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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
My natural haircolor is light mousy brown. I color and highlight to a medium golden blonde. Late last night I applied Natural Instincts in dark golden blonde. What I got was very dark red, almost burgundy, yet somewhat orange. It didn't look well on me at all. I sat up for hours perusing the reviews for Color Oops. The positive feedback outweighed the negative, but after living with this horrendous color for a morning, I was afraid to do anything. I never dreamed that this color would look so bad, but lighter orange hair wasn't a much better option. I went to Walgreen's and bought a box (on sale!). I was pretty scared, but my husband finally said, "You have to do something." That's when I knew that my hair was even worse than I realized. I did the strand test, and the results looked like an improvement, so I went for it. It does smell pretty bad, but only while I was using it. I took all of the bottles, gloves, etc. out to the trash can right away, and put the towels right into the washing machine, used an exhaust fan in the bathroom, and it was fine. I did follow the rinsing and shampooing directions religiously. My hair is very close to the color it was last night before I colored. I have some pretty nice highlights, and the dark root line is blended in very satisfactorily. So try it. Just follow the directions, and don't cut corners. And don't assume that semi permanenr haircolor isn't a huge commitment.
I bought a brown hairdye a couple of days ago and when I dyed it last night it turned my hair BLACK!!! Devastated I tried clarifying shampoo to fade it (less then 5 hours after I did the dye job), strand tested a high lift brown that didn't do anything to the hair, took that back and bought the color oops. It seemed like a great product based on the 100+ reviews here and considering it hadn't even been 24 hours thought for sure it would help. I bought a toner to remove the brass once I did the color oops and then proceeded.
I followed the directions to the letter. After my 2 shampooings and 15 minutes of intermittent rinsing as directed by the package, I didn't get the orangy brownish color that was mentioned by everyone. I came out a few shades lighter with a coffee brown color with noticeable reddish tones when standing in the light. I mean I'm glad it's not black anymore but it's not much of an improvement.
Is this typical? I thought this stuff was stronger than that.
from DC on 8/17/2008
According to other reviews, some consumers of this product ended up with red hair. I, on the other hand, used this product to *rid* of redness. It worked for the most part for getting rid of the red color. The smell didn't bother me that much, just about as bad as many other beauty products that women use.
I dyed my blonde hair red about a month ago. It was a little darker than I wanted it to be so I tried to lighten it by dying it back to blonde. No go. It didn't do much of anything. I gave it a few weeks and decided to try to lighten it again. Still no go. So I searched the internet for something to get the color out and found the reviews here for Color Oops. After reading it I tried to give it a try. It worked! My hair is a little brassy but I probably could've left it in a little longer. I'm going to do my highlights this afternoon and then use the L'Oreal Tone Refiner to tone it down a little. Overall I am impressed. I wish I had known about this before. I tried to dye my hair brown once and ended up with green hair. I went to the salon to have a Malibu treatment, which is supposed to strip all the color out. It didn't. Then I went home and dyed it 5 more times. It still had a hint of green but it wasn't as bad. The only problem was my hair was fried. I eventually got it all cut off because it could only combed when it was soaking wet, otherwise it would snap right off. If only I had known ...
I dyed my hair black not really thinking about how hard it would be to get it light again. After my very light-brown roots started growing I looked for something to fix it. Salon's quoted my cost anywhere from $75 to $150 to fix it and I'm a broke. So after reading hundreds of reviews on this product I tried it. I didn't think it would work at all or turn my head orange. But it took my very black hair to my natural color that I haven't seen since I was a freshman in high school *8 years*. Wonderful product. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
It works I dyed my hair about 6 times to achieve a light color I wanted. I got sick of the color so I died JET BLACK. Big mistake! I got the Color Oops and it was PERFECT! My hair is a beautiful auburn with a tinge of red! Go for it ladies! :O)
I recently decided to darken my dark brown hair a bit. I had never dyed my hair (either at home or in a salon). I bought a box of semi-permanent black dye. I left it on for seven minutes and when I rinsed it out my hair was jet black. I tried some of the home fixes I read online--washing with Prell repeatedly, washing with hot olive oil--but none of the color came out. About 36 hours after initially dying my hair, I bought Color Oops after reading the reviews online. I left it on my hair for 14 mins and it pretty much took all the black out and returned hair to my natural color. I think my hair is still a tiny bit darker than my natural color was and has a few natural looking reddish highlights now. However, friends that didn't know I dyed it black and then removed black dye, didn't notice that anything was different.
