Color Yourself Beautiful (With A Little Help From Your Friends!)

My sister, Shelley, never colored her hair at home. Never.

But she’s tired of trekking to the salon every six weeks to cover her grays. They seem to pop out 15 minutes after she’s spent over $100 for professional coloring. Gray hair is Shelley’s archenemy! So, when I asked if she’d be willing to try a premium home hair color that we’d be partnering with on FabOverFifty, she was game. “This is NOT mass produced, drugstore color,” I assured my sister. It’s called Madison Reed, and it’s crafted in Italy, where they take pride in their fashion-forward clothes and high-quality beauty products.

I knew Shelley was apprehensive about coloring her hair on her own; we decided instead to make it a family endeavor. My daughter, Simone, and I would act as the hair colorists, something neither of us ever did before. I was a little nervous, too, but I felt more confident when I read Madison Reed’s super easy-to-follow “goof proof” instructions.

A Super Support System

It was a cinch to work our way through the process. First we applied Prime for Perfection on Shelley’s hair, a product formulated to remove color build up and create an ideal canvas for flawless color. After Shelley washed out the primer and dried her hair, it already looked healthier. Next, the color. We had sent Shelley’s before photo to one of Madison Reed’s skilled colorists, who recommended that she go with Ravenna Brown 3.5. (An entire Color Crew is always on call, as a matter of fact, so “doing it yourself” doesn’t mean you’re on your own.) Every woman can find her ideal shade from Madison Reed’s comprehensive selection of colors.

Simone and I clipped Shelley’s hair into four sections, mixed the color (it was easy; we added the tube of color to a plastic bottle filled with conditioning color activator, then shook it for 20 seconds), and applied it to the graying roots. We put a cap on Shelley’s hair, and then she sat–and the three of us gabbed– for 40 minutes. Cap came off, and Shelley washed and conditioned her hair with Madison Reed’s color-preserving products, which smelled great.

Voila! Stunning Results

Verdict: “My hair looks shinier and prettier than when I had it colored at the salon. The color is perfect and it totally covered my stubborn grays,” Shelley said. “It was much more fun doing it with my family than spending hours in the salon, which includes the time I’d wait for the colorist. I didn’t even have to give a tip!” What’s more, the area where we worked remained spotless! Not a drop of color anywhere but on Shelley’s hair.

Madison Reed’s lovingly crafted color is completely free of ammonia, resorcinol, parabens, phthalates, gluten & PPD, and even if the words aren’t familiar, they represent harsh chemicals you’d be wise not to put on your hair. Ingredients that can leave your hair damaged over time were removed, and nutrient-rich ingredients like argan oil, keratin, and ginseng root extract were added.

Shelley’s color kit, complete with cap, gloves, stain guard cream, gentle color remover, shampoo and conditioner, was delivered right to her house. We also were delighted to learn that Madison Reed is Leaping Bunny certified, an international stamp of approval recognizing no animal testing is used in the development of any of its products. Nice!

for your first order of beautiful Madison Reed color, and get free shipping!