Clairol • Natural Instincts in 28 Nutmeg Dark Brown • Hair Color

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*TOP REVIEWER* Rachel1234 on 2/26/2013 3:18:00 PM more reviews by Rachel1234

Age: 36-43   Skin: Oily, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Beautiful color - shiny, healthy, rich color ...... and super easy to apply. Mild, non offensive scent. Great product EXCEPT it didn't cover my grey. What a shame. I love the color, but need grey coverage too. So I will not purchase this again.

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justinetindall on 8/26/2012 2:40:00 PM more reviews by justinetindall

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Red   Eyes: Hazel    

So i just died my hair this colour. i started out with light brown (faded from summer). after dying my hair, it turned out very rich, almost like chocolate. it feels very healthy. i left the conditioner in on the ends just to add extra moisture. i will keep you updated with the state of my hair over the next two weeks to see if any damage or wash-out occurs. otherwise, this is a fairly basic and simple product to get your hair a nice rich brown colour.

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BreezyKiss on 8/2/2012 2:23:00 AM more reviews by BreezyKiss

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

Okay I tried this today on my already dyed but faded medium brown hair with highlights! It did come out way darker than expected so next time I would probably chose light brown in order to get a medium brown! It did leave my hair soft, silky, and shiny!I wish I had known it would come out this dark, but overall it came out fine. A very pretty color! I wouldn't say it was black, but a very dark brown! I'm sure since it is semipermanent it will fade! :)

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cherrypow on 6/18/2012 11:12:00 AM more reviews by cherrypow

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Other    

It's ok - it does a good job of dying your hair - just not the colour on the box. My hair looks black, and it's not a particularly flattering tone to my skin, makes me look kinda sickly. I was hoping it was just going to be a rich dark brown, it's not. It's not "multi dimensional" either - just a really flat/dark brown almost black colour. My hair before this was it's natural colour, a medium dark brown that just needed some shine and dimension. I'm glad this colour is temporary.

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mighttango on 5/11/2012 9:50:00 PM more reviews by mighttango

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

I had used Nutmeg Dark Brown for a few years, then switched to L'Oreal Excellence Permanent Dark Brown, since semiperm color wasn't lasting. I didn't like the stark white showing as my hair grew out, using the permanent color. So, I just switched back to Natural Instincts Dark Brown semipermanent(not called Nutmeg anymore??). I like how they've added 2 pairs of gloves, and was interested to try the touch up kit included. So, I used the color & liked it very much. Tried not to wash my hair every day, and color seemed to last a bit longer. It has been 2 weeks, so I applied the touch up kit using a brush - I only wanted touch up gray around my facial hairline. Well, not happy bec it turned a bit orange on me. Next month, I think I'll skip the touch up, and just use the kit every 3-4 weeks or so.

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Sunshineyaaa on 1/23/2012 4:43:00 AM more reviews by Sunshineyaaa

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

Did not cover my grays at all. Waste of my time and money.

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sweetiesweetie on 12/19/2011 3:14:00 AM more reviews by sweetiesweetie

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Black    

first time.

dyed my hair with prettia (sweet pink) but never touched it up so I got horrible roots (school schedule= can't do anything.) After half a year without touching up, I decided to just dye it back. I'm asian, so I thought I would go black to black, but that'd look harsh, so I picked a dark brown instead.

It says 10 minutes, but I accidentally left it in for about 13 since I forgot. Surprisingly, the color still came out wonderfully. It's a bit darker than what I expected, more like a soft black than brown, but I'd imagine that's because it's the first day. When it fades a bit to brown, I'll update.

Coverage is good, but in the light you can see the lighter hair color from my previous dye, but otherwise it's nice. The color still has a shine (unlike prettia which turn my hair into a dry sdfghjkl;) and looks very natural. Even and not streaky at all.

