive oxidation.

Color lines such as Avlon's Moisturcolor and Schwarzkopf Igora10 hair color will go dark if you keep it on the client's hair longer than the recommended timing.

Chi and Wella color lines are non-progressive and pretty true to color.

The Chi Color line also offers Infra Shampoo and Color Lock Treatment. The Infra Shampoo is great for shampooing the "bad stuff" out of the color process. The Color Lock Treatment is designed to avoid "creeping oxidation." If for some reason, haircolor residue gets left in the hair, it can gradually continue lightening or damaging the hair at a slow pace. (i.e. creeping oxidation)

I initially heard this term: "creeping oxidation" in a hair class taught by platform artist Belinda Baker. It was relevant to relaxer residue getting stuck in the hair due to insufficient rinsing time and shampooing. The Chi Color Lock treatment is designed to assist in neutralizing all alkaline chemicals.

Haircolor results too dark?

So your haircolor results came out too dark? What happened? Here are a few possible reasons:

1)Some permanent hair color lines such as the Avlon's Moisturcolor line and the Schwarzkopf Igora10 color line (see separate article on Igora10 color) line will deposit darker if left on (processing) for too long. Between a "slow" foiling application time and the full recommended processing time -- timing can get quite long resulting in a more dark and/or intense color. Consider starting foils from the back of the head if you are worried about darker deposits. (Stylist talk here.) Remember lighteners are a totally different ballgame. Lighteners are accelerated lifting agents. Speed is important! But in regards to permanent color, a 45 minutes processing time may need to be shortened to 15 minutes if the application time took 30 minutes from the placement of the first foil or stroke. If you have resistant grey hair, then the longer the processing time; the better the coverage usually. Some professional haircolor lines such as Wella and Goldwell seem to stabilize regardless of how long the processing time.

2) Your natural haircolor plus product buildup could interfere with the haircolor lifting to the desired lightness. If your natural hair is dark, then a lightener may have to be used first then another color to get the true color that you want. A highlift permanent color can work on dark hair in lieu of lightener when desired results are in the brown family.

If you use a permanent box hair color, consider picking a color lighter than what you want. If it goes too light, it is safer to tone down the haircolor than to try to bleach out haircolor that is too dark.

I recommend mild shampoos with sulfates in them for your first shampoo after a color service just to make sure the "bad stuff" is washed out. Then go into your sulfate-free shampoo.