The only real con was the smell. Although I don't think it is nearly as bad as some of the reviews make it sound. Because I had read the reviews first, I lit some candles in my house before starting the process and that helped. I also opened a window afterwards and the smell is not that strong a day later. None of the friends I was around just a couple hours after Color Oops could smell the sulfur odor. (I shampooed with Nexxus, conditioned with Neutrogena Hair Mask, and put Biosilk on it when dry to help with the smell.)
Overall, extremely pleased with Color Oops. It took the black out and got me back to my natural color quickly, easily, and without damaging my hair.
I have been going to the salon for years for my color. I am a strawberry blonde naturally , but sometimes I get a wild hair and want to go completely red. Well, when I get sick of coloring my hair every four weeks,I go to the salon and have my girl "fix it." That visit always takes anywhere from five to seven hours in the chair and costs me approximately $140. With the economy the way it is, I had neither the time or the money for all of that. I found Color Oops at Walgreen and decided to try it. I did the strand test and it lifted the red to a coppery blonde (which, I read in the bad reviews is what makes people mad... these are obviously people that have never had their hair stripped. I have to say having done it through a salon that the copper color even happens there). Knowing that, I had bought Natural Instincts no brass blonde to follow up. I left No Oops on my hair for 20 minutes under a shower cap and then washed it off with two shampoos and deep conditioned my hair. When my hair was air damp, I followed up with the no brass blonde and ended up with a lovely Honey Blonde color with no brass what so ever. Seriously people give this stuff a try. It is really smelly, but again most products are, so just be prepared. It is pretty stinky but it was soooo worth the effort and the price. It cost me only [$] (Color Oops plus the Natural Instincts) and about an hour and a half of my time to go from a deep dark red to a beautiful honey blonde. Give it a shot :)
from Orlando, Florida on 8/2/2008
Color Oops is one of the worst products i have ever used! I originally had light brown hair and wanted to try dark brown so I went out and bought Loreal hair dye. It was too dark so i went out and got color oops. Color oops took my hair from a Dark Brown to Orange! i will never use this again!!!!! DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!
A few monthes ago, I had decided to dye my hair jet black. (I have natural black hair, but I had dyed it light ash brown) Little did I know it's one of the hardest colors to get out. I tried to bleach it today, but then only my new growth lightened (to bright orange!!!! =[), while the rest of my hair stayed JET BLACK. Then, I read all the reviews here, and I had hope! I told my bf to buy me some color oops, and just one box saved me!! I used it right after I had bleached, and it was so gentle. Now, my hair is an over all even reddish brown color, which I don't really mind. I might even just leave it the way it is, and not dye it the brown that I wanted to. Just make sure you rinse it alot!! I LOVE COLOR OOPS!!! Saved me hundreds of dollars at the salon =]
<3 <3 <3 <3
I had dyed black hair (supposed to be dark rich brown) perm. colour. I used this product and really glad i did even though I was terrified. I now have a reddish brown colour (with a rotten egg smell)id rather smell bad than looklike morticia on a bad day!! Go for it!!
from Austin, TX on 7/22/2008
I used a "Mahogany Chestnut" dye that turned my salon-dyed auburn hair that's naturally a bronze blonde a frightful shade of eggplant. I'd had it done at the salon for years, but I was trying to save money - how hard can it be to dump dye on your hair, right?
Wrong. After doing my best to fade it out with dawn and repeated washing, I tried Color Oops. I left it on for about 12 minutes. It took the deep purple out and left me with pale auburn orangey hair - about what you'd expect - my natural color is pale but I've been coloring it reddish for years.
I was able to re apply a more sane shade of auburn the same day and am much happier.
I applied a deep conditioner on my hair and let it sit for about 30 minutes after I was done, but my hair wasn't overly fried by the Color Oops.
It does smell pretty bad - I smelled like a home perm until after the deep conditioning and a long second shower.
Very happy with the product over all. It met my hopes and expectations and didn't do any of the things I was worried it would do. (I had visions of my hair falling out in colorless clumps.) Even after the first bad dye, the 25 showers, the color oops and the second dye job, my hair is still pretty healthy.
I was strawberry blonde and tried to darken the red a bit..I ended up dark magenta and very unhappy. I did a search for removing hair color and found color oops at Walgreens. I took the trip in, purchased two packages and about an hour later was back to blonde. I was amazed. It did bleach out my hair a bit more then it was, so my hair is now a bit blonder, bit I'm just so happy to not have dark magenta hair anymore!! I've not yet redyed my hair, but plan to soon.
