Color Vive: won't let dyed hair die (I know, stupid pun)
Written: Feb 26 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Extends the life of a dye job
Cons: Only the 'regular' variety of this shampoo is recommended
The Bottom Line: Color Vive protects colored hair from all the elements and allows you to keep your color until the roots demand re-dying
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| ngurevic's Full Review: Loreal Color Vive Gentle Shampoo for Color Treated... |
I have naturally curly hair. If left to its own devices it will curl into bottle curls Shirley Temple style. No, I'm not bragging because I positively hate the curl aspect of my hair. I know, everyone wants what they don't have... my straight-haired friends want curls, my curly friends want straight hair, and I'm no exception. What you don't understand about curls if you don't have them except when you curl your hair for special occasions is that to keep them looking good you can't touch your hair at all (or let anyone else touch it or the wind move it or allow any kind of disturbance whatsoever) or the curls separate and you get a frizz that is reminiscent of Diana Ross's hair in the 80's. The only time I could use a comb (I put that in the past because I've started straightening my hair) was right after washing my hair before it started curling.
Now on top of that, I also dye my hair. I used to dye it a very bright red and just recently switched to black. During the years of bright red (I did it myself by combining two very bright toners) I watched very carefully what else I did to my hair so that I didn't over-damage it. I never used a blow dryer, for example. After all, when you go lighter you damage hair more than if you go darker (my natural color, if I remember correctly since I haven't seen it since I was 17 and I'm now in my mid 30's, is a dark brown). On top of that, the bright red has to be bright to look good.
But wait, there's more. My scalp is extremely sensitive (probably from years of only getting massaged when I comb my hair after a shower and at no other time) and if it's over-dried or over-oiled it immediately gets flaky. And I'm not talking dandruff here (dandruff shampoos usually aggravate my scalp; Head & Shoulders, for example, can make my scalp itch for a week after just one use).
The point of all that, other than trying to extract some sympathy from the reader, is that the results of any hair product could be felt on my hair and scalp even after just one use. I could tell how much dye was being washed away by any shampoo after just one application, I could tell if a shampoo left my hair limp or oily or dry by the way my curls behaved after one shower, and my scalp let me know loud and clear if a shampoo rubbed it the wrong way. My entire head pretty much acts as a shampoo-tester. And with this in mind I give Loreal Color Vive shampoo the thumbs up!
Benefits of Color Vive
Since dying hair is not necessarily the healthiest thing you can put your hear through, it IS important to have a shampoo that extends the life of your color as much as possible. Obviously, it doesn't slow the actual hair growth so when you get long enough roots you have to re-dye, but it surely is nice to have the rest of your hair look nice and bright as long as possible so you don't have to re-dye it until the roots are long enough. This is why, if you dye, you should use Color Vive shampoo.
Loreal markets Color Vive on the strength of its gentleness and its UV filter which is supposed to keep color "truer and longer". Based on my experience with quite a few shampoos over my 20 years of coloring my hair this is pretty much true. No other shampoo has ever allowed my dye jobs to stay bright and saturated as long as Color Vive, and believe me I've tried quite a few products.
Besides the tests I discuss above for the effectiveness and potential damage of any shampoo (that is, guarding the dye job, messing with the curls, and keeping my scalp healthy) I experience a situation once a year where a shampoo really has to shine. I'm discussing my yearly visit to the Greek islands for close to a month at a time. I always go in June and I always dye my hair just before my trip. During the 3+ weeks I'm on the islands I not only spend a lot of time in the sun (and we're talking Mediterranean strength sun at midday! that's some strong sun rays!) but I also get my hair salted up (you know, from the sea) on a regular basis. There is no shampoo on earth that could keep my dye job perfect through this kind of abuse, but Color Vive certainly outshines any other shampoo I've ever tried in this situation. The UV protection is like sun block for my hair (so it is less likely to get sun bleached, which fades color as well as damages hair) and the gentleness of the shampoo's cleaning action seems to wash away the salt without stripping my scalp.
Varieties of Color Vive
There are several varieties of Color Vive shampoo. I've tried the regular one, the one for dry hair, and the one for everyday use (but I'm sure there's more varieties; any company that makes a dry hair variety usually also makes an oily hair version). For my part, I love the regular one as much as I dislike the other two.
The everyday use version of Color Vive did not guard my color as well as the regular does, as the color would wash out a lot faster (I can usually tell just by looking at the water as I rinse my hair and seeing how much color is coming off). It also left my hair feeling kind of sticky and smelling like a fruit salad gone bad. As my hair dried my curls felt too fly-away and even the smallest movement of my head would send me into frizz mode. Yikes. My scalp seemed OK with this version of the shampoo but I didn't use it long enough to see if repeated exposure would cause any damage. Trust me, no scalp is worth the frizz this version of the shampoo was causing.
The dry version of Color Vive seemed to keep my dye job as well as the regular one does, it made my hair look better, but it did not play nice with the scalp. Basically it made my hair oily which means the curls were weighed down and tighter, and therefore much sturdier and less prone to frizzyness. In fact, I loved the look and switched to this version of the shampoo immediately. But after 4 or 5 uses I started realizing my scalp was itchy and oily. I don't want to gross anyone out but lets just say the results made me switch shampoos as fast as I could. *shudder*
So we get to the regular version (doesn't this remind you of the fairy tale where a little girl enters the bears' home and one bed was too large and another too small but the third was just right?). Well, this one really is just right: it guards the dye job like a trooper (or, rather, like a very large combat-trained troop), it leaves my scalp clean and healthy, and it doesn't weigh my hair down or dry it out.
I've tried all sorts of shampoos since I've been hooked on this one, and none (not one!) has ever lived up to all three of my priorities (guarding color, healthy scalp, healthy hair) the way regular Color Vive does.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ngurevic
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Member: Naomi Gurevich
Reviews written: 61
Trusted by: 26 members
About Me:
I finished my Doctorate (in Linguistics) and had a kid. now what?!
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