Naturtint hair colour review – 5c Light Copper Chestnut

Recently I’ve felt in need of a change from using semi-permanent hair colours. Having to refresh them constantly and worry about the colour leaking when it rains is a lot of maintenance and I am a bit tired of it. So I decided to try and find a permanent colour for. 

Finding a vegan permanent hair dye was not the easiest thing, but I managed to find the brand Naturtint, sold at Holland and Barrett. They are a cruelty free and vegan brand and the dyes are also free from ammonia, resorcinol, parabens, DEA, SLS, mineral oils, paraffin and silicones. I don’t totally know what all that means but it seems like it may be slightly less harsh on your hair and on the environment, so that works for me.

I decided to go with the shade 5c Light Copper Chestnut. The box showed a rich coppery red. Since it has been years since I had any red in my hair I wanted to start with something subtle, which is not usually the way I do things (and I almost immediately regretted not going more bold!)

The Application:

Just like any other permanent dye you start by mixing your 2 bottles together. I fashioned myself a bin bag shawl and got down to it. I Applied the mixture to my unwashed hair, starting at my roots and working my way down to the ends, combing my fingers through as I went to ensure even application. The mixture was slightly more runny than the non permanent dyes I have been using but still easy to work with. The smell was also much nicer than any other permanent hair colour I have used before, it didn’t have that harsh chemical smell.

After applying the dye I pulled that bin bag shawl up and wrapped my hair in it and left it for 30 minutes as per the box instructions. After 30 minutes I put my head in the sink and rinsed my hair with warm water for about 5 minutes until it was running mostly clear. I do this in the kitchen sink rather than the shower so that the red doesn’t stain the white shower. I then got into the shower and used the shampoo provided in the box. After washing this shampoo out, my hair did not feel good at all. It was very dry and tangled. Luckily the conditioner they provide worked really well and after applying that and leaving it on for a few minutes, my hair was back feeling like healthy hair. 

The result:

Despite having green balayage on the bottom half of my hair, the colour came out surprisingly evenly. The red was subtle but showed up nicely in the light. Unfortunately the colour was much darker than the colour on the box, even matching my hair colour on the projected results panel. I don’t mind it for now since it’s still winter but I will attempt to use a lighter copper in the future.

Conclusion:

As far as permanent dyes go, this is one of the best I have used in terms of coverage and the fact that it doesn’t give me that chemical headache while applying it really brings it up the ranks. A bit disappointed in how dark it made my hair so I would say if you are on the fence between two colours, go with the lighter shade. I have shoulder length hair about medium thickness and I used up all the dye, so if you have longer or thick hair, I would really recommend getting 2 kits.

Update:

Its been 6 weeks since my initial application now and the red has faded out a bit but still looks very auburn in the light.  It’s a really rich colour, but I was aiming for a light copper so just not exactly what I was going for. Definitely would recommend this brand, just keep in mind it tends to run darker than the box shows.