L'Oreal • Preference True Brunettes • Hair

Where To Buy?

ajgallion on 5/21/2013 4:03:00 PM more reviews by ajgallion

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Tan   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

First off, I am a guy so I felt this was very important to review since I hate going to a salon to get my hair colored for outrageous prices when my hair is not long. The salon I go to for a cut charges $55 which I feel is a lot for someone with hair not any longer than 4 inches. At $8.99, I felt it was worth a shot and was happy I did.

Background: I got my hair colored a month ago my salon and the color was touted as being "organic" and from "Italy" -- which in the beauty world means the best (I suppose) -- so I took a shot at it, wanting to go from very dark brown hair to a light, caramel brown. My hair came out looking more like Prince Harry "strawberry blonde" than JLo "cafe latte". They tried fixing it and it looked "better" but I still was not impressed. $55 dollars plus a $20 toning treatment left me $75 poorer and pretty sad.

My original fix: I bought L'Oreal's Preference "Natural Ash Brown" color, which counteracted the horrible "reddish blonde" color, giving me the closest to a caramel blonde. A week later I colored it with "Medium Brown" and achieved my sought after color of light caramel brown.

This PRODUCT: After three weeks of waiting, I decided to try L'Oreal Preference UL61 Hi-Lift Ash Brown since it stated worked only on dark to medium browns. I wanted to make sure my roots looked the same if not a shade darker than the rest of my colored hair. The smell was horrible, giving me a headache, so make sure you color or wait in a room larger than 10x12. The color of the dye looked blackish-purple, which worried me that I was going darker than I wanted. Also, the color was thick at first but over time started to run and drip. After waiting 35 minutes, I washed my hair to reveal the best caramel color ever! I will never color at a salon after finding such a wonderful color.

Last Thoughts: I read a lot of reviewers who had bad results. My roots, the darkest part of my hair, turned a medium caramel color while my previously dyed hair turned a light, caramel (similar to a cafe latte). I had no brassiness at all. Everyone's hair is different but I would recommend this to anyone who wants to lighten to a light brown and has hair darker than a medium brown.

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beeeez on 11/26/2012 2:41:00 PM more reviews by beeeez

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

The Canadian version is called "Les Caramels" and they call the color "Extra Light Ash Brown LC61" where as States is "True Brunettes Ultra Light Ash Brown UL61." And I live in Vancouver so yeah haha.

So recently I dyed my hair this color and I have to say, there is a lot of ASH TONES in it and I LOVE that. In florescent light it can look orangey but sunlight it looks yellowy green and indoors in general, is like regular ash tone brown. I LOVE LOVE this. I had my hair dyed black before this so I had to use the Colorist Secrets Hair Color Remover. THE ONLY THING THAT REMOVED THE BLACK out of my hair!!! I only left that on to a point i saw a bit of color change. So red undertone I guess? After only 5mins. I didnt wait til it was bright orange or blond. And then right after i used the Loreal Preference and voila!!! LIGHT ASH BROWN!!!

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blindedbybliss on 10/4/2012 7:13:00 PM more reviews by blindedbybliss

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Great for lightening once dyed black hair. I first did color oops then two vitamin c treatments to strip the black dye. I used this about two months later and I was extremely happy it worked so well. It didn't come out light as it shows on the box but I wasn't expecting it to. It's a lovely medium brown color I'm just happy I didn't have to go through the hassle of bleaching then coloring over it. I will be repurchasing.

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jnichole97 on 8/7/2012 11:25:00 PM more reviews by jnichole97

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Other   Eyes: Blue    

Review for UL61:

I have naturally light/medium (mousy) brown hair with a heavy grey/white streak in front (started turning when I was 14) and numerous greys thru the crown. I had it professionally colored for over 12 years and have colored at home for 4.

I have used various drug-store brands and it has been dyed EVERY color under the sun. While I am sorry to hear that this has not worked for others, as far as boxed dye is concerned, I have to give it a rave review! I use it over previously highlighted and greys. However, (unlike most) I have found that you actually have to leave the dye on LONGER in order for it to lift enough; this will prevent orange tones. Since mine is really lighter than that of an actual "brunette", it comes out a very nice level 7 (dark blonde).

