Goldwell Elumen

I use the RV, the VV, sometimes the BB, and the PK, and I think this is about the best direct dye since sliced bread. I use it in a bowl with a tint brush, on hair that I foil-highlight first and let it rest and deep condition for a day. I put it in dry hair, (just the highlights) and put on a plastic cap (for my pillowcase) and leave it overnight. If it's not dark enough, I might do it again. It's got amazing shine and is as close to permanent as I've ever seen-bleach barely even gets it out. Yes, it bleeds in the beginning-bathwater, towels, etc. If you've ever used direct dye before you know the drill, this is just what comes with it. But after the first day or two it's gone. It gives amazing color and shine, and lasts damn near forever. I can't imagine anyone giving this a bad review unless they're just not using it properly, and in that case you should have in done in a salon. The bottle is about $25. on Amazon, but if you're just doing highlights or sections, it should last for 4-6 applications, and I have long long hair. You can mix it in your conditioner to keep the color up, but I don't have to, I don't use the lock and it works amazing for me. It rocks!

For all the people giving this product a bad review, it's prob b/c you should leave some things to the professionals. I've had the bright red and had no colour transfer to my skin or clothing. It didn't even wash out when shampooing. My colour tech always used the lock. AMAzing results that last close to 8 weeks for me. Go to the salon!!!!!

Amazing, I have rich red hair using the rr@all shade that lasts for 8 weeks and still looks fresh. The only reason I redye it every 8 weeks or so is because my roots show. I get compliments on my hair on a weekly basis.

Now, it can be difficult to work with and can stain, so be sure to wear gloves. I do not use the Lock, I think it is drying and I am not convinced that it adds to the longetivity of the product.

Elumen does make my shampoo suds and bathwater turn pink, and when drying wet hair there is a slight transfer of dye onto my towel, but do not be alarmed. This product will easily wash out of clothes and towels. For some reason it really sticks to hair and skin, but washes off everything else with ease.

Does not have ammonia or peroxide, and over time it has made my nasty frizzy hair glossy and smooth. No more frizz!

No other red lasts as long as this does! AMAZING.

My holy grail bar NONE. I'd give this 100 lipsticks if I could!

I love this hair dye so much. Permanent purple that covers my greys AND shows up on my dark brown hair... what's not to love?! I get so many compliments on my hair color these days.

I have tried RV both with and without the Prep and Lock, and I can go without them as long as I let the dye sit about 45 minutes and use heat for at least 15 - 20 minutes. I actually bought a bonnet attachment for my hair dryer and use that.

The down side is that I have yet to dye my hair without staining the heck out of my scalp, my sink, my floor, my toilet, my ceiling... Yep. Invest in the bottle of "Clean." That will take most of the stains out. Also, damp hair + light clothing is a bad idea for the first week after doing my hair. There is a lot of bleeding for quite a while.

One big concern for me was cost. Even though the dye is more expensive than what I was using, the benefits outweigh the cost. My hair is in so much better shape after swapping to this dye, and the color doesn't fade on me so I can go a little longer between sessions. Over all, I couldn't be happier.

Of this product so far, I have used RR@All, KK@all and KB@all. My natural hair is around 80% gray (white), 3A curls (so a bit porous) and virgin. This color takes to my hair very well, especially the parts that are completely white. If you want to make a commitment to bright, unnatural colors, this is an excellent product. If, however, you are fickle like me, you might want to think carefully before dyeing your hair with Elumen, as it is really difficult to remove (I wrote a review for the Return product as well). The product is tricky to apply from the bottle, but not exceedingly so. Elumen WILL STAIN your skin and nails. Greasing myself up before application did not seem to prevent stains, but wrapping my arms in cellophane before putting on gloves worked really well. I wrapped my head in plastic and processed with heat for 45 minutes the first time and 30 minutes the following two times.