It does have a bad smell, similar to perming solution, and it still smells like that the next day, but to have the bad dye out of my hair makes it worth it.
Color oops took my hair much lighter than either my natural shade or the color it was dyed. Not only is it much lighter but it is also a very brassy copper color.
Doesn't take you back to your real color, mine was gray so that was good. Left it a light reddish color which was easily taken care of when I recolored immediately (the instructions recommended anyway). Buy a color filler (local beauty supply store) to make sure the new color takes properly.
from Colorado on 7/19/2008
I am not a hair color junky. Over the years I had dyed my hair once or twice, but never very far from my normal color. On a whim, I decided to dye my flaxen-blonde hair red. I really did like it, but after a few days I realized that I wasn't as confident with the red as I am blonde, and maybe I chose a color a bit too bright for me. I decided to try this product after reading HUNDREDS of reviews online. I did the strand test and kinda saw results but couldn't tell how good. So I took a risk and poured it on. The stuff is a bit messy, but not horrible. I wore an old rain poncho which helped with the mess. The smell was a but pungent, but after washing my hair 5 times (I wasn't going to take a chance) with herbal essence shampoo, and conditioning with biolage intensive conditioner (both of which smell yummy), the stench wasn't bad. I also use Dr. Bromner's eucalyptus soap as a body wash which makes the whole bathroom smell like a spa! I swear that my hair went back to a lighter shade of blonde than normal, like how it used to be 5 years ago before it darkened a bit. YAY for me, but be careful if you don't want results like that (I left the goo in for the full 20 minutes). Also, there is a tiny tint of red, so subtle but enough to give me a great strawberry blonde look. I think this is because my long hair (thin, but a huge head full down to my breasts) needed a bit more of the stuff than one bottle provided. One hint for those ladies who hate the smell: Use a bit of leave in conditioner (herbal essence's is nice) for a few days. Not only will it make your hair smell great, but it will help to protect it in its delicate state.
Seems to work ok but i just cant get over the smell. It is the most disgusting thing i have ever smelled in my life and i just wanted to throw up........it was horrible. No matter how good this works i dont think i could stand smelling it again. If you can stand the smell then definetly get it.
from Buffalo, NY on 7/16/2008
I've been coloring my hair for along time now. Since Ive been outside a lot, my hair color had faded alot. I decided to color it with a chestnut brown and it turned out a magenta black color. I was mortified!
Very skeptical about Color Oops but after I tried what Revlon told me, dandruff shampoo with baking soda (not) and rinsing with Diet coke (not) I bought a box.
Started out with a strand test and after 8 minutes could see my hair changing. Put the rest of the formula on and kept checking the color. Only 10 minutes later I shampooed, rinsed for 5 minutes (MUST DO!) and conditioned. My hair is a very pretty light golden brown.
Thanks so much for a great product! :)
A friend of mine wanted to dye my hair black and my bangs reddish. Black is a good color on me but usually by the summer time it has grown out and blended beautifully with my natural brown and red tints. However this summer it stayed balck and the red grew out!! i think it even got darker the more sun I got!! So I wanted to dye my hair back to my natural color. I got two boxes of Color Oops and two boxes of Natural Match... I used the Color Oops first and it only took onoe box!! (my hair is long). When I rinsed it out my Natural Color was back COMPLETELY!!! (except for my bangs which came out a little to blonde). So I used my hair dye to even it out...only it took it back to black!!!!
So I then used the Second box of Color OOps to take out the dye I used and when i rinsed that out I had the Orginal Gorgeous color that I was suppose to get from the Natural Match dye!!! A Golden Medium Brown!!!!
I can't say i was completely horrified by my color to begin with I just wanted my natural back, and Color OOps gave me EXACTLY what I wanted!!!!
The smell is horrible but from reading other reviews about rinsing it with a deep conditioner...I will try it and hope it works!!!
Oh yeah and I am also almost Six months pregnant and have severe Asthma, but this product is COMPLETELY safe to use and didn't irritate or bother me once!!!!!!!
It doesn't get any easier than mixing the contents of bottle 1 into bottle 2. You don't even have to shake it. Just 'tip it over' a few times.
My boyfriend went into the bathroom after I used color oops and he said it smelled like "bad eggs," or, something comparably putrid.
A few weeks ago I colored my hair ashy blonde. But because my ends were so light from being highlighted (and from sun exposure), they really absorbed the dye and just became a tint of dark grayish-green. The rest of my hair took the color well, but when I then tried to highlight on top of that, the highlights turned a white-ish yellow!