The initial result is muddy and my greys do have a blue/green cast to them, AT FIRST. The key is to use a clarifying shampoo immediately after rinsing the dye out...if you continue to do so for about a week, and can be patient enough to wait that long, the ash will fade away. If it is still too ashy for your liking, you can always tone with a semi-permanent that is TWO shades lighter than the actual one desired. Refer to the color wheel, and choose one with a base that is opposite of the ash. Because I have always looked best as a blonde, I choose to add highlights-only have had to do them ONCE A YR, thus far!

This method does require some patience, but I find it much cheaper than going to the salon and do not have to dye it nearly as often. Also, it is empowering to be able to dye it whenever you like and to not be a slave to your colorist's rates or appointment book! :) Hope this helps some of you lovely ladies on your quest to master the art of DIY. <3 Good luck to you all!

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leslie7622 on 7/30/2012 6:53:00 PM more reviews by leslie7622

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I have black/very dark brown asian hair and I used to dye my hair at the salon. It was getting expensive so I switched to box brands recently.

At the salon, I used to dye it a Light Golden Brown with Loreal's salon brand Majirel. I've tried several brands to dye my regrowth and none really matched. I've tried Clairol's Root Touch-Up (didn't do anything), Loreal Superior Preference (a little better/light but not quite) and finally Loreal Superior Preference les True Brunettes UL51.

This does have bleach on it and it smells like the ones at the salon so I guess the salon uses bleach too. It's a very strong smell and you can really feel it on your scalp. It's not a painful sting... kind of a menthol sting. After trying several brands, I learned that my hair is really dye resistant so the sting was actually comforting to me.

I did about 1 inch of my hair first to test its effectivity. After 30 minutes (according to the instructions although I included my roots since my roots were really dark and the rest of my hair was kinda light), I didn't see any change in the colored parts of my hair and it was a teeny bit lighter on my roots. So I did another swatch and went for 1 hour. It was better but still not quite. I was getting impatient so I did my whole hair head (roots only since it didn't affect the colored areas anyway) and saran wrapped my head and waited for about 55 minutes. Then I applied the dye on the rest of my hair and rinsed after about 5-10 minutes. Then I used the conditioner.

This was the closest my hair has come to the light golden brown that I got from the salon. On some of the finer hairs on my forehead it was a teeny TEENY bit too brown but was okay.

The reason I removed one lippie is because the box didn't include a brush (just gloves, the squeeze bottle, the gel, and the conditioner) and that for something for people with dark hair, I expected the instructions to be more accurate. I thought I wouldn't have to double the time (as I usually do) since this was for brunettes but apparently I was wrong.

I'll post a pic of my hair for this review. Only the first 2 inches of hair were dyed by the product. I applied the dye to the rest of my hair for about 5 minutes just to help it match. The picture is the one that is taken from above.

As for damage... I have really thick hair. I have a lot and each individual strand is thick. It takes a lot to damage my hair and this one didn't. The strand does feel a bit "strippy" and feels a bit dry. A few more conditioning treatments should fix that. I can't say it won't damage others because it is pretty strong... Some got on my forehead and I'm starting to break out there so be extra careful about not letting it get to your skin.

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alana2007 on 5/26/2012 12:04:00 PM more reviews by alana2007

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

this is the best product ever. I used this on my roots which are very dark and it lightened them to a beautiful light brown in just 10 minutes and no brassiness. Now do not use on highlighted hair or hair lighter then medium brown or it will have a grayish cast to it. I only put it on my roots no where else as my hair is already light brown with highlights. It does have a very srtong smell so use it in a well ventilated space. I love love this product. It didn't damage my hair at all.

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iL0vMakeUp on 5/1/2012 10:03:00 AM more reviews by iL0vMakeUp

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Tan   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I love the results! In order to dye my hair with this product, I had to use One N Only Colorfix to remove dark brown hair dye, since I didn't want to have the same problem people were having. I am glad I did, the results turned out great. I waited three days after I used colorfix, then I applied the dye to the ends first, then roots. I would definitely continue to use this product. :)

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*TOP REVIEWER* auras on 3/23/2012 3:07:00 PM more reviews by auras

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I loved the results I got from this. I used it on all natural hair and the color turned out great. And even. Will try it for the roots next.

