the professional colour i've used for about 15 years suddenly requires a license to purchase so i've been looking for a replacement. i tried a brand offered at the same place i've always purchased, but i found it faded really quickly - about 3 weeks - and as i use red, i've gotten use to a product that doesn't do that anymore. as i wasn't really certain what brand to try next i asked my sdm cosmetician about the ice cream brand and she said they sold a lot of it.

the big draw back was that the colour samples, attached to the shelf, and not in a book as i've become used to, were under a very strong direct light so it was really hard to tell what colour you might actually get from the dye. also because there wasn't a colour chart available, there was some guessing to be done in the store. although i'd wanted to go a slightly lighter red, i opted for a medium colour in the '5' range, in part because they were a bit low on stock because the product was on offer that week.

i read the instructions and when i went to pierce the tube this dark liquid came out and made a bit of a mess in my bathroom. i'm guessing that this tube sat on the shelf for a bit and if i'd known i'd have squished it up a bit. at any rate after a bit of a clean up, i continued on.

overall the colour has been good, although it's only been a couple of days. the dye isn't so harsh and my usual habit of using a deep conditioning spray for a couple of days has worked well. we'll see how long the colour holds but if it's successful i'll be impressed that i can get something decent at the local shoppers.

Recently tried this for the first time. I was looking to go a lighter blonde that wouldn't be too yellow. It's easy to use with great results. I got everything I wanted with Ice Cream and more...lots of compliments on my new shade of blonde. A new go to for me.

In school i was taught how to use professional hair colour and the benefits as opposed to regular drugstore brands, but after I let my student license expire. (just for hair not my make up one) And didn't want to drive an hour each time to a Sally's for hair colour each time. I decided to give the Ice cream brand that Shoppers Drug Mart carries which measures and mixes like other professional brands. I am so glad I tried it out, the dye doesn't have a strong ammonia smell and you can smell the aloe, lin seed oil. The colours are vibrant and really gentle, conditioning on your hair. I absolutely love it! I've tried their blonds, reds, brown and blacks. I have never had a bad experience with any of them.

Tip: to go darker use 10 vol emulsion peroxide, to go lighter, brighter a bit use 20 vol and for dramatic lightening use 40 volume or bleach first then deposit with 10 vol. ( Each tube has instructions..)