I waited a few months before reviewing the product so that I would have some good insights. First, processing time: don't process this longer than 40 minutes if your hair is particularly porous. The product contains a lot of alcohol, and I'm guessing this is why some of my less healthy hair felt burned after 45 minutes (a protein treatment fixed this, but also leeched out some of the color). Next, I am not convinced that the Lock product actually does anything, but I used it anyway. Condition after, but wait a couple of days before washing. You may see a lot of color coming out after that treatment and for the next few washes -- for me, that was the color coming off of my scalp. I know this because every time I scratched my head, I had to clean under my fingernails (gross). Any styling product you have which contain alcohol will remove some of the color, though you will never see as much color come out in the wash as you will with Special Effects or Manic Panic. Elumen made my scalp very dry and very itchy, so I massaged liberal amounts of jojoba oil into my scalp after washing the color out. The Return product can be used to remove stains from skin but did not work nails (I have an orange toenail from a mishap with the KK@All). Regular bleach will remove the product from most other surfaces. Stains on towels came out in a regular hot wash. A small amount that landed on an acrylic painting took off a layer of the paint.

After that, I get complements daily on my hair. If you are thoughtful and methodical when you apply this -- like maybe put down a tarp and board your pets or something -- you should get good results with this product. Feel free to ask questions!

I love Elumen hair color and it is the only hair color I use. I love the "unnatural" shades, and the fact that you can blend them into any color combo you like.

I tend to use a mix of VV and BB on my hair to get a dark purple. I have dark brown hair with a lot of grey, and when I put this on my hair, it darkens by brown hair to a luminous blue black with violet highlights, and the grey turns very vivid electric violet. So I don't really understand when people say the color doesn't really cover grey--it shows up brilliantly on grey. But I guess if people were meaning for the grey to be dyed the same color as the rest of their hair they might be disappointed. I love it though--it's like ready made highlights!

It makes my hair soft and glossy, though there is a slightly unnatural feel to my hair the first couple of days afterwards. And the color lasts until it grows out. I usually dye my hair with this color twice a year, and there are always still violet streaks left 6 months later.

It is difficult to apply because of the jelly like texture. Just be prepared for it to be a mess, and have plenty of color remover on hand. I always use the prepare and lock, though I may try it without the prepare soon (simply because I'm out of it).

It's not cheap, but it is the only color I've ever tried that has these shades that really lasts and doesn't damage the hair. I love it!

my first review!

i got this product because i saw good results on my friend, and i am always trying out new "crazy" colors, forever searching for a permanent answer to the two step process i currently use.


my hair is waist length and bright, bright red. i use goldwell topchic as a base and then use blood red special effects on top. special effects is the best semipermanent crazy color out there. i love love love it. what i dont love is the run off, which is a pain in the ass. i also have to freshen it up every few week (whole head) and i have to use it on my roots when i get growth. this gets to be a pain due to how much hair i have.


so enter elumen. lots of good reviews, so i went for it. i love the options for all the reds. i decided to use RR all. i didnt have the comb doo-dad so i just used a bowl and a tint brush. i hate the consistency. HATE. it is way too runny. it got everywhere. literally. even on the dog. then on her feet, then on my floor. everywhere. awful. a spray bleach product got it up, but ugh. so...


i finally got it all distributed on my hair it went surprisingly far considering how runny it was. the color of the product was pinker
than the outcome, but im used to that. but then it got on my skin. oh, did it get on my skin. wipe that stuff off fast, people! (dog is still pink).


i soaked my hair well and waited about an hour. when i washed it there was more run off than special effects, which is saying a lot. and it kept running. i didnt use the lock because i wanted to make sure i kept as much color as possible. my hair felt so dry! it didnt feel anything like the conditioning effects i get with special effects. bummer. i sprayed leave in conditioner and it still felt dry.


