I have been home dying my hair for years but I had never tried Japanese dye kits before. I wasn’t sure they’d even work for my European hair but I read some good things about them lately and thought I’d give it a go! My hair was looking a bit shabby from fading and growth from my last hair cut and dye. I just can’t justify the cost of going back to the hairdresser right now and I want to grow my hair long again so dying at home was a better option.

The condition of my hair was faded out brown and blonde highlights after stripping purple dye from my hair which had been bleached for it prior. I had a good 5cm of natural roots that are medium-dark brown. My hair is soft textured and fine. That’s just some background if you’re considering this dye. On with the actual funnn…

Background Information

I purchased Liese Prettia bubble dye from ebay for US$14.24 in Pink Berry. If you look at the ebay store you’ll find more colours for this hair dye as well.

In this image you can see the shades it promises as well as further shades in the range down the bottom. My hair was sort of a mix of all three shades, with a little lighter also. I’m not too fussed on exact shades to be honest. Dying my hair is usually an ~*adventure*~ haha.

As a bubble dye it claims that, unlike traditional dye, the bubbles and foam mean that it can penetrate your hair and coat evenly without having to section your hair off. I found this overall to be true.

In the packet you get the small dye bottle, the mixing bottle, a pump, gloves, hair treatment, directions and testing spot.

The testing spot is so you can mix a small amount of the dye to check for sensitivity and allergic reactions. I have a scalp of steel so I didn’t but it’s still useful to have.

Directions

The process is pretty simple. In the end it was the easiest and fastest dye job I’ve ever done!

Pour the contents of the small bottle (1) into the large bottle (2). Put the lid back on tight and you tip the bottle upside down and back up again gently 5 times. DON’T SHAKE THE BOTTLE! It only needs minimal mixing! This is the most important step! No more than 5 times is needed. Next you take off the lid and attach the pump. This is where I got into a little bind because it doesn’t pump, like pressing up and down, and I wasn’t sure how to get the foam out! So I just panicked for a second in my bathroom. :P It’s actually really simple: just squeeze the bottle! The foam gently shoots out of the pump. I am silly.

What the foam looks like when squeezed out. The gloves that came in the kit were great and actually fit!

With the foam you just start from the top of your head and start blending that stuff in! This part is mostly like any traditional home dye kit. Except you don’t need to be sectioning everything off to get the roots done. It doesn’t splat everywhere and I found minimal splotches of dye on my body, face, etc afterwards (and they very easily rinsed off). It didn’t take very long to have my hair all covered and ready.

As you can see it wasn’t as foamy as the model pictured but there was plenty on there and I had almost none on my face (I’m usually a mess!) There was plenty left in the bottle when I was finished. One bottle would be enough even for long hair.

The smell: Compared to other home dyes the smell of this one was much better. It still smelled of ammonia, just the typical hair dye smell BUT it didn’t overwhelm my bathroom. I’ve used some dyes where I literally choked on the stench and not even an open window + fan going would help. Compared to that this was nothing at all. I believe the smell was the strongest after my hair had been rinsed and dried, funny that. Now it’s the day after and still faintly smells like the dye but not terrible. If you have a hair cologne or can wash your hair again I would recommend that. Otherwise, the smell kind of wafts behind you as you walk and attacks your SO in the hallway, mwahahah!

The instructions say a maximum of 30 minutes and that is how long I left it in. I’ve read women going up to an hour to really let the colour and lightness set in without adverse reactions. Keep in mind that was usually natural black virgin hair.

Rinsing it out was a breeze. My shower didn’t look like a murder scene for once which is nice. And the treatment was very thick and made my hair soft! It smelled like soap and when rinsed became more floral. One thing I usually hate is trying to rip open those little sachets with wet hands but this one was very easy to open so that’s a plus.

The Results

As you can see it definitely made my hair red. In other light it is more dark brown with hint of red. But the colour is more uniform than before. The blonde strands I had are really pink in the sunlight! My virgin roots compared to my processed lengths doesn’t look too bad either, I think it blends well in colour.

I’m not entirely happy though and in a few days I am planning to do another dye with the same one (I bought two in one go). I’ve read that others have gotten a better result with a second dye. So hopefully the colour will be more vibrant and uniform after a second go!

The Verdict

4 out of 5

Pros: Super simple to use, extremely fast, not messy, smell was okay, treatment that it came with was nice, did lighten and colour my hair

Cons: Not as vibrant colour as it could have been, could have better coverage overall, but a second coat should fix these problems

I would buy this product again and maybe when I’m tired of red I’ll try out some of their other shades!

Jessica