L'Oreal • Natural Match haircolor [DISCONTINUED] • Hair Color

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sairash on 7/9/2011 8:43:00 PM more reviews by sairash

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Olive, Cool   Hair: Brown, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I tried out this product this morning and i was greatly disappointed. I tried a light brown colour out to lighten my dark brown hair and it ended up making my hair DARKER. My hair is now black indoors and outside it has a reddish orange tint to it. One thing i do like about this product is the scent. It does not have a harsh scent which is why i was happy with it before seeing final results.

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emkazicstan on 6/24/2011 12:51:00 AM more reviews by emkazicstan

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Very Dry, Fair   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

this product is horrible, and ontop of that, l'oreal tests on animals!

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ananasvolant on 6/24/2011 12:26:00 AM more reviews by ananasvolant

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I wish I had taken the reviews here seriously but I decided to use the box I had anyway. Big mistake!!! I bought 5N Medium Brown. On the box it seemed to be a nice light - medium brown, pretty similar to my natural hair color, I just wanted to cover up some grey hair. And now I am a dark chocolate brunette! I never felt so ugly in my life. The color doesn't fit me at all!! :( I am even thinking of taking an apointment with a hair salon to fix this. Huge waste of money and time! I am so mad!

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*TOP REVIEWER* forcedorgasm on 3/2/2011 2:11:00 AM more reviews by forcedorgasm

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

5 1/2 C (Soft med ash brown) is the shade i used. i hate ppl that review and dont post what color they used:/

anyways, i NEVER dye my hair with ash tones. when i did years and years ago, it pulled green, bad. my ex hair dresser chopped off my hair, which was ombred. i was depressed and looking to go back to my natural dark brown, i was previously at a medium/light golden brown after the cut. i wanted to pull out all golden tones because 2 people told me within 3 months that my hair was dark and red. i hated hearing that even though i always used warm toned hair color, i tried to keep the tones to a minimal.
my mum had this box sitting in her washroom for months, so i took it. i'm VERY pleased with the results. the application was super easy, no dripping and the smell was very bearable, unlike feria. i left it on for about a hf hr. it washes out pretty clean and the conditioner is pretty good. at first i thought i screwed myself and went too dark. once it dried, i realized my hair was very toned down on the golden red tones. i was driving yesterday and the sun was out and i noticed that my hair lacked any gold tones and i could see beige and very cool tones. not an strand of ashy green. what. a. surprise. my hair doesnt seemed damaged and it didn't turn out too dark. but of course l'oreal discontinued this hair color. i'll def look for it at liquidation outlets and what not. i'm very satisfied with the results.

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moonluna on 4/3/2010 7:50:00 AM more reviews by moonluna

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Not even close to being as good as Casting or Colorsilk -- why in the world would they even focus their efforts on this very average product? This has been discontinued for a reason! Did not add any color to my hair -- I have medium brown hair and used Dark Brown -- barely covered the few grays I had -- it was like I did not even use haircolor at all. Not worth it, even if you see it on clearance (like I did).

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KatGib on 3/10/2010 11:22:00 PM more reviews by KatGib

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

This stuff was absolutely awful. I bought the Dark Golden Blond, just wanting to add some gold tones to my already blonde hair. Big mistake. For being a dye with no ammonia in it, it sure does smell awful. The conditioner was equally awful, making my hair feel dry and gunky. The results I got were generally unimpressive. It actually came out a nearly reddish color. The color didn't fade immediately, which is usually a good thing. However, since I didn't like the color at all, the fact that it didn't fade was kind of annoying. When it did eventually fade, it faded to this awful yellow color that just looks so awful. The smell of the dye stayed in my hair and is still there, a month after I colored it. When I wash my hair with hot water, the smell is really overwhelming. Overall, I would never recommend this dye to anyone, nor will I ever purchase it again.

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*TOP REVIEWER* adara260 on 3/8/2010 6:32:00 PM more reviews by adara260

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I just colored my hair today with the color 3C blackest black. I can't comment yet on longevity but I will update soon.

