Root Rescue

I finally got up the nerve to try a root touch-up product.  I'm trying to save money (and time) by not coloring my hair too often; also likely not good for the hair.  But my hair grows quickly, and after 8 weeks there was a pretty wide grow-out at my part--with a not insignificant amount of grey hair.  I don't think it's that noticeable, because my hair puffs up around the part, but if I hold the hair down it's very visible.  And it's probably more noticeable when I bend forward.  And there's a lot of grey hair around my temples and front roots, where my forehead meets my hairline--those are visible when I wear a headband, which I do for yoga and exercise classes.

I had bought a Clairol root touch-up product a while back, but ended up throwing it away--I was worried that the colors wouldn't match, or I'd end up with some new sort of line along my part.  Recently I looked again and settled on L'Oreal's Root Rescue, since my hair salon uses L'Oreal coloring products.  I tried it this morning--not as messy as coloring used to be, apparently, but still requires combining liquids from two smelly vials.  Or the fumes develop once you add the Color Gel to the Conditioning Developer Creme.  I wish they would invent a root color product that didn't require mixing.  But obviously whatever they're currently using is highly volatile, because the instructions say "never leave the flat cap on the Conditioning Developer Creme Bottle after mixing.  The container may burst".  !!!  And don't even think about saving the left over stuff--there's much more than one could possibly use on the limited amount of root area that's accessible:  "do not save any unused mixture.  The container may burst."  So there--we have exploding hair color.

I'm glad I didn't read the "test this before you try it" instructions before I used the product--quite scary.  I assumed it would say to test it on a small patch of hair, wait. etc.  I didn't want to bother.  But I did read the "usage advisory" afterwards, since I do have sensitive skin and could easily have a reaction.  Root Rescue's instructions tell you to mix 1 1/2 parts Conditioning Developer Creme with 1 part Color Gel (like that's easy to figure out--and what if you get the combo wrong?) and then apply the mixture with a cotton ball to an area the size of a quarter in the bend of your elbow.  Which you're supposed to cleanse with soap and water before you mix the two ingredients.  Then you're not supposed to wash, cover or disturb (bolded on instructions) for 48 hours. !!!  And during those 48 hours, you're supposed to examine periodically the "test area"over the 48-hour period, and consult with a doctor if you experience any reactions--such as redness, burning, itching, swelling, skin abrasions, eruptions or irritation in or around the test area.  And it says to do this test each time before you use the product, even if you had no reaction the last time you used it.

I've only ever had one allergic reaction that landed me in the hospital--when the reaction started to affect my breathing and my tongue swelled up.  So now I'm imagining that my tongue is feeling weird. I can also smell the stuff, even though I've washed it out and shampooed my hair.  So now I imagine the poisons seeping through my scalp into my system.

All that said, the color looks really, really good--matches perfectly with the rest of my hair color, and did a good job of coloring greys.  But most of all, the grow-out along my part is gone.

But this may be the only time I have the nerve to use it, given the skin allergy test instructions.

And I still smell toxic...