Review: Scott Cornwall Decolour Hair Colour Remover

As much as I enjoyed toying with titian temptress tresses, I've never stopped thinking of myself as a blonde, so, once my obligation to submit to crazy colour mousse as and when required expired with my final SS15 hair show, it felt like time to go back...

But, with chocolate-dyed roots and underlayers mingling with orange-toned coppers, all layered over yet more layers of bright reds, getting back to blonde seemed like a tough ask... Before I resorted to salon-strength bleach, I decided to try the DIY route... enter Scott Cornwall Decolour Hair Colour Remover.

As a result of my extensive online review-based research on the various home colour removal products available, I knew I had to prepare myself for three things, no matter which I ended up choosing:

1. The stench of rotting eggs
2. Very little idea of which colours might be lurking under all those layers of dye, ready to reveal themselves in all their glory (or horror)
3. A high probability of ending up ginger 

Filled with equal parts excitement and trepidation, then, I mixed up my magic potion, followed the instructions for dark colours/colour build-up to the letter, and...

1. The smell was pretty rank, yes - more like drains than rotting eggs, I'd say... but bearable (forewarned is - mentally - forearmed), and fairly quick to dissipate once I'd finished.
2. It went blonde - hooray! The darker roots and underlayers stayed darker, but this could be my natural hair colour, grown out in the time since I first hit the red.
3. A pretty gingery blonde, to be sure, but still a lot less ginger than I was when I started! I popped a semi-permanent ash blonde colour containing very low bleach levels (Boots Botanics Hair Colour in Light Ash Blonde) on to correct the tone, which helped, although the colour is still slightly warmer and darker than I'd ideally like (for some reason, the above photos don't really show a difference pre- and post-colour application - bottom right was taken before applying, and bottom left after).

Overall, I'm really pleased with the results, which are better than I dared to hope for (- and, amazingly, my hair didn't seem to incur any damage during the process - in fact, even before applying the conditioning treatment, it felt great). In a week or so (unless I nab another hair job and end up with another entirely new look, that is!), I'll recolour using a lighter, permanent colour, which was always part of the plan, but that's purely down to personal whim, and, until then, I certainly won't be reluctant to leave the house (or go to the two job interviews I've got lined up... well, maybe I will, but not because of the hair!).

Do you dare to DIY..?

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