The dye made my hair soft and smell great prob due to the oil packet you add to he mixture. L'Oreal should do that with all their hair dyes!I was coloring my hair his dark because I had dyed my hair lighter but now I can't afford to keep up the color. This covered all the light spots evenly. I was also glad that this dye didn't have ammonia so it didn't stink at all really.

I didn't know but my friend always uses his brand and she says the lasting power isn't too hot. Maybe because it doesn't have ammonia? But I was glad to hear this because I always thought she got her hair done.

The color came out true to what it says it would. I think I should have picked a lighter color by I'm sure it'll lighten up over the week. I happened to get it on clearance for 4.50 but normally it's around 10.

Definitely give this a try if you're looking to enhance your current or natural color. On the box it definitely does not suggest this to someone who wants to drastically change their hair color.

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whitelace6 on 2/22/2010 2:33:00 PM more reviews by whitelace6

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

# 5 1/2 N Natural - Soft Medium Brown: This is the first time I've colored my own hair. I wanted to cover up a recent awful color done by someone recommended to me. My hair was sort of a dark caramel with red tones which I hadn't wanted. I chose the N Natural because I didn't want a drastic change. I will say that the color came out darker than shown on the box, however I'm just thrilled with it. It is vibrant, yet not 'ghoulish' (I have very light skin). The conditioner included is sub-par, so one lippie off for that. My hair feels somewhat silky and there is some shine; it's not dried out. A better quality conditioner would have made a great deal of difference. The coloring mixture was a breeze to use, and the cream consistency didn't drip at all. This color did away with the red tones as well as covered the bit of grey I have. It's a rich brown, and looks very natural. I absolutely cannot tolerate sitting in a chair at the salon for very long at all, so I was very motivated to do coloring myself. I wouldn't hesitate to use this again; in fact, it's exactly what I'll purchase. I highly recommend this, with a comment that the results may be darker than what is shown on the box.

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dyanp989 on 2/8/2010 9:17:00 PM more reviews by dyanp989

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

This hair colour loves my hair! I've been using it for about a year now. I alternate between 5N and 5C (My hair pulls red, so the 5c balances it out when I want a richer brown)

The smell is 'nice' for a hair dye ... no ammonia, significantly less chemical smell that other products I've used in the past.

It's easy to use, doesn't drip and I always have my hair dresser compliment my highlights (it seems to take my greys to just the right shade). It will fade after a few days (I usually settle into the colour around day 5 or so) which is where I like it.

My hair has never been healthier and I really have no complaints.

Update: have since moved on.

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lucky717 on 2/5/2010 3:56:00 PM more reviews by lucky717

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Green    

I tried the L'oreal Natural Match in Dark Golden Blonde last night. I wanted it darker from Medium Blonde. Last time I colored I used Excellence Creme and it left my roots real brassy. I used that to try to correct a Clairol Perfect 10 mess that burned. Never again will I use an all over Clairol product, although I use their root touch up and love it, it blends perfectly. Go figure. Ok getting back to the original subject..the color is ok. It is lighter on the top but I have alot of gray there. The ends are definitly much darker. I dont hate it but wish it wouldnt pull so much red into my hair. Next time just dark blonde I think. The texture however is wonderful, soft and shiny and I have long hair. There was hardly any smell at all since there is no ammonia. The conditioner has a very pleasant smell and I have it on as a super moisturizer all day! We will see how long it lasts. The shampoos that are made for colored hair really do help.

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dawnsch on 2/2/2010 4:05:00 PM more reviews by dawnsch

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

I have mixed feelings about this hair color. I'm new to hair coloring, have no grays to worry about (yet), and just wanted to lighten up my dark brown hair so I don't feel so washed out by my pale skin.

I purchased 5W Medium Golden Brown, thinking the shade on the box was light enough to notice but not so light that it would turn brassy on me. I was very happy with the application -- no drips at all! -- and the smell was just fine. I wasn't thrilled with waiting for 30 minutes, but it gave me a chance to catch up on my reading.

