Ion Color Brilliance - Demi Permanent Hair Color

I'm not sure if I would buy this product again or not only because Sally's does not carry the light golden blonde I was looking for. I went for the extra light neutral blonde. My natural colour is about a dark neutral blonde. I had platinum highlights... and a lot of them.. most of them were grown out, so I had some roots. I wanted that grown out highlight look that Sarah Jessica Parker wears so well, and I wanted it to be close to my natural color. Anyway, I went for the 'extra light' color because everyone was sayong to go at least two shades higher.

Well, it turned out perfectly... but I'd like it slightly more golden/rich.

This stuff is the BEST!!! After a bad mistake I made in my college days when I decided to bottle-dye my brunette hair blonde (what was I thinking??) and it turned my hair to straw, I have been terrified to bottle-dye my hair ever since. In the last few years I've been going darker to a deep chocolate brown, but with the economy I can't afford to get to the salon as often as I'd like anymore. Naturally, bottle-dye is much more cost friendly, but I've been so afraid to use it even to go darker for fear of haystack hair. I researched this demi color from Ion and decided to take the plunge. Not only is it ridiculously affordable (hellooo $4.50), but it turned out the perfect shade of dark brown, and it has left my hair feeling like SILK! It smells and feels so luxurious, and it was so easy to use. I am overjoyed that I now have a cost-friendly way of coloring my hair the perfect shade of chocolate that I want for less than $5. I'm still waiting for the catch....

Packaging is simple, but opens easily. The shades run darker so check a swatch and test on your own hair.

I'm a medium brunette, with some light to very light brown thrown in here or there (I expect to find them gray one day!) My hair tends to pull red. I recently had highlights done with out toning that I found less than stellar. I opted for this brand over Clairol due to the color swatch shown, it appeared to have a vibrant quality. The color I used to add pigment to the highlights was 6g (dark golden blonde).

It looks fantastic, it feels fantastic, and was very gentle on my hair. (I'm picky about haircolor, and even keep notes on them to prevent relapses!) It felt great after application, no tacky sticky feel, hair still retained it's fine soft texture. It coated well, and distributed evenly, color was true to swatch (even if not in name, I would call it a sun-tea color.) I did an all over application, and it left the unhighlighted portions glossy and deepened, more radiant if you will. The light catches in the hair--and I'm definitely pleased! There was no lightening of the unhighlighted area, truly deposit only. (product was left on for 10 minutes after application).

No complaints at all, except their idea of dark blonde and mine seem to differ--luckily swatches were given as a visual aid.

LOTS of product when mixed 1:2; I could have used half the portion (with left overs) to cover thick shoulder length hair.

I agree with everyone else, the color certainly runs a couple of shades darker, so be very careful when choosing your shade. Let me share my experience with all of you...

My hair is naturally curly, my natural hair color is a level 4 brown. Originally when I started to use this product, I bought either a level 4 or even a 3!!! While I didn't mind the darker shade of brown, with time, the ends started to look almost black compared to my roots. I had to do something to remedy the situation.

I decided to get highlights done to try and blend the dark color with some lighter tones in an attempt to get closer to my natural color level. This has worked well but needed a couple of visits to the salon for full foils before I really saw a difference. It was a much safer alternative than completely bleaching my hair and starting from scratch!

Needless to say, I've learned my lesson, I am not going to touch anything lower than a level 6 in this product, there are plenty of tones to choose from (natural dk blonde to dk copper blonde) depending on my mood. These colors blend beautifully with highlights. I did the copper blonde for a few months and just re-colored with dark golden blonde. This has yielded a beautiful shade of brown with tons of shine!! It's also pretty darn close to my natural color but better! I am very pleased with the results.

I have been using this product since it came out, apox 2yrs. Before using the Demi line, I had been using their permanent color only with a 10vol developer. Every time I go to Sally's I stand in front of the selection of colors for at least 10min, trying to make a decision. With me, it seems to be the most decision of my life, right up there with deciding on a purse or curtains, but we won't go there.
So after coloring my hair successfully for a year and a half, not making huge changes in my naturally dark blonde hair, just keeping the greys hidden and "warming up the shade" a little, my daughter came home from the drug store where she works with a box. "Mom, try this!" It was a pretty color on the front of the box, a couple shades lighter than my color. So to make her happy, I used the box after it sat in the cupboard for a couple of weeks. "YIKES!!!" what did I do?? My hair is now yellow!"
I went back to Sally's and have been using 2:1 ratio mixing 10N and 10NB now for about a month,. I was happy with the results the first time and then after several weeks my new growth is beginning to show, so today I sit with wet hair after toning it down again 2:0 10N and 10NB. We will see after I dry it. I think I may bite the bullet and use 1:1 9N, but my hair pulls red so easily. Wish me luck trying to correct this and then how to decide to keep it up is another problem entirely.

Well, it turned out great!! I love, Love, LOVE this product! The only thing that I may do differently next time, is us a level 9. But I have time to think on this.

Let me preface this by saying that although I do not like the shade at the moment, I will be coloring my hair again with Ion. I recently completely stripped my hair to rid myself of the burgundy hue henna left me with after two years, as I desired a golden blond. I stripped and dyed with a golden blond by Clairol Professional, but it left me a lovely shade of neon yellow. In tears, I went back to Sally's, where the manager (who has come to know me quite well after all my trips there!) recommended Ion. Neither she or I knew the color would take quite so well! The color swatch was perfect for what I was looking for- 6NB, Dark Neutral Blonde. However, it turned out a medium brown with golden tones where my lightest color left from the bleach had been. Pretty, but not for me. But, most importantly, it didn't leave my hair trashed, had an inoffensive scent, and didn't look fake. I've washed a few times, and it's faded slightly, but I'm going to wait several weeks before I go back and get the 7 level that I believe will give me the desired color.