I just wanted to start over!
Color oops will take the dye out. However- and this is on the box- it WON'T take you to your original color if you have EVER lightened your hair.
If your hair is in good condition then this product won't do any harm.
The box also says that you can re-color the same day but I advise against this. All hair color kits recommend that you wash your hair no sooner than the day before you are going to color your hair and especially after removing color you'll want to let your hair's natural oils build up to protect it a little.
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
I really did not believe this would work. It was a last resort before going to the salon (the place that messed me up in the first place). I have medium to dark brown hair. Wanted highlights...made the guy promise they would be natural looking, they were tiger stripey and too orangey blond. So, i thought i would simply wash a non permanent dye over my whole head, which ended in Natural Instincts making me a deep purple. I read on the internet that ash covers red and brass, so then I was mud purple with black ends. HOT! i saw myself in an outdoor mirror and almost burst into tears. So i got ooops. read all the reviews, and took what i thought was the most sensible advice: Don't overdo it. That is what got most of us into this mess. I let the stuff sit on my head for only seven minutes, and rinsed for a total of ten. Any more and I can tell i might have gone a little orange...but now my hair looks like a natural golden brown, with some subtle red highlights (where the orange brown ones were). Its one of the most beautiful hair colors i have ever had--for real. It looks natural, like nothing is built up on the strands (like non permanent dyes tend to look like). It feels a little straw like, but i will deep condition for a week and I am sure it will be fine. This stuff is totally for real. but just dont overdo it. 5-10 minutes is my recommendation. then you can always do it again if you are not satisfied.
I dye my hair all the time.
I wanted a bright red 'cause I'malways dying it red but it's never bright enough,
so followed directions and it lightened to a nice brown
and now my red is nice a vibrant
i definately recommend this for starting with a balnk slate.
from Elmira, Ny on 6/30/2008
So, from reading all of your wonderful reviews; I decided to finally try Color Oops. Despite having a bad feeling about it, I did it anyways. Well guys, I should have listended to my gut instinct and put the box right back onto the shelf. I've been dying my hair black for about 5 months and I wanted to go back to my natural dirty blonde. Although Color Oops did lighten my hair some, it turned it a brassy orange red color. Not cute. So for you ladies whom have black hair and and want to get it back to your normal or lighter color, I seriously wouldn't suggest Color Oops. For you ladies with lighter hair, it might be the perfect product for you.
Ohhh yeah and for black hair dye, if you haven't already, don't do it!! Unless you want a life commitment.
from Phoenix, AZ on 6/22/2008
A professional dyed my hair dark brown - only I had just spent a week in mexico in the sun and my hair was extremely dry and damaged, so it completely ATE the dye. He started blow drying it when my husband called to say he was waiting outside - so I left before I fully realized what had happened...he had given me black hair. I was Elvira, Cher, Wednesday Addams. I tried convincing myself it would fade - 3 days later...still as strong and as goth as ever. I read reviews on Color Oops and went to Walgreens to check it out. I would normally just go to the salon, but this was the guy who turned me into Morticia!! I did a strand test and liked the results. My hair is fine and goes down to the middle of my back. I used the entire bottle - probably could've used more. I let it set for 15 minutes, because I had read that it will take you really brassy. I shampooed twice, rinsed twice, and then conditioned and rinsed for antother 10 minutes. The Elvira is GONE!!!!!!! AND it is exactly the color I wanted it to be in the first place, a dark brown with red tones. Gorgeous! Better than I expected - this totally blew me away. If I wasn't already married, I would marry Color Oops.
After reading all about this product, I was still too scared to try it. I had been using a dark color over my white hair for many years. Now that I am in my late 50's, the color was too harsh. What to do? I just started doing the roots a lighter color, thinking, "Well, it will just grow out, and I will cut off all the dark parts." That was not an option after the roots became about an inch long. I looked horrible. I am off for the summer, so it is a good time to experiment. I bought the extra strength Color Oops. Before using, I called the company and asked what I might expect with white hair under all the very dark color. The fellow said that my hair would not be white, but very light brown to blond. That was fine, as I planned on coloring my hair after Color Oops. He was right-on about his discription. I followed the directions EXACTLY, and used a shower cap for the 20 minute processing. I rinsed and shampooed just like directions said, plus another couple of minutes. Voila! My hair was dry, but I put on an intensive conditioner before coloring. Now, my hair is med. light brown with great highlights, exactly what I was hoping for! THANKS Color Oops company, for a great product.