So, after 30 minutes, I rinsed my hair and loved how silky it felt. I debated whether or not to try the conditioner, and agains the advice of previous posters, I gave it a try. HUGE mistake -- the ladies of MUA are absolutely right, this conditioner is awful. My hair felt great before I put in on, and once I ran it through my hair and rinsed, I could tell how frizzy it was going to be. To get rid of the rough texture, I immediately applied a hair butter for an extra 5 minutes. That seemed to help.

I dried my hair, anxious to see my new color, and what did I get? Nothing. No change. Nada. Not even highlights. Seriously, my hair looks exactly the same as before I colored, only a little drier. I even ran around looking at a mirror in different lighting, but eventually accepted the fact that I put color in my hair for nothing. Even washing it didn't reveal anything.

If someone wanted to keep their natural color and not make any changes, this might be good. Perhaps I expected too much -- but then again, the box clearly showed a more golden shade than what was the starting color. I might try this again in a lighter shade, but I'd worry about red tones coming through. I'd also only on buy it on sale (I found it for $4.99). On second thought, I'll probably take a pass on this one!

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CCBailey on 1/30/2010 5:47:00 PM more reviews by CCBailey

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

I have been dying my hair for over 23 years, and have used different brands and have gone through lots of different colors. I've been a blonde, a redhead, and a brunette (of all shades). I've had salon color a few times, but the vast majority of the colors come out of a box at home.

The L'Oreal Natural Match in 5C is my absolute favorite. My hair is soft and shiny, and the color looks natural, which is more important as I get older and work in a professional field. The color isn't flat for me at all. There are no redtones in my hair with this color and product. It matches my natural hair color perfectly and covers my grays.

Application is easy as the nozzle applies the dye at the root area without a lot of mess. My shoulder-length hair is fine bt thick, and one box is adequate to cover.

I usually find it selling for $9 or $10 US a box, although I have found it on sale for $5 a box a few times at which point I stock up.

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incognito on 1/29/2010 11:04:00 PM more reviews by incognito

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

I've used 2 colors of this product, each just one time; one was a good experience and other was really bad. The 1st time was with the light reddish brown shade - of course the color faded quickly as with all reds but it looked nice. The 2nd time was with the #5.5 "soft medium golden brown" shade which looked like a caramelly shade of golden brown on the box and the little swatches on the side; what I got, on my naturally medium brown hair, was DARK, FLAT BROWN with LIGHTER, AUBURN ROOTS! And it hasn't washed out even with clarifying shampoo! The condition my hair was left in was fine, no excessive dryness, so that's good, but the color outcome for this 2nd shade was a deal-breaker!

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*TOP REVIEWER* felgoj on 1/27/2010 9:58:00 PM more reviews by felgoj

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

This was my go-to home haircolor when I used to color my own hair. I like to experiment w/diff products & colors in my hair, so a few haircolor disasters later (thx to wretched Nice n' Easy Perfect 10) I had to resort to professional color correction followed by 1/2 yr of professional blonde highlights. So I haven't colored my own hair in a yr, but if I ever do go back to a single overall color, it will be Natural Match.


I'm a natural medium brunette but have sported every color of the spectrum over my lifetime (except blue & green). I have more grey hairs now than I'd like to admit & Natural Match covers them but unfortunately fades off the greys in 1-2 wks. Oh well. So now I tweeze my greys periodically. I know I can't keep doing this forever cuz I'll eventually I'll end up bald, lol.


But otherwise I love that Natural Match is gentle to my hair, doesn't smell bad at all, & its thicker consistency makes it way easier to apply, plus the nozzle tip is longer & finer than the other dinky drugstore brands. Kudos to L'Oreal - great quality product!


With Natural Match I have to refresh in 4-6 wks to boost the color (it fades within a month). My hair is shiny & reasonably healthy after using this color, & I trust it to always deliver good results. Never brassy, muddy or mousy looking (always a problem w/other brands in the past). I use the cool shades in this line b/c my hair has the problem of pulling too much red - the cool shades are perfect, not a drop of red!