I have somewhat medium-long hair (ends at my breast) and what was in the container was JUST ENOUGH, so girls with longer hair, buy another box!

overall, I was impressed. Now to see how long it will last...
-----
EDITEDITEDIT
So after a while it turned to brown (a week or two) it's semi permanent but it's staying longer than expected. It also comes with a touch up packet (which I never used orz) if you want to keep the fresh color. I never used it because I don't like how dark it is right after dying it...

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dch05 on 11/27/2011 12:27:00 AM more reviews by dch05

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Medium, Cool   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I started getting grays and this is the first hair color I tried. I don't know if any of the others are any better, Permanent scares me and the demi, while I love the 28 Nutmeg color, it does fade pretty quickly for me. I use the sulfate free shampoo and it still fades. I love the color the first week. It is a nice deep rich and dark brown shade. It is pretty close to my original color, but removes the brassiness I often get from the summer. The smell is nice and doesn't seem to kill my hair.

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*TOP REVIEWER* rallu on 11/25/2011 10:37:00 PM more reviews by rallu

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

I had light brown roots and medium brown hair. Wanted to make it all even and chose this color. Came out medium brown roots and dark almost black hair. Still uneven....

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Margaret1975 on 6/13/2011 5:46:00 AM more reviews by Margaret1975

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

I loved how conditioning this was, but it didn't cover my greys. I'm 35 with dark hair and have a few greys coming in and because my hair is dark, they really show up. This product just made them look yellow.

I would recommend this to someone who doesn't need to cover greys but is just looking for a gentle way to change or enhance their hair color.

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Chocoaff on 5/30/2011 6:59:00 PM more reviews by Chocoaff

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I'm reviewing the day of using a box of the "new" version of this color, which includes the 2 week color reviver packet.


Basically, I started out about a year ago with dark brown neutral hair. I dyed over that a few times with Natural Instinct's Cinnaberry, giving my hair a reddish tinge. I eventually decided that I wanted a cooler, dark brown, and so I picked this up, slathered it on, and waited 10 minutes.


First, let me remark on the process. I love Natural Instincts dye because it's so easy to use. It's liquid-y but not too drippy - it has a gel-like consistency. Plenty is given to you in the bottle, enough for one head of relatively long, thick hair (though I'd buy two boxes on your first try just in case). It's easy to clean off of stuff. It smells quite nice - not chemically at all, it has a floral scent. And the conditioner is delicious - however, the new packages give you almost HALF the amount of conditioner, which is sad, but I guess makes sense, since they now include the color refresher as well, which is a valuable asset.

Anyway, I slathered on the dye with relative ease, and waited ten minutes because my hair was so dark to begin with. The result, after rinsing, conditioning, and rinsing, was a dark, inky black. This is fine with me, but maybe not with other people. The new packaging has a less informative exterior - it just shows two or so shades of hair you are probably starting with, and what the end result will look like, whereas the old packaging recommended what color you should start out with, and offered suggestions of which color to buy based on the look you wanted. Just know this - if your hair is dark to begin with, this will turn your hair BLACK. I will have to report back on how this fades out, since it hasn't been shampooed yet, and also on how the color refresher works out. KEEP IN MIND; if you hair is anything lighter than, say, a medium brown, this is probably going to stain your hair almost permanently. Natural Instincts is good because it's semi-permanent, but also because it STICKS. If your hair is a light brown or something, you're making at least a small commitment.


To recap - Natural Instincts is a great dye because it's easy to use, gentle, and not too high-commitment. The new packaging offers almost half the conditioner and less information on picking a color, but now has a color refresher included. This shade turned my dark, red-tinted brown into an inky black before shampooing, which is fine with me but not for everyone. I would repurchase.

8/9/11 update - after a few washes, the black began to fade into a nice dark, neutral brown, close to what's on the box. excellent stuff!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rachkat on 4/24/2011 2:36:00 PM more reviews by rachkat

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Black, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Green    

This is my first review. But I've read the site everytime I needed another opinion. I usually pay good money to get my daughter's hair highlighted. She wanted an overall brown, so I opted for a temporary color and picked Natural Instincts after reading good reviews.