Thank you, Ion, for saving my hair!! And thank you, MUA ladies, for leading me in the right direction! I've been coloring my hair for a long time--I was born a towhead, but as is common, my hair darkened over the years to a level 6-7 ashy dark blonde/light brown shade. Ugh. Totally washes me out.

Clairol's A Touch of Sun Ultra lightened me up nicely for years... until it was discontinued. I no longer had the time to lighten my hair with that anyway & it quit working because my hair got too dark. I can't afford salon prices so I've been dying my hair for a couple years now, up to a level 9 golden blonde. My hair pulls a lot of red/gold while bleaching (only process that seems to lift it), so a good toner is VITAL for me... unless I want neon hair! Of course, my go-to toner (Loreal's Tone Refiner TR1) got discontinued, and my roots were horribly long... so I picked up the closest thing I could find, Clairol's Born Blond Toner. Ugh, mistake. The sales girl @ Sally advised me to the wrong shade--it had a red base! It toned my hair slightly, but it was still way too bright AND it added a pink tint! I almost cried when I found out the ash shade I needed to begin with was no longer available online or in store.

So then I turned to Ardell's Red/Gold Corrector b/c it had been reviewed so well, but it didn't work for me AT ALL--it actually made my problem worse! It took out the pink tint, but made my hair dull & even yellower than before. So after hours of careful, holding-back-tears researching, I decided to go with this product in 9NA Very Light Ash Blonde + 00 Clear. I liked that it was deposit-only hair color w/out ammonia (my poor hair had been through enough!) and was reviewed very well. My hair definitely needed shine enhancement, and adding the clear helps dilute the shade you mix it with... I wanted to err on the safe side b/c I read that Ion tends to go on 1-2 shades darker than labeled. I don't mind going slightly darker, but didn't want to end up too ashy or below a level 8.

The strand test went well, so I mixed 4 oz Ion Sensitive Scalp Vol10 developer to 1 oz color & 1 oz clear shine. It smelled GOOD for a dye (mild, flowery) & was luxuriously creamy. I put A LOT on my neon roots, waited 10 mins, then worked the dye thru the rest of my hair for 5 mins (the length didn't need nearly as much toning). No problems with dripping or stains, and it didn't irritate my scalp at all. I could see it working, and was even more pleased after rinsing, deep conditioning and letting my hair air-dry--the color is great!! It's not 100% even, but that's prob more my fault than the dye's. My hair is soft & shiny again (almost shimmery!) & now has a lovely silvery, ash tone--no more neon yellow. It knocked out the yellow but still left me with some warmth... total ash would wash me out :) I love the purple base in the 9NA! I actually might go darker next time... either nix the clear & use just 9NA or 9NB, or step down to an 8. Thanks again, Ion! :D

My Colorgems shade (Golden Copper Brown 4.63) has been discontinued, so I switched to Ion Color Brilliance 4RC, which was supposed to be the equivalent shade. It's a good formula which actually lasts longer than the Colorgems did, and it conditions the hair nicely. However, the color went much darker than I expected it to, and left stubborn dark areas on my hair that turned out to be more or less permanent. So be careful as you mix this up, and go lighter than you think you should. The main reason I won't be buying it again is that the copper is just not coppery enough. It leans towards pink rather than orange, and doesn't look as natural because of this. If you like violet shades, this might be perfect for you. But if you're looking for a true copper, skip this line.

I have been using this for a few years. Before this I was using the Wella Demi which I also had pretty good luck with.
I have about 50% gray at the crown and a few others mixed in. My normal level is about 5 (with gray). I tend to go orange, so want to counteract that and I previously experimented with 7N and some 7G (didn't like the results). I have also used 7N by itself w/developer, but that came out very dull on me.
I was in the mood to go darker (I know the outgrowth will be a negative), but I picked up 5N and 3RV, plus some clear color gloss and the 10 vol. developer.
I used a tube of 5N with a small dab (about an inch), of the 3RV (to counteract the gold tones), and then the developer to equal the color 1:1. This came out very dark on the roots, but I left it on over 30 min. Next time I would not let it go that long, maybe 20. Ended up the root area was a dark cherry cola shade which is beautiful, but more like a 4 level on me.
Then for the length I mixed 1:1 5N and 00 (Clear gloss) and ran that through and left on for 10 min. That did a good job of refreshing the length and producing shine.
~just remember to be careful about the level go a shade or two lighter until you find the level you like.
My hair is not damaged by this brand and I will continue to use it, since I like experimenting with customized shades.
The Ion Effective Care conditioner is really wonderful.
I can spend $10 and do my thick, shoulder length hair.

I now color my hair a dark natural brown.This stuff really works.it has saved my hair.I use to color my hair red with other products. I love how soft my hair is now.I rather keep my hair dark.The red was damaging.b/c I had to lighten it to get it that bright red.I have colored my hair dark for so long that it's hard to get my hair very light.My hair looks so natural now.Before people would always ask if I was a real readhead.Nobody ask about this color.My skin is too dark for bright red.The smell of this is very nice & i don' t have to color it often.It lasts so long.I use to have to color with the red every 3 weeks.Now,it's every 2 mos or longer.I love it! I will always use this stuff no matter what color i do.I also use a color shampoo for choc. hair color,it's so pretty! This saves me from getting it done at a Salon to.I paid 130.00 before at a Salon.It turned out better with this stuff. at only about 9.00 total.