My hair is naturally black, and I recently highlighted my hair pink. Yes, pink. I wanted something edgier; I'm way into punk and scene fashion. (Don't worry, I'm not a rocker in my forties, I'm barely out of college. No need to shield your eyes.) However, the highlights turned a horrible, nearly fluorescent hot pink, not to mention that it was uneven. Some parts were a deep, murky purple. I thought I could live with it, but the more I looked at it, the worse I saw myself. So, I picked this up. I was skeptical, seeing as mine were highlights and not a gentler overall dye, but the product worked to perfection. The pink is entirely washed out, leaving behind a rather nice, warm blonde where the hot pink had been. The icky purple rinsed out and left a dark chocolate brown. I am very pleased with this product.
[0 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
Recently, when coloring my grays I switched brands and decided to use an all over color. Unfortunately, the color was a bit darker than I anticipated. After researching and reading reviews, I purchased color oops. I followed the directions precisely (especially the shampooing and rinsing). To my surprise my hair turned bright orange. It is horizontally striped orange and brown (brown being my natural color). What a joke. [...] My stylist told me my hair would need to be stripped and then re-colored b/c of the large chunks of orange dispersed throughout my hair.
from Los Angeles, CA on 6/18/2008
I decided to change my color from black to a brownish red. I decided to try oops first so hopefully I didn't have to bleach my hair. It worked; it turned my hair lighter, even tho' I dyed it black like three times, and I was suprised that my roots did not change color, thank god, that was my fear, I love it my hair feels soft, it just smells horrible, like sulfur or some chemical. If you buy this, just make sure to follow the directions and use all of it. I have really thin hair and it just worked.
Thank goodness this product really works! I used a warmer hair color and ended up with dark red. Then, stupidly, tried to highlight and when that looked terrible I tried to tone down the red by using a semi-permanent. Nothing worked. Finally I got up the nerve to use the OOPS. It worked! Turned my hair gold where highlighted and lightened up the rest. All the red was gone! Then I used Feria medium ash blonde. I did a lot of strand testing. This is important! Finally got a nice even golden brown. My color! It looks fabulous and I spent [$] two and a half hours.
I have naturally dark brown hair. And over the last few years I've been growing in grays, so I've been coloring my roots dark brown for quite sometime. Well the whole reason I bought this product was because I want a lighter color, but you can't just add a lighter color on top of dark color because it just won't show. It will stay dark. So I figured if I can strip all the dark color out and start fresh with a new lighter brown that I would finally get the color I want. Well when I recolored, it got dark again, but not as black as it usually gets, and my roots stayed a dark orange, which I was very unhappy with. So I was ok with the rest of my hair but not my roots. Maybe I just didn't get a good hair color that's specifically works on gray. But it does say it on the box. Anyway, I guess for those of you that aren't graying yet, it will work.
This product saved me today. I tried a new hair color to cover my gray and ended up with redish hair! It looked awful. I found this product on an Internet search looking for help with my bad color. I bought it at my local Walgreen's, did a strand test which came out good, and then did my whole head. I just finished and it worked great! Now I can go to work tomorrow. It did smell a little like perm solution and it was drippy. Well worth it and saved me a ton of money my hairdresser would have charged to fix the color job from hell!
JDC
6/15/2008
I had been dying my hair black for over 6 months, I read a thousand reviews on this product before psyching myself to actually go buy it, atleast it's cheap, i thought, so i used it and it worked amazingly ! my hair was back to a medium brown (even with natural highlights!) which is my natural hair color hidden for atleast 6 years of non-stop dying every color of the rainbow. my only mistake was not rinsing enough (bad at following directions) and it turned a little bit darker again the next day. so, YES IT WORKS, you just have to rinse literally just sit there for 20 minutes to make sure you got it all. my mistake, not the products. it totally advertises truth. buy it!
I am AMAZED i have been dying my red hair black for 2 years and in less than an hour i was back to my NATURAL color. so easy to use and 1 application was enough for my shoulder length thick hair, my hair also feels in better condition 10/10 we just need to get this in the uk now as i had to import mine.