I used #28 on my daughter's short light brown/blonde highlighted hair. Her hair is above her shoulder's and very thick. It covered the blonde perfect (I applied the color to her blonde first), and gave a nice chocolate brown look. Color came out darker than showed on the box, and definately was NOT enough product for complete coverage.

She has a nice overall highlighted look, but not a consistant color because of not enough product. There was no damage to her hair, but her hair was already in great shape. The product had hardly any smell, and looked very shiney after.

I will buy a lighter shade next time for her and probably 2 boxes.

:)

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iRawrKaii on 4/22/2011 12:07:00 PM more reviews by iRawrKaii

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Relaxed, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

This is an amazing product! I am in love with this color and I can't imagine living without this color! I am willing to dye again and again! It smelled yummy and didn't harm my hair at all! Its perfect!

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ag7gu on 3/30/2011 4:14:00 PM more reviews by ag7gu

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

This was my first time coloring my hair at home, and was really nervous! I have very fair skin/blue eyes and based on some of the other reviews, I was concerned that the color would end up too dark and I would look like a zombie. However, it turned out wonderfully! My mid-back length hair is a light golden brown with natural blond highlights, and I have a TON of it. I ended up using 2 boxes but 3 would not have been a bad idea. In order to control the color a bit more, we started underneath so that would be darkest and then timed about 7min after saturating all my hair. It rinsed out easily and the included conditioner is absolutely amazing, made my hair soft and shiny. The color ended up perfect, a beautiful dark brown with very subtle red tones that maintained my original highs and lows so it looks very natural. I will definitely be using this product and color again! 1 week out so far and I don't see any signs of fading. Highly recommended.

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Expressiions on 1/24/2011 12:15:00 AM more reviews by Expressiions

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

I have been wanting to dye my hair for the longest time. I had brown hair yet the bottom half of my hair was a different color due to previous colors I have dyed my hair. My natural color was coming through my roots and my blonde highlights were extremely grown out.
Basically my hair was mult-colored to the max!

I have been doing my research when it has come to box dye because I didn't want to spend the money to go to a salon just to get a solid all over color. I finally decided on Clairol Natural Instincts in the shade Nutmeg, only because it isn't permanent and as damaging as all the other boxed dyes.

I have to say, I fell in love with this dye, however, the color turned out black not dark brown, but that's okay it will fade in due time, plus since you don't shampoo it when you rinse it out the first time it's understandable that it's going to be really dark.

I LOVE the conditioner it comes with, I have NEVER used a better conditioner in my life. I wish they sold it seperately. It makes your hair feels soooo smooth and it smells so yummy.

All in all, this is a GREAT dye for those of you who want to avoid the damage and want GREAT color. I will definitely be purchasing this dye for as long as I decide to dye my hair.

Would definitely recommend this product!

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tightkitty on 1/17/2011 11:55:00 PM more reviews by tightkitty

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Tan   Hair: Brunette, Coarse   Eyes: Grey    

I use nutmeg every 5 wks or so. I am bi-racial my natural and i had blonde high lights a while ago maybe 6 months ago well I got sick and tired of the up keep and major damage so I have been doing this dark brown color since and I must say my hair looks sooo healthy and has been growing instead of breaking of. I do this on my hair dry I love doing this because my hair is soooo freaking shiny after this you wouldnt believe.For some reason the shinyness only lasts a wk the color holds up pretty well after a few wks in the light my hair has a reddish thing going on but still looks pretty and natural.I have been so excited and loving this dark brown that I used this on my mother.Well it didnt cover her grey all that great so if that is your main concern I would maybe look for something else or leave this on your grey longer before applying it to the rest of your hair. The color is darker then the girl on the box I would say this is more of a kim kardashian dark brown dark chocolate so beware if thats not the look your going for. I cant believe how much healthier and shiny my hair looks after i do this. I used color silk years ago and it is no way near as good as this color silk wont leave you with hair that feels like silk THIS WILL!!! UPDATE why are they messing with this I can't find it on the shelves I had to go to a dusty sears to find this all the drugstores replaced these with new versions or something,that I hear are not good like this was. If you liked this and find this stock up

