The sky’s the limit for fun, fresh hair color

Colourette Cosmetics has become known for a few things: fantastic multi-use products at an affordable price range, bold stances on politics and beauty standards, and truly killer branding and marketing. Their color choices always favor morena skin tones and Asian undertones first, and all of their products are developed with the involvement of their target audience. In her YouTube vlog, CEO Nina Ellaine Cabrera’s hair is a vibrant, almost glowing and unreal orange as she announces the latest release that vastly diversifies the Colourette product range.

Hair-ing is caring

The new products in question are the Bleach Cloud and the Sky Dye, which officially launch the brand hair-first into a different category of beauty. The Bleach Cloud, which retails for P599, is a hair lightener kit. In its silver holographic box lie a hefty 167g sachet of bleach powder and a 250ml bottle of developer, together with a plastic mixing bowl and applicator brush in the classic Colourette pink, as well as salon quality gloves. It’s said to be able to lift your hair color three to four levels in a single pass, and has a handy visual on the side of the box so you can see where you’re at, color-wise.

The Sky Dye, on the other hand, is a vegan, cruelty free, paraben-free, sulfate-free semi-permanent dye that goes atop the freshly bleached do. It comes in eight shades: Phoenix (a bold, fiery orange), Moon (described as a silver cloud), Space Girl (a dusty sunset pink with a touch of purple), Orbit (a vibrant, red-toned purple berry), Ultra Violet (a more blue-toned grape soda), Aurora (a breathtaking emerald green), Rocket (a true cobalt blue), Scorpio (what Cabrera humorously and accurately describes as “floor wax red”). The dye is conditioner based and coconut scented, to provide additional moisture, softness, and an overall pleasant experience while dyeing one’s hair. Unlike many semi-permanent dyes, Sky Dye claims to stay saturated and vibrant for 4 to 6 weeks, and to fade beautifully. Each 200ml jar of Sky Dye also retails for P599.

Preparation is everything

Fortunately, I’m a big fan of dramatic hair transformations, and as we’re all still staying indoors most of the time, this is the most welcoming time for dramatic changes. I consulted with Colourette’s creative director and marketing lead Ina Jacobe, who patiently answered many of my questions and showed me photos from her own bleach and color experience.

There were very common pieces of advice, which I took. I didn’t wash my hair for three days (the natural oils in your hair act as a protectant to reduce stinging), and while waiting, I picked up a few things: a keratin-based purple toner, a protective cape like they use at salons (I also trim my own hair so this is handy), plastic shower caps, sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner for coloured hair, and a ceramide bonding treatment for aftercare.

Dye-ving in

Opening up the Bleach Cloud kit, I was pleased to find a guide that came in several languages: English, Filipino, Bisaya, and Ilocano. There is a real comfort in a product being made accessible to as many people as possible, to as many Filipinos as possible. I read the instructions in my preferred language, mixed the product accordingly, and applied the product to my hair.

I did this in small sections, applying a generous amount of product and moving it around in my hands to ensure that it would coat the strands evenly. I started from the back, moving upwards, covering the mid-lengths to ends first and then went back to do my roots. (Roots typically process faster, so it’s better to do them last to ensure an even bleach.) I sprayed the inside of my little shower cap with water and covered my hair for 45 minutes. There was only very minor stinging and it showed up somewhere around the last ten minutes. When I washed out the product with lukewarm water, I was surprised that my hair still felt quite soft, and remembered Cabrera mentioning that Bleach Cloud contains softening agents to help combat dryness. I was also stunned to see that my level 4 hair was easily between a 7 to 8.

Many would bleach a second time to get the true silver color of Moon, my Sky Dye of choice. But I was really hoping for more of a subtle grey than a full blown Silver Surfer moment, just to get my feet wet. Now, though my hair is short, it’s temperamental. The advice of Team Colourette is to really saturate the hair to get the colour to penetrate, especially if your bleach level is below a 9. I used both jars of Moon on clean, dried hair, covered it up with another plastic shower cap and watched some Netflix for 45 minutes. The colour I ended up with was a darker blue-toned grey that I have been utterly obsessed with, from the first day until now, as it slowly begins to fade.

GIRL,, Get your colour on

This may not be a set of products that’s for absolutely

This may not be a set of products that’s for absolutely everyone, but those looking for a little adventure in their personal beauty game or trying to have more fun with their hair, this is worth a shot. Despite the learning curve, these products are made for regular people who want to do something different from their bathrooms. It’s as hair-friendly as a bleach and dye can be, and at the end of the day, it’s just a whole lot of fun. And especially when it comes to beauty, that’s one thing I’ll always recommend.