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naelicious on 2/21/2012 9:00:00 PM more reviews by naelicious

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Everyone complaining about your ROOTS being colored and the ends with no change;; READ THE BOX. You cannot use this product if your hair has been dyed a dark shade, black or dark brown. It says it RIGHT on the side. The color cant lift the previous dark color you dyed it & is only coloring your roots because you hair grew out a bit. So its only coloring the part of your hair UNDYED. Its not the product, its just YOU not being able to read directions. Anyway, with that being said, I have used this product a few times with different colors & I really like this dye! Its the only drugstore product to ever get my hair LIGHTER. I've only been able to go darker, because of my natural dark brown hair. Bc usual drugstore products cant lift color, but this specifically for dark colors is the only thing that works. Deffinately recommend to someone who can READ DIRECTIONS.

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LinaJo on 1/22/2012 6:57:00 PM more reviews by LinaJo

Age: 36-43   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

Good stuff. My hair was a medium brown and I used this to lighten it a little and it turned out great. Very summery brown without having to go blonde (yuck!). Good stuff.

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xxnatdwxx on 10/10/2011 4:00:00 PM more reviews by xxnatdwxx

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I dont usually leave reviews but I just had to about this product. This review is for loreal preference 5.1 ultra lightening natural brown. I am mixed race with very dark brown- black hair. I have tried so many times to put highlights through my hair with bleach, only for my hair to turn orange. I have tried so many dark brown, light brown, beige brown hair colours and NOTHING has had any effect.

After trying this colour I was SO pleased. If you follow the instructions on the box you will be too. My hair was lightened to a medium brown shade, with only the odd area where the roots were slightly lighter (probably due to my error more than anything). The colour is AMAZING. My hair doesnt feel in awful condition as it has done before with other hair colours. Really really pleased.

Would recommend this to anyone who wants to lighten really dark hair without having to use straight bleach!

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RosieDee on 10/8/2011 4:11:00 PM more reviews by RosieDee

Age: 19-24   Skin: Dry, Olive   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Hmm, I wonder if some of the people who left negative reviews followed the instructions. The reason I ask is because this dye has a different process from other dyes. For instance, you apply to your roots for the LAST 10 minutes, not first like with other dyes. So that may explain why some people ended up with over processed roots.

Here is my experience: I have naturally dark brown hair. But over the last few months I have highlighted it all over and lightened it to a brassy orange auburn color. I kept using different ash dyes and toners to help with the brassiness, but nothing seemed to work. I still had bright penny hair. I almost dyed my hair back brown, but I decided to try this first and see if it would help the brassiness since i've put my hair through so much lightening it already.

The results were not what I expected but I am very happy with the results. Since I started off with lighter hair than the darkest "before" example on the back of the box, I expected to have results close to the lightest results. But i didnt, my results were closer to the darkest example. But, all of the brassiness in my hair is gone. I am left with a beautiful golden brown color that I am LOVING. I think I will try this dye again in a month with the hopes of getting more lift. My roots didn't lighten much (I only left it in for 10 mins on the roots and I probably shouldve left it longer since I have coarser hair).

In conclusion, this is the only blond hair dye i have tried that didnt make my hair brassy. I think it's because it has a really strong toner in it.

I'd like to add that my hair feels great after this dye, it is really soft and SUPER shiny. I deep condition my hair and use aragon oil as well.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

raspberry555 on 9/16/2011 9:45:00 PM more reviews by raspberry555

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

price: got it on sale for 10.

RESULT: orange at first (hated it) , then after a couple of washes it's eventually turned like the colour on the box. i like it now and ive received a large amount of compliments for it (:
Hair did get damaged tho, quite alot for me, actually. My hair was always super smooth, i never had to use conditioner or anything.. then after dying it, i can barely run my hands over it when im in the shower. the conditioner that came with the box REALLY helps tho.

instructions: 3 things i did not follow.
*do not use on previously coloured hair (mine was dyed black)
*dye roots last- you should, ive learned my lesson haha
*do not use shampoo in first wash- my roots were way lighter so i tried to get the remaining dye off of them with shampoo- ONLY at the roots. seemed to have worked..

let me just warn you, this stuff smells really bad. colouring gel is like a chemical bomb. i had air ventilation going, windows open, sister whipping the smell out the window. i had to bury my mouth and nose into a towel in order to breathe...
no exaggeration.