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Domie on 12/31/2010 3:18:00 PM more reviews by Domie

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Acne-prone, Olive   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

I have light brown hair and I wanted my hair to be darker brown, like a very nice chocolate brown color. I've died my hair before, but I have only used Natural Instincts in Nutmeg number 28 once before. The color turned of PERFECT!!! I loved it!! After a week, it washed out A LOT :( I am buying this product today actually, I really like the color of it, it is perfect chocolate brown color! My hair didn't wash out to its original color it was before, but it sure did wash out pretty badly! Therefore, I hope that the more I dye my hair this color, the greater the chance is that my hair will stay that color.

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JuliaMegan on 11/21/2010 3:07:00 PM more reviews by JuliaMegan

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

My natural hair color is a medium-dark brown (think milk chocolate). However, the outer layer was lightened ever so slightly from hard water, the environment, damage, etc. and so I wanted to make my hair look more uniform (a healthier look) and darker, because it reflects light better and compliments my naturally fairer skin tone. I made sure to research Clairol NI before buying it because I wanted a gentle dye. Knowing that the color really does run darker than it does on the box, I chose nutmeg and I'm oh-so happy with the results! My hair was actually pretty healthy to begin with, and it doesn't feel like there was any noticeable damage done. When I first stepped out of the shower, it looked almost black, but when looking at it under the light there was an obvious dark brown. I've shampooed with a sulfate-free shampoo once more since dying it and a bit more dye came out in the shower, and it doesn't look as severe. This is just what I wanted. It's gorgeous. It makes me think of espresso and hot fudge and all things delicious. This shade is perfect because it's a neutral brown, so it doesn't matter if you're warm or cool-toned, and it looks very natural. This was $7-something at Target and I had a $2 off coupon, so I am definitely happy with this product!

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*TOP REVIEWER* volshorn08 on 11/20/2010 4:40:00 PM more reviews by volshorn08

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

My hair before using this dye: Virgin, light golden brown, thick, wavy/curly, just short of middle back length.

Prior to using this, I had never had my hair processed in any way and was scared to death. I wanted to go darker and had read so many magazines, articles, and reviews saying that given my hair type, color, and desired results, that I should save some money and do it myself.

I bought 2 boxes just in case. I only needed one to completely cover my hair. The process was easy, but I did end up missing a small section in the back underneath which I found out after drying. It isn't noticeable, so I didn't go through the trouble of trying to fix it. The conditioner leaves my hair feeling really soft, even still weeks later. The day before I dyed, I washed with a clarifying shampoo then blow dried straight so it would be easier to put the dye evenly on my hair.

It's been 3 wks exactly since I dyed. The color has faded out a tad, but it's still pretty dark. The color came out as a dark chocolate brown and it looks great with my yellow medium toned skin (I think NC37?). I will use the other box in a couple of wks.

10 days since orig rev, 30 days since dyeing::Noticeably fading out now. Still dark though. The ends are fading faster than the roots, but it's all fading. Still happy with the results and original review.

:::Original Dye: October 31, 2010. Now Feb 9, 2011:::
Still hasn't faded completely out. My roots are growing out and since they're a lot lighter, it's noticeable. Thinking about dyeing just one more time before the warm weather hits.

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coocoovanille on 9/5/2010 3:57:00 PM more reviews by coocoovanille

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

This is a really gorgeous color. It's a perfect glossy, deep, rich chocolate brown. Definitely NOT black, I look like walking death with black hair, which I have accidently done to myself before, and it's a hideous sight that has me running to the hair salon for a color correction. This is so not that. It's the perfect shade of dark chocolate brown that I have been searching for, and I love it. I think it's a bit more damaging than they claim, but not too bad, and I love the conditioner that comes with it. The gloves are nice, too. I will definitely repurchase Nutmeg again and again.

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