after the blow dry it still felt dry, but the color was beautiful. a true ruby red (the pink base was the key). i really like it. if you want true, bright, unnatural, vibrant red, go for it! i dont know why anyone would use any of the other "natural" colors, because topchic is pretty damn awesome.
but the reds are gorgeous. i would use the yellow and orange pigments with the RR to create some seriously bright reds.


as for the other crazy colors, i would use them on bleached hair as a base color before special effects for more depth. for a client who wants to commit to a bright unnatural color (blue, green, purple, etc.) i would definitely do elumen as a second step after bleaching to fill the cuticle.
then special effects for the stain. it would really lengthen the time the color would last.


i will be using atomic pink and blood red combo of special effects to seal the elumen. its going to be gorgeous. but its beautiful right now too.

overall, 4
price, expensive but all goldwell is, its worth it
packaging? ugh. without the comb you are screwed. its messy
yes i will be using this for sure on clients who want longet lasting
crazy color. i will also be using it as a refresher on goldwell topchic.
i will not be using it as a single process haircolor though.

thanks for reading!!

I just used Elumen prepare followed by Elumen Clear. My hair is quite long, fine, dark ash/neutral blonde, mixed with quite a few white coarser hairs,(I actually like this) with the bottom lengths much lighter from the sun and highlighting: honey, vinegar rinses, and a few chemically highlighted strands mixed in.

My hair feels somewhat coated and seemed drier after the Elumen.
It was in pretty good condtion prior to the treatment, so I'm not terribly impressed with it I guess,

Perhaps it works better for darker, thicker textured hair.(?)
I most likely will not use it again

First off I think Goldwell Color in general is THE BEST professional color out there. I know about L'Oreal's new (Inua??) non damaging color (it's suppose to keep the hairs quality as if it was virgin.) I LOVE the texture you get from Goldwell Haircolor (Topchic), not to mention the variations and specialty additives of their entire color line. Ellumen works very well and does exactly what it says/suppose to do. Your hair will shine unlike any other coloring out there. When my hair was colored (my natural color was a very dark brown, usually looking jet black to most people) and I used Ellumen atop, it gave me so much shine it didn't matter what light I was in (low light, soft lighting, indirect light) it just shined and shined. It was gorgeous. I highly recommend the Ellumen after products to maintain (they are of an extremely low PH.) I cannot say enough about this product. It's the best!!!

Ok, so I used Goldwell Elumen hair dye today- its a permanent non-peroxide non ammonia product that claims to use a new technology to keep colour in the hair- see:

http://www.sleekhair.com/7798-bk-6.html

It comes already mixed and there is no mixing involved (although you can mix colours if you like to obtain different shades). I applied it to dry hair as directed and left it on for 20 mins and applied heat with a dryer (you leave it on for 20 mins with heat or 30 mins without heat) but heat is best as it sets the colour better. I used NB5 which is meant to be a dark/chocolate brown. I then rinsed and towel dried and then I applied 40ml of lumen "colour lock" which is advised to "set" the colour. This stays on for 5 mins then you can rinse and apply conditioner and style as usual.

Firstly, I was a bit shocked that when I rinsed as the colour that came out was like bright red (and not choc brown) but having dried my hair its settled down to a kind of mahogany brown colour which is nice but not really what I was after so next time I may have to mix it with an ash brown shade to tone it better. Having said that, I LOVE IT!!! My hair is the shiniest its ever been after colouring and my hair has suffered NO damage whatsoever (due to the fact that it doesn't change the internal structure of the hair). I dont have many grey hairs but the ones I have its completely covered up and I am highly impressed. My hair also feels thicker and healthier than it was prior to colouring. So far, Ive not seen any colour bleed at all but we'll see whether it truly is permanent or not in time. To get lasting results its best to use both heat and the lumen colour lock product. I will definitely repurchase this as I am sick of the damage that conventional dyes are wreaking on my hair so this is a great alternative. Caveat: if you have more than 50% grey I am not sure how this will work for you but it will do no harm to try it at least since its non-damaging