UPDT 2011 -
So L'Oreal has discontinued Natural Match, huh? What a dumb move!

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*TOP REVIEWER* tammallama on 12/15/2009 11:14:00 AM more reviews by tammallama

Age: 25-29   Skin: Oily, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

My HG haircolor hands down!! I have used 4 1/2C, 4W, 4R, 3C & 3W, and have individual reviews for each of them! This hair color truely is the best! It never gives me light roots and dark ends, which happens a lot with 'browns' for me. I have been playing with the diffrent tones and never experience color build up. Out of the 5 I have tried, I really like the 4 1/2C and am going to stick with this shade for a while.

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April316 on 11/28/2009 12:38:00 PM more reviews by April316

Age: 25-29   Skin: Dry, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

I have tried many different hair coloring products and I have been very happy with this one. Whenever I try a new product I am always concerned that my hair might come out looking to brassy - with this product I don't have to worry about it at all.
I normally use the 4C Dark Ash Brown. The color is perfect for my skintone and doesn't leave any trace of brassiness.
The other thing that I really like about it is the conditioner that comes with it. When I condition my hair with this stuff it comes out smelling so good. My husband absolutely loves it...actually I think he will sometimes use a tiny bit of it himself. :)
It's always nice to have a product that you know is going to work for you everytime. This product has definitely been the one for me - and the price is great! I can't afford to keep going back to the salon - besides, I think my hair comes out looking just as good. I would highly recommend this product for anyone that wants a nice looking hair color for a great price.

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momto4monkeys on 11/26/2009 1:32:00 PM more reviews by momto4monkeys

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

I bought this in 4w dark golden brown.My hair is naturally very dark brown so I wanted something that would cover my few grays without looking like I dyed my hair from a box.I was pleasantly surprised with the results! Normally when I use a boxed colour( my hg is natural instincts in hazlenut) it comes out really dark at first,but the natural match was perfect right away! My hair was a shiny dark brown with golden brown highlights in the sun.I think my results were so natural because my hair is naturally very dark to begin with.As the colour faded over a few weeks I noticed a lot more red tones and my grays coming back,but even when I have my hair done at the salon my grays start returning within a month.I would buy this product again.Wouldn't reccomend if you have a lot of gray though.Next time I'm going to try the 4n instead.

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sap28 on 11/17/2009 5:47:00 PM more reviews by sap28

Age: 25-29   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

I bought the 9W thinking I would get a bright golden blonde.....instead like other girls on here have mentioned it turned my hair an ugly, dull ash blonde...STAY AWAY FROM THIS!!!! will never buy again...and the 1800 operators for the Loreal line..were no help at all....i think they have their secretaries answer the phone geeze!

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katmae24 on 9/6/2009 12:49:00 AM more reviews by katmae24

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

I've been dying my hair since junior high school - and I've done almost every hair product (hair colors/highlighting) on the market. I've got natural light ash brown hair - but since I've been dying/highlighting my hair so long - my hair tends to get orangy/brassy very easily.

I hate having a brown hair color with any sort of reddish tone to it - and if you're a brunette - you will know that finding a hair color with absolutely NO reddish tones - is truly hard to find. I've tried Clariol, Revlon - all their colors that are an "ash" brown - all have red in them - which is a total "no-no" because "ash" means it should/will reduce red tones in your hair. Loreal's Dark Ash Brown, Medium Ash Brown and Light Ash Brown (and any of the other "ash" colors by Loreal in this Natural Match line) are the closest to a real "ash" that I've ever found in a hair color that you can buy in the store. Hands down.

I recently dyed my hair with Perfect 10 by Clairol - and used their version of an "ash brown" and it was a HUGE mistake. I kept it on for about 15 minutes - longer than the 10 - and it still didn't take to some of my highlights - and ended up turning my hair brown with red undertones. You could see it immediately in the lights. I was soooo pissed. Exactly what I did NOT want.