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Ilovemyyorkie on 9/1/2011 4:02:00 PM more reviews by Ilovemyyorkie

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Brown    

I am not sure of the negative reviews on here. My natural haircolor is medium brown, light brown in the summer (with alot of sun). Over the years (many years) I have been coloring my hair blonde. Finally due to the economy, I finally decided to box color my hair light ash brown (my natural color) using Revlon Colorgloss, which I loved by was discontinued - story of my life. I switched to another brand but could never find ash, so just did light brown and it came out way to dark. Of course then I had to highlight it myself to lighten it up and it turned orange, what a shock! That is where I was when I bought this in UL61 - Ultra light ash brown. The box says that it takes out the red/orange tones, so I needed to give this a try. It is different than most dyes in that you have to do the length of your hair first and then your roots last but let me tell you it WORKS! This is the best most natural color I have ever had and all my nasty orange highlights turned a beautiful, cool soft shade of dark blonde. My hair looks great and looks like I put in highlights. I would totally recommend this to anyway that has a DURP of red/orange in their hair. This will counteract those colors and leave you with a great all over color. I noticed some people were saying that it as only for virgin hair, but my hair was colored to the max and I used it so I would reccomend it highly.

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myhoneyhoney on 8/13/2011 1:04:00 PM more reviews by myhoneyhoney

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Tan, Warm   Hair: Black, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

Used 2 boxes of Ultra Light Ash Brown last night to dye my plain black Asian hair. It's been over 5 years since I last dyed my hair so I was nervous. I followed the 2nd set of directions (the one where you dye your roots LAST) and it turned out great! I'm surprised how much it lightened my hair AND it didn't damage my hair as much as expected. In fact, my hair didn't feel much more frizzy/dryer than usual. It did bring out brassy tones and that is my I'm rating it a 4 instead of a 5. I did use the included conditioner. My hair is long so I used half the tube and put on a disposable shower cap. I left the conditioner on for at least 5 minutes while I showered so my hair really absorbed the conditioner. I plan on doing this conditioning routine every time I shampoo to combat dryness.
I used a little over 1.5 boxes of dye to completely saturate my long layered hair (it goes almost half way down my back). I spent less that $15 which is very cheap compared to what it would've cost me if I had gone to a salon. Overall I'm happy with it!
BTW- I added a picture up on the product photos so you can see how my hair turned out. I'm the one in the melon shirt looking down.

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fgsfdsgirl on 8/4/2011 11:37:00 AM more reviews by fgsfdsgirl

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Awesome results with UL61! This dye is made to lighten dark brunette hair two to three levels and it worked amazingly on my very dark brown hair. The color, ultra light ash brown, is definitely not the same on your hair as on the box, but I was going for a reddish-golden toned (I guess a brassy) lighter medium brown color, and that's exactly what I got! I followed the box directions and applied to the ends and lengths first, avoiding the roots and leaving it on for about 35 minutes. Then I applied the dye to my roots and left it for another 10 minutes as my hair is stubborn and does well with more dyeing time. When I washed it out my hair looked a bit gingery but after conditioning it and letting it dry the results are exactly what I wanted: a lighter-medium brown with red and gold tones. My hair doesn't feel dry or damaged and looks beautiful and shiny. I'm very pleased with the results. If you're trying to get a cool light brown from this dye, I'd recommend using a blue or purple toner because bringing dark hair lighter always brings out the red tones in your hair. Or, you can wait and dye it a cooler brown later. So if you want box accurate color, you might be disappointed. But if you have dark brown hair you don't want to bleach to lighten but want to see definite results, this might be the dye for you!

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Reyna777 on 4/15/2011 1:02:00 PM more reviews by Reyna777