I picked up a box of dark brown dye and thought I would go a little darker than usual. Imagine my suprise when it came out jet BLACK!!! I received such crazy reactions that I was almost ready to cry. I was almost ready to go to a salon (even though I really couldn't afford it) until I saw an add for this product. I read the majority of the reviews and I of course had the jitters but I thought what else could go bad. I picked up the box and a back up dye (2 shades lighter than I wanted like all the reviews stated) and a cap to lock in the heat. I did a strand test and I was delighted to see the outcome. I jumped in with both feet. I left it on for 20 minutes and then rinsed for a while, then washed it twice and put conditioner on twice. It still smells a little and as the day has gone on it has darkened a little but I am SSSSOOOOOO glad to be rid of the black. I will probably redo it later. For now though the color is presentable and my hair does not feel coarse or damaged. I am glad I went through with it.
from West Virginia on 6/8/2008
I've been dying my hair jet black for three years resulting in multiple layers of built up dye. I tried pretty much everything besides bleach to remove the black and nothing has worked. My hair was in horrible condition, plus it's extremely thin and I was scared of losing a lot. I was completely skeptical, but it actually worked. It took my jet black hair to a red/orange color and i actually like it a lot. I left it on forr 45 minutes instead of the recomended 20, though. It didnt damage my hair at all. In fact, after 30 minutes of deep conditioning, my hair feels better than it has since i started dying it!
from Bradenton, FL on 6/7/2008
After reading all of these reviews I decided to try Color Oops for myself. I have been dying my hair black for about a year now and decided it was time for a change. I picked up a box, followed the directions, rinsed, and the end result was black hair with orange roots! It hardly did anything besides change the color of my roots! What a terrible product!
I have light brown hair with natural blonde highlights framing my face from the sun. I decided to try to give my hair a reddish tint, almost like auburn, so I picked up Natural Instincts in what I thought would be a good color. Turns out I was wrong. It turned my brown hair dark brown and my blonde hair like burgendy red, which does not look good when framing the face.
I figured since it was semi-permanent, I would just let it fade out within the 28 washes like other colors have before. But I couldn't stand the way it looked so a little over 24 hours after first dyeing it, I picked up color oops.
I read a lot of reviews and worked quickly starting at the bottom of my hair and working my way up so that the whole process would last 15 minutes. I didn't want to do the whole 20 since my sister's hair turned orange when she was younger from hydrogen peroxide. I used pretty much the whole bottle and then used a wide tooth comb to make sure it was distributed easily.
After 15 minutes, I shampooed with a moisturizing 2 in 1 and rinsed for 5 minutes, then repeated. I did not use a conditioner, but sprayed a leave in conditioner instead and brushed through my hair.
After blow drying, voila! It was back to my normal color, though I'm not sure if it's a little lighter because I was used to the dark color. Regardless, I'm so happy with this product!!
This is amazingggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My hair was black.... I've been dying it since I was 10 and its been 6 years, but recently i died it black, and it wouldn't lighten no matter what... I did color oops and it turned out orangish red but thats okay because i got dye for after... LOVVEEE IT!!!!!!!
[...] I tried Oops Color Remover due to the high ratings. I did the strand test which turned out fine, HOWEVER, after I did my entire head at the same time--my hair turned ORANGE! Even though I followed up by coloring it ash brown again, I have permanently destroyed my hair. When the brown fades, I will have orange hair. UGH. This is a useful product, just use extreme caution when choosing how long you leave it on.
from Muscatine, IA on 5/28/2008
I have used this product three times in the past - the most recent time I used a few tricks that made it work better than the previous two times. I started out with a medium ash brown color (from dye, not natural) that had been on my hair several weeks; I followed the directions, but after I applied all of the product to my hair, I tied a plastic bag around my head to cover my hair (and to trap heat), and then used a dryer to enhance the dye removal process during the first seven minutes. I rested three minutes; then I repeated the 7 minutes of heat and 3 minutes of rest. Next I used a clarifying shampoo while rinsing my hair, but I shampooed about eight times instead of the recommended two - I also flipped my head over and rinsed that way too. This seemed to prevent the color from re-depositing on my hair, as some previous reviwers have noticed can happen within the next few days. After drying my hair, I used a Feria dye, which completely removed that awful sulfur smell from my hair. I put a deep conditioner on my damp hair, and covered it and left it on overnight. The next morning, my hair was the exact shade on the Feria box, and was soft and not any more damaged than it was before using Color Oops! and Feria. I can't recommend this product enough - it is so much gentler than going to a fancy salon to get a bleach job; not to mention its also a lot cheaper! The first two times I used Color Oops!, I didn't have quite as good of results as this time - I really feel that the aforementioned tricks and tips written above helped to impove this product's peformance. I hope this helps, good luck!