I finally was able to track down Loreal Natural Match in Medium Ash Brown - and dyed my hair the next day. It removed ALL of the red undertones - and I've actually always used the "Light Ash Brown" of this line every couple of months or so - to help keep my hair free of red tones. It always works. However, the local stores here - have stopped carrying it. Not sure why - but after much store hopping - I was able to find the "Medium Ash Brown" (instead of the Light Ash Brown) and was desperate enough to use it anyways.

I recommend this to anyone who has had issues with their brown hair going brassy - or if they had a problem (like me) and used something else (of a brown hair color) that made their hair red (if they didn't want it.) It works AWESOME.

Just an FYI: I recommend the Light Ash Brown because honestly, all the ash browns in this line are really DARK. You can actually use the Light Ash Brown - and keep it on for the 30 minutes like it says - and you'd probably end up pretty darn close to the color of Medium or even Dark Ash Brown. These colors (because of their lack of golden undertones) tend to run really dark. Since I didn't want it really dark - I just left the Medium Ash Brown on for less time - and it turned out great. You'd think that because I washed it out early - that it might have left me with some reddish undertones- nope. This "ash" hair color has absolutely NO red. It's perfect. I always hit the mark when I use this line by this brand. It's an awesome ash brown!

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Honeycombe8 on 8/3/2009 1:20:00 PM more reviews by Honeycombe8

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

I've used Natural Match Medium Brown 5N several times, now. My hair is naturally darkish brown with at most 30% gray. My hair is also naturally fine, heavy in weight, and very shiny. Almost nothing takes the shine away. Except Natural Match.

Hands down, this is the prettiest shade of medium brown I've used. It's a beautiful brown. It IS darker at first, but fades with each wash, but doesn't fade too much. It's a tad too dark at beginning, but not much, and that's okay, since with teh first wash, it fades. Unlike others in this forum, I tend to like fading, as long as it doesn't fade tooo much or fade to a sickly color.

BUT...like another poster, I found that the color was flat in tone. Very flat. And it TOTALLY took the shine away from my hair! I've tried everything to get the shine back, but nothin' doing. Also, first time I used it, it was chilly outside, and my hair was so dry that my hair had static worse than I've ever experienced in my life. My hair literally clung to my cheeks, even after putting in conditioner on the hair wet AND dry.

I've cont'd to use it because the color is so pretty, and I found I could counteract most, but not all, of the dryness by over-conditioning the heck out of it. (I don't need to do that with any other color I've used.) BTW, I didn't like the conditioner that came w/this color. Didn't seem to do much of anything for my hair. I cont'd to use the color a couple of more times, also, because I wanted to give it a fair shake, and wasn't sure if it was because I used Natural Match OVER brown hair colors with ammonia/peroxide. I thought maybe the combination was what made my hair so dull and dry. I also didn't want to go back right away to a color with ammonia.

I think next time I may try Clairol Natural Instinct which, like L'Oreal Natural Match, doesn't have ammonia. I didn't use that before because posters indicated it may not cover gray. A friend of mine with more gray than I have has switched to Natural Instinct, though, and it is covering her gray. She also says the conditioner for Natural Instinct is wonderful (this has been my experience with all Clairol hair colors I've used).

I would use Natural Match again, though, if another brand doesn't work out for me. It IS a pretty brown color, and doesn't seem to damage my hair exactly (it has sort of lost its body, definitely the shine, different tonal colorings, and feels rough...but it doesn't feel like it could break or is strawlike). And although it takes the shine away, it DOES seem to make my hair thicker. I am wondering if Natural Match has a hair thickener in it; putting hair thickening gels in my hair is one thing that CAN take the shine away (altho it's temporary with those things; the dullness from Natural Match is apparently a permanent thing).

UPDATE: I have cont'd trying different intense conditioners, so I have been a bit successful in getting some shine back, as long as I don't use Natural Match again. Alberto VO5 oil treatment, so far, has worked the best. Next up for conditioners: Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask. And I continue to look for a new hair color. Sigh. I hope I get this figured out.

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