beauty review: Silver Hair edition

As a blondie,  I have always dreamt of pure silver hair. But as a student, I haven't quite got the budget that goes with it! Over the years I have tried many different methods for toning my hair away from brassy blonde, I've had my bleaching disasters and I've had my blue hair days. But I think, after all this time, I'm finally knuckling down on what achieves a nice silvery sheen to bleached blonde hair.

They've wrecked my bank account but goodness I am fond of my silver shampoos! So I thought I'd share a little knowledge I've picked up along the way...

Lee Strafford: Bleach Blondes

Buy me from: Boots
Price: Not the best (£6.99 each)
Smell: Nice!
Base pigment: Purple
Does it work?: To an extent

Well, I've been going back to this product again and again so I suppose something must be working. The base pigment is purple which is best for cancelling out the fresh brassy orange tones that are associated with newly bleached hair and the product doesn't go haywire when you accidentally leave it in for too long! But it doesn't quite seem to get down to those subtle yellow tones that annoy me so much. For this, Lee Strafford seems to recommend buying another one of the pricier items in their blonde collection... Lee Strafford's Hot Shots 4 Blondes Shampoo Treatment comes in at £7.49. Ooft. But, they have hit the nail on the head when it comes to the scent of the shampoo! The scent is edgy with subtle burnt undertones but reminds me of professional hair salons. The big bottles are great if you can't see yourself having the time for a shop over the next few months, and it spares you that 'leave in to see results' malarkey.

3.9/5

Pro:Voke: Touch Of Silver 

Buy me from: Boots or Superdrug
Price: Great! (£3.09 for the small weekly brightening shampoo bottle and £2.09 for conditioner)
Smell: Hmm... blergh.
Base pigment: Blue/deep violet
Does it work: Yes... sometimes a bit too much!

Arguably the best silver shampoo on the British market, I have been using this little bottle of joy since before I bleached my hair white. BUT... I just cannot stand the smell! It smells cheap. I've tried improving the scent of this shampoo by mixing it with others or adding perfumed oils but nothing seems to work.
However, this product does the trick when it comes to toning your hair... and sometimes goes the extra mile! Watch out for the patches of your hair that have been over bleached because these will absorb the blue pigment of this shampoo like a sponge. Also timing is a headache for something so great. I usually leave this product in for about 5 minutes and the results really do come right down to the second. A second more, you're as blue-headed as Marge Simpson and a second less you won't see any results. This is massive hassle when you're running late or have limited amounts of hot water. But, all in all, this is a great little shampoo for maintaining silver hair.

4.2/5

Bleach: Silver Shampoo 

Buy me from: Boots or at Bleach London
Price: Satisfactory (£5.00 for both conditioner and shampoo)
Smell: Umm... unusual.
Base pigment: Violet
Does it work?: Hella yeah!

After reading so many great reviews about this little bottle I just had to give it a go. And straight away I was impressed! My hair has been pulled this way, that way, forwards and backwards over the years so I was expecting some odd colours to appear when I used this shampoo for the first time. But I was really pleasantly surprised. No shocking blue streaks or disappointing patches of yellow, even when I stepped straight out of the shower and checked my wet hair in the mirror, I was pleased with the results. Although it's not really silver-grey, I'm happy to say that this product has granted me a brassy yellow free 'do. I also love the fact it's as simple as wash-in-wash-out. None of that 'rub-in-leave-for-5' nonsense.
Smell has room for improvement. I can't tell if I like it or not! It definitely has a strong natural floral vibe (it says 'thistle' on the back of the bottle... hm.) But I can definitely tolerate it. The results are totally worth it!

4.8/5

Phillip Kingsley: Silver Shampoo 

Photo credit to: The MakeUp Mouse

Buy me from: John Lewis
Price: OUCH!!! (£16.00 for a tiny winy bottle!)
Smell: Pretty! Lavendery!
Base pigment: Lavender
Does it work?: Erm... no.

I accidentally left this shampoo at my boyfriends house so I'm unable to take a photograph of it myself (I have borrowed this photo from The Make Up Mouse).
But here is a shampoo which I really can't seem to make my mind up on! The price tag is cringeworthy, and after the first use I was extremely upset to see that the yellow tones around my parting actually came back. Bah! I shoved this shampoo and it's equally naughty conditioner brother into the bathroom drawer never to look at them again... for 6 months.
Grumpy times behind me, I decided to give this shampoo another go recently and after about two weeks of bright yellows materialising out of nowhere, they began to fade and my hair slowly went back to being silvery white. I guess it's worth being patient with.
The smell of this shampoo is lovely and the conditioner is virtually weightless and leaves my hair soft and fluffy. I have heard some very positive things written about the conditioner, but not so much about its shampoo sibling. So the jury is out on this one.

2/5  

My hair adventure has taken me along a long, twisting path over the years. I hope I've helped to shed some light on some of the most reviewed silver hair products on the British market at the moment! Any products you'd like me to do a review on in the future, give me a shout.

Much love

Matilda Jane