Color Oops Extra Strength is really great! After I died my hair black a few months ago, I started to miss my golden brown locks. So I started to research methods of color removal. Being no expert, I consulted a cosmetologist. She told me I had two options: Either have my hair chemically stripped (which would damage it even further than coloring already had, and which would force me to recolor right away), or let the black grow out and have it cut. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. Then a few months later I came across a product review for Color Oops in InStyle magazine. At first I thought that a product that would remove the color from my hair without damaging it was too good to be true. But I went to my local Walgreens and checked out the instructions ( I would recommend reading them very carefully!). I noted that it may be necessary to use more than one application of Color Oops to pull all the dye from the colored hair. After only one application I was a brunette again and I even had some of my old natural highlights back. The ends of my hair were still a little too dark so i did another application the next day (yes, it's that gentle). The second application took even more of the color out and I am very satisfied with the results! I had read some reviews saying the product smelled awful, but I didn't think the smell was that bad. The more you wash your hair and rinse, the more the smell goes away. Overall, I am extremely happy with this product and the great thing is, it's cheap, and you don't have to recolor your hair right after using Color Oops.
I dyed my hair this awful dark brown that turned out to a mahogony with purple tinge. I went to my salon where she did a color rinse to try and pull some off the purple out using a green based dye... My hair turned even darker. So for the last few days I tried to live with this elvira meets bozo the clown hair color. I finally went to the store and purchased Color Oops! It worked my hair is back to a auburn. I think from now on, I will go to a salon.. and have my hair dyed professionally.
[3 of 3 customers found this review helpful]
So, I'll TRY to make this short and sweet. I had my natural dark brown hair highlighted caramel and blonde at the beginning of this year. Last weekend I decided to dye it because the highlights were growing out and my dark roots were starting to show and overall, it just looked dumpy. So, I went to [...] picked up a box of 'Dark Beige Blonde' (going for a Jessica Alba/ Jennifer Aniston--type of look). Well, it turned out a nasty shade of SUPER DARK GREENISH GROSS BROWN. I mean DARK brown. It made me look like a corpse or something--since I'm pretty fair skinned. The dark made me look like the living dead. ANYWAY, I was researching online how to get rid of undesirable hair color and stumbled upon 'Color Oops'. I was VERY weary about trying it since I've heard bad things about hair color removal kits. I spent 2 days reading the 98% POSITIVE reviews about Color OOps, and decided to buy some. I bought 2 boxes since I've got long hair. I did it last night and I am SO HAPPY I DID!!!!!!!!! Did it damage my hair? (my main concern) NOT AT ALL----in fact, my hair looks and feels better than before! My other concern was that my hair would be NEON orange; nope---not even close. It turned a GORGEOUS light auburn color with a few baby blonde highlights. It looks very natural. As you've heard, lots of people say it smells SO NASTY. I didn't have any issues with that. My brothers were gagging and yelling at me to leave their room, and my mom noticed the smell right as soon as she walked in the house. BUT--don't let that stop you; the smell will go away! It just smells like rotten eggs or a perm (if you know the way that smells). It's pretty runny when you put it on, and it also kept dripping on my face & stuff. But it is a really quick application process and it's so EASY to do. Just remember a few things: do an allergy test first (it kinda irritated the skin on my neck, but not bad) make sure you have a good conditioner on hand--the kit doesn't come with one. Just know that I was REALLY nervous to try this--I mean I was literally SHAKING before I used it, but just do it 'cause it's completely worth it. I am so happy I used it and my hair looks and feels great. I am SO happy with the results. Just be brave and try this stuff---it could save you from an awful color disaster!!!!!!!!
I had horrible highlites so I went to a salon and I told the lady to dye it to my natural color (chocolate brown) and she dyed it jet black. I was horrified! I needed to get rid of it, so I saw this product. It worked great, I got my natural color back and the blonde highlites came out to being a very nice color (very natural). The product smells so bad.. so horrible.. my towel, my bed pillow, all of my stuff smelled like sulfur! I guess it is worth it just keep putting perfume on yourself to make the smell neutral!
