So I decided on the next best thing and ventured out to find The Blackest Black hair dye. Upon reading countless message threads, there was a debate between Feria "Black Leather" or "Blue Black." I have tried Feria before and found that it fades very quickly. I liked the deep conditioner included; it left my hair very soft. But I seem to recall 2 weeks of purple bath water before my hair regressed into a dull black.
One recommendation pointed to Bigen Oriental Black, a powder-based dye that used no hydrogen peroxide or ammonia. This piqued my interest. I loved the weird outdated packaging and that evidently this Japanese brand had been around for over a hundred years. Plus, it's endorsed by a geisha!
I walked to the nearest beauty supply store and bought a box for $6. After covering my kitchen floor in towels and chip-clipping a towel around my neck, I started with my roots. I was surprised to realize the dye had a really pleasant smell. The lack of chemicals made a huge impact on the aroma, which was kind of like flowers.
The mixture from one box was pretty spare and I had to double-up the water measurement to cover my whole head (I strongly recommend 2 boxes if you have anything longer than a pixie cut). It was a little runny, but not debilitatingly so and it got the job done.
After rinsing it out, I soaked my hair in conditioner for 10 minutes to ensure everything was kosher. The result? A beautiful, rich Joan fucking Jett black. I'm very pleased. It came out VERY dark, which is exactly what I wanted. This is the first day so I'm curious to see how it holds up after a few washes. I may buy another box for a touch-up since I was really stretching that single bottle.
As I'm writing this, it's suddenly occurring to me I should have taken before and after shots. What the fuck is the point of a hair dye blog without photos?! Sorry chickadees. I'll take some early next week.
*UPDATE*
Voila! The new color. Blacker than a night at the Apollo.
- Sabrina London
