Todays post is a battle of the colour removers! Bring forth the battle of Colour B4 Vs Decolour Remover.
Having recently removed the darker shades out of my hair again, I thought it would be a great post to share with you my thoughts on which product is easier to use, works the best, more cost effective etc… Now there are more than 2 colour removers on the market, but these are the 2 I have used the most and feel the most comfortable mentioning.
Please bare in mind, both of these products removed unwanted artificial colour. They do not strip the colour using bleach, but removed the unwanted colour you have deposited. The will not remove the bleach from your hair, your hair has been stripped of its colour, they only remove ARTIFICIAL colour. You also have to bare in mind that tints can still lift your hair slightly, so the results after colour removal can be lighter than your natural colour. There also may be staining to the hair, especially if you have coloured your hair with a warmer shade before and this is something that may either need further colour removal, tolerance and toning. Right, that being all said, here are my thoughts – let the battle begin!
Now firstly, I have reviewed both of the products before but I have also used both of the products in the past 3 months again. Testing conditions wise, my hair was coloured both times with 3 permanent hair colours in succession darker. 1 red tone, the other 2 were more natural tones. My hair has had bleach on in the past (Namely the ends) and condition wise is normal to dry. For more information and instructions on the 2 products, please check out the review links at the bottom of this post.
What’s in the box?
Both products come with the ‘products’, instructions and plastic gloves (I have to say I felt the Decolour Remover gloves were awful and didn’t use them). The products are well labeled, its hard to go wrong with them, although you do have 3 products ‘bottles’ with Colour B4 which could be confusing for some. Decolour Remover also has a ‘balm’ with it which is brilliant for after using the product to finish the process. In this round I felt both were fairly even – its a DRAW!
Ease of use?
Both products come with full instructions. They are pretty easy to follow. I feel the Decolour Remover had more useful information as it covered more and also talked about clarifying the hair the wash before to remove build up. Both products are used on dry hair. Following the instructions in both cases is good. AS LONG AS YOU READ THROUGH THEM ALL FIRST BEFORE STARTING! With that in mind, you have to know to leave a small amount of Decolour Remover for the middle stage otherwise there is more washing. I felt you have slightly less to do with Colour B4 when you are buffering, however Decolour Remover takes less rinsing – With ease of use, I feel Decolour Remover just tips the buck on this one over Colour B4. Its a WIN for Decolour Remover.
Smell?
Oh dear. They both smell absolutely awful. What’s worse I feel both linger on your hair afterwards too. Neither product could win this section, its rotten eggs/ammonia nastiness. I have to call it a DRAW but they both deserve to be losers in this category!
Which one works the best?
Well, firstly Colour B4 comes in 2 strengths which I think is great. Although, I did get the EXTRA strength as I was removing DARK tones and buildup. Where as with Decolour Remover 1 strength is for everyone and it also states its a gentle remover. However, if you do read the instructions both products state you may need to repeat the process – bare this in mind. I left both products on for 50 minutes with a bag/cap on my head to help with heat and processing, when I removed the cap I felt (This is before the neutralising/buffering stage) my artificial hair colour was better removed with the Decolour Remover, my hair was more my natural depth (Dark blonde although very brassy as expected). With Colour B4 it was darker, like some of the colour hadn’t been removed and I could tell when it oxidised (As it always does to a small degree) I would be looking at a medium brown.
When you starting the rinsing side of things be warned you will get back ache if you do this over a bath. I did 10 minutes each time with the Colour B4 rinsing, I did this so as much of the colour molecules would be shrunk as possible and there was less chance of the darker colour coming back. With Decolour Remover I did 10 minutes for first rinse and the followed the times for the last stages (As you apply more product like a shampoo and have to wait a few minutes here and there).
After using both products (Before applying the Balm with Decolour Remover) my hair felt a little dry. Kind of like I had used a clarifying shampoo. So, super clean and squeaky. Now with Colour B4 you are kind of done, you can apply a semi permanent or deal with the tones. Decolour Remover gives you the Balm which you use after all the rinsing at the end. This made a big difference to my hair and it felt nice and soft afterwards. Once dry my hair looked glossy and shiny with both products, but only felt soft after Decolour Remover. It’s a WIN for Decolour Remover.
Which product is better?
Now what works for me might not work for you, but having used both products I have to say I will always chose Decolour Remover over Colour B4. I just feel its a better product. It seems to break down the colours better. I’m not going to go into the technicals of the products as you can see my reviews on both on my blog including images of before and after. But in preference, with all the pros and cons, Decolour Remover is a better product in my books and is definitely my product of choice when it comes to artificial colour remover. Colour B4 just didn’t get as much of the artificial dye out, it left my hair a little dry and I would definitely have had to use an additional box. With Decolour Remover my colour was better removed, didn’t oxidise and return and then condition was better too. It’s a WIN for Decolour Remover.
Price?
In price Colour B4 tops Decolour Remover. Colour B4 can be purchased for £11.99 (Extra Strength, £9.99 for regular) and Decolour Remover is £12.99. So, only £1 difference (Pricing taken from Boots). But, Colour B4 is easier to get hold of with some supermarkets carrying the product. So, in price and ease of purchase Colour B4 WINS this round.
So, Who wins the Battle of the Colour Removers?
I have to say it would be Decolour Remover. I just think its a better product and with the whole ‘chemistry’ of how it actually works, removes rather than shrinks the colour molecules. It has less chance of oxidising in the following days after using the product and you are left with better condition hair (Or I was). So, Decolour Remover is the WINNER!
Now, having originally been sent both products to review last year (Or was it the year before?), I have since repurchased them myself several times over. This isn’t in any way a paid review, I’m not paid to write anything I have. I just felt that it would help some of you out as with New Year people often change their hair colour and will be looking to find products to do that – without stepping towards the bleach unless they need too!!!
To read my original review on Colour B4 please click here…
Or for my original review on Decolour Remover please click here…
*Bare in mind, Scott Cornwall is no longer affilianted with Colour B4 as his name has now been removed from the packaging. I just wanted to mention that as in my original dated Colour B4 post his name is mentioned.
Lots of Love,
Mel xxxx