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Hazel    

Bought this haircolor (#61 version) thinking I could easily go from fairly dark brown to blonde-ish, to hide my high percentage of gray. I have to say that my overall results were pretty good. My skin color is fair, with an olive undertone, being 1/2 Latina and 1/2 German-English. Used two boxes, resulting in my dark brown having a gray/ash blonde cast over it - like a fine dusting of ash settled on it. Thought this wasn't enough, so bought two more boxes. Initially, the color was like the Bride of Chuckie, and I was fairly horrified but then after a few days the color toned itself down and now I'm really happy with the results. It's hiding most of my gray such that I no longer have a gray stripe down the middle of my head like a skunk (as was the case when my hair was dark brown and the gray was growing out - a mere 3 weeks after coloring), although it hasn't completely camoflauged my graying temples (it HAS helped a little there, though, and now the gray is not nearly as prominent). I am going to, yet again, by two more boxes (this will be 6 altogether) and go for it again, hoping the lift I'll get will do the ultimate trick. I think that this product is a little misleading because the box clearly shows a before color of nearly black, stacked against an after color of clearly very blonde, as what you can expect when using it. The actual results aren't even close. Nevertheless, in my case, lifting it in 3 sessions may get me to a place where I can tolerate the gray and, thereafter, I will hopefully only have to do root touch ups which will be very effective versus putting very dark dye on my gray roots only to have them re-appear 2-3 weeks later. I agree with the other reviewers that the roots - if the product is applied here first - will lighten faster and greater than the rest of the head (I saw this immediately upon rinsing), but in my case maybe my making that mistake was a good thing since I had the gray going on and putting it on the roots first helped in my situation. Even having said that, the lighter roots don't seem lighter anymore (one week later). I think I'm pretty happy with this because even though there has been/will be some front-loaded costs (6 boxes), as I said, I'm hoping I'll only have to use one box in the future to do touch ups and hiding the gray will be easier. My big issue was that I was going to the salon, asking for help to hide the gray and my hairdresser was not helping; she claimed she needed to deposit just a basic brown until the red in my hair faded/grew out -- at which point she could proceed with me down the Shakira-color road. This box dye did what an expensive hairstylist would/could not. My sister thinks I was being worked expense-wise for several sessions of coloring when she could have done my hair blonde-ish all along. I now agree since this product lightened me and -- albeit my hair was a Child's Play orange for a day or so, but isn't orange at all anymore -- I'm ready to go another 2 boxes. Oh, and my hair texture is curly, thickish and rather coarse but I use a straightener and the end result is a very Jane Fonda Barbarella-esqe hairdo which is working just terrific for me. Oh, and I would add that if your situation is close to mine, have someone put the color on for you; it would have been impossible to have saturated my hair (especially in back) like I suspect it needs to to get a result that is consistent overall. In my case, my sister was more than happy to do it for me since she was very sympathetic about my gray stripe and what, without help, were sure to progress into gray sideburns.

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thuysers on 3/4/2011 1:40:00 PM more reviews by thuysers

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

This product toned down my brassy hair from previous highlights, however it turn my already blonde highlights a slight tint of ashy gray. Other than that, I have no red/orange tint to my hair and I do have thick dark asian hair, but I think since I've already had it highlighted, the color just lifted a lot easier. Would buy again for touchups!

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*TOP REVIEWER* suzanneb on 1/27/2011 10:45:00 AM more reviews by suzanneb

Age: 36-43   Skin: Very Dry, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

i just finished using the color les true brunettes in ul51, i was trying to be on the safe side since my hair is dark brown, almost black. i left the color for 35 minutes on the length and 20 on the roots since i have very resistant hair that won't color easily, i could have done 10 on the roots and 20 on 2-3cm of growth so next time. the color so far is half way dry and the roots looked brighter when i was done, now the color is evening out, we'll see how it looks in the morning since now is late and can't see the color too well. for right now it looks like chocolate milk bar and the texture remained the same.
update: three days later i washed my hair, it remained soft, didn't dry out, color is a tiny bit lighter. be careful with application because i can see where i missed to color (near temples) and you can see the color difference (two or three shades lighter).
my hair is super soft and shiny, roots don't have a different color anymore, there's a part on the crown that is lighter and that's because my head was really hot that day so it processed more, i need to cut down the time a little on that part, other than that color is even.

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madzo16 on 9/27/2010 6:49:00 AM more reviews by madzo16

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Black    

This was my first time dying my hair and it was pretty easy to do. I used the Ultra Lightening Ash Brown shade because I didn't want my hair to go orange but I did want it to be lightened a fair amount. My hair is dark, dark brown and I left the dye in for about 35 minutes but did not notice much of a change at all so I put more on after washing out and left for another 20 minutes. My hair is still in okay condition, noticeably less soft than it was before but not horrible and 'straw-like'. My hair colour is pretty much comparable to the darkest example shade on the back, however my results were not comparable at all (if that makes sense). Instead of the light brown colour shown I got a dark brown. Obviously it cannot lighten much being a dye kit for at home but I was a little bit disappointed. I would use this product again, but only to make my hair a brown that is a couple of shades lighter than my natural colour. I might try and make my hair a lighter brown using a different product, any suggestions? But at least this product didn't make my hair go orange! :)

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