Light Ash Brown vs Medium Ash Brown

I've been experimenting with L'Oreal Preference Permanent Haircolor in 5.1 Medium Ash Brown and L'Oreal Excellence Permanent Haircolor in 6.1 Light Ash Brown. Here's my opinion on both of these dyes. Let's start with the 5.1 Medium Ash Brown...

My hair coloring adventure started out with L'Oreal Preference Permanent Haircolor in 5.1 Medium Ash Brown. My first impression was that the color was too dark. It was a slight change from my all-natural black/reddish hair. That was until...people started to ask me if I colored my hair. I actually got a lot of positive compliments on my hair. To me, that meant that there was a visible change in my hair color. The color grew on me. I loved it. In a couple of weeks, the color faded to a light brown color with a little bit of blonde in it. It was a beautiful color. I kept it until my roots started to show. The color started to go downhill from there (like every hair dye out there). That's when I went out to buy L'Oreal Excellence 6.1 in Light Ash Brown...

The reason why I purchased L'Oreal Excellence Permanent Haircolor 6.1 in Light Ash Brown was because I liked the faded color of L'Oreal Preference Permanent Haircolor in 5.1 Medium Ash Brown. Instead of coloring my hair medium ash brown and wait for it to fade, why not just go directly to light ash brown?? Big mistake! Light ash brown looked great on the first day. After a few days, the color looked way too light for my liking. It looked like it faded that quick. I was shocked.

So I decided to mix L'Oreal Preference Permanent Haircolor in 5.1 Medium Ash Brown and L'Oreal Excellence Permanent Haircolor 6.1 in Light Ash Brown together to get a color that's not too light or not too dark. This is what I got! A chocolatey medium ash brown color that's not too dark or too light. Perfect. With a few washes, it'll lighten up!





Since I've finished up my L'Oreal Preference and Excellence bottles, I'm done with them. I'm going to try another brand. Perhaps, a dye that's a cream. I despised the liquid/liquid-gel/liquid-creme formulas. Ugh! They were so messy and runny (of course, it's a liquid, lol). The dye would get everywhere! I'll be on the look-out for another medium ash brown & light ash brown. The mixture looks beautiful. =) I decided not to go red (yet). Red is too hard to keep up. Plus, brown shades tend to look more natural. :)

- Jenni