I wear clip in extensions so my hair and the added hair HAVE to match or it looks tacky. I have dyed my hair and my extensions a very deep bright red for years. Yesterday I thought I would try a different shade of red from a different box. I dyed the extensions first and while they were drying I started on my hair. Checked the extensions and OH NO! Muddy dark ick. So I immediately washed the new color out of my hair and thought "well I'll just color over with my usual brand and shade". After doing this I got Muddy Dark Purple. Great, now what?? So I came online and found these reviews. I was very nervous to try this but buying new european hair extensions would cost about $300. So I crossed my fingers and hoped these reviews were accurate. THIS PRODUCT WAS EASY! I followed the directions exactly and also used a comb to make sure the product was completely evenly distributed through the hair. The smell was not as horrid as the reviews said and was gone by the time I recolored. IMPORTANT!!! When re-coloring your hair DO NOT leave the color on for the full 25 minutes. I checked at 7 minutes and the shade was correct. This product causes hair to really grab color! Hope I never have another Oops but if I do Thank God this product is out there!!!!
[4 of 4 customers found this review helpful]
I've had highlights for 3 years, all done at a salon. Every time I went it seemed I got a different color and after a while it just started looking unnatural. So I wanted to go back to my natural color which is medium brown. My stylist first used a filler on the lighter highlights and then put the permanent color mixture on my hair. To my horror the top part of my hair that had all the highlights was black!!! The underneath was a very dark brown. It looked horrible and it made me ill just looking in the mirror. I tried the home remedies found on the internet, prell shampoo, dawn dish soap, dandruff shampoo and none of them did a thing except dry my hair out. I did those treatments for 2 days. I looked online for color remover and read about color oops. I was a complete wreck because I was terrified of making a bigger disaster of my hair using it. I did several strand tests using different times, 5, 10 and 20 minutes. I did not see anyone mention this in their posts. I found if I went the full 20 minutes may hair went reddish. If I only did 5 minutes then it took out the black and left me with just my natural brown hair with reddish highlights. I went for the five minutes. I started the timer once the liquid was combed through my hair. I couldn't be happier with the results. My hair looks great and feels great. I did not get any damage and best of all I don't have to go back to my stylist. I am trilled with the results. I did not have to recolor my hair. I would highly recommend this product.
I had my hair dyed 4-5 times to get it a honey color from natural black after a while I wanted to go back to natural so I had my stylist dye it black. Well then I moved to another state and my hair turned red after a year or so. Then I bought a box of natural black and it turned out jet black. I read the instructions and it said it you dye your hair lighter before darker it can't restore your natural color but I think it came pretty darn close! I was all prepared to put a rinse on it to calm it down but there was no need. I washed it like 6 times and conditioned it. works great.
from Texas on 5/7/2008
I had a horrible salon experince,i have naturally light reddish brown hair and it turned burgandy/deep brown after a trip to the salon. I went and got Color Oops and followed the insturctions and got my natrual color back in 20 mins!!!!!!!!!!!
from Phoenix, AZ on 5/3/2008
I was refunded all monies for my hair salon - I went in with my dark blond hair, wanting light blond hair but the stylist made my hair Black with White-Gray stripes!!!??? it was a total disaster AND I was able to FIX it Myself with a MIRACLE product: Color Oops Extra Strength Hair Color Remover - OMG it was only [$]at Walgreens and took just 20 minutes (it smells awful, but it works) I am writing to the company and sending my before and after photos too! Woo Hoo!
After coloring my dark blond hair shades of red and auburn for two years, I decided it was time to be blond again. Before spending the money at the colorist's, I researched various hair color removers, and considered just trying to use a blond kit over the red (although I was afraid that would make it pink). For this price, I decided to try Color Oops; worst case scenario is that I would be calling my colorist.
The end result is a golden yellow blond that will need a toner. Easy enough. So I highly recommend trying Color Oops!!!
I never write reviews, but I have to. I was on the losing end of a bet and had to color my very light blonde hair red. The girls at S***ys told me my hair would be pink, but I left and went to the drugstore and bought Feria Intense Red. Well, it wasn't exactly pink but more of a bright fuschia. I have been an at home color junkie for over ten years and have been every shade twice. I have stripped color, bleached color, and highlighted to get rid of mistakes. (All with horryifying results) I said why not and picked up two boxes of Color Oops after seeing the fucshia. Washed the bright right out back to blonde. I was expecting some shade of light pink or orange because after twenty minutes it still had all sorts of colors in it before washing. Stayed in the shower for thirty five minutes shampooing with head and shoulders (a home remedy to getting rid of botched color jobs). Worked miracles. WOrd to the wise, when I did the fuschia color my roots were growing out about an inch of medium blonde next to my super light hair. The color oops took out the fuchsia but left them more auburn than blonde. (It saves me from having to dye my roots for another month blends fairly well) save yourself the time and hassle and keep a box of this lying around