Desperate for a hair colour treatment that both works and lasts? We review Kevin Murphy Color.Me Gloss, a demi-permanent hair colour treatment promising shine, vibrancy and buildable strength.
Demi-permanent vs semi-permanent hair colour
In case you were wondering, both demi-permanent and semi-permanent hair colour are ammonia-free, and therefore gentler on hair than permanent colour. At the same time, they aren’t able to lighten hair or completely cover the amount of grey or white that I have, for example. However, unlike a semi-permanent, a demi-permanent hair colour can work to tint or blend in early signs of greying, as our reviewer Patricea found. (See below.)
Customisable colour treatment
Say goodbye to that tricky little question, “Would you like to add on a treatment?” and the mental arithmetic that follows: How long will it take? How much will it cost? (My own penny-pinching reflex is to say, “Not today, thank you.”) Happily, Kevin Murphy’s Color.Me Gloss is designed as an all-in-one colour and treatment package.
The selection of 30 intermixable shades is inspired by KM’s Fashion range, explains Kevin.Murphy ambassador Felicia Koh. Formulated to have a liquid texture, it’s compatible with a variety of application techniques. If you like, you can opt for the pigment-free Clear version to simply add shine, or to revitalise natural, coloured or lightened hair. It can also be mixed with any other shade. All this allows your stylist to offer a completely customisable hair experience.
As for its effectiveness as a treatment, this winning formula includes:
- innovative KM.Bond technology for hair that looks thicker, stronger and more lustrous, and
- vitamin C for shine and vibrancy.
Our Kevin Murphy Color.Me Gloss Reviews
# 1 Review – Patricea
I’ve been growing my hair since 2019. The only care it receives is an annual trim, a weekly conditioner and leave-in scalp product. Being fine, it breaks easily if I tug too hard while brushing; and it tends to lacks shine. Unfortunately, I’ve avoided going for hair treatments because they’re time-consuming, and salons often use products with a strong chemical odour.
While searching for a quick, non-chemical option, I heard about Color.Me Gloss, a 20-minute demi-permanent hair treatment and colour in one. It contains plant proteins that create new bonds within the hair while delivering colour to the strands, which promises to makes strands stronger. Added vitamin C protects against oxidisation, resulting in shinier hair.
My salon experience
My colour-related qualms were quickly allayed by Felicia Koh, Kevin.Murphy ambassador and Creative Senior Stylist of Love Hair. She pointed out that as this is a demi-colour that lasts over 15 washes, it’s a good introduction to colour. It’s also useful as a quick colour touch-up while growing out colour-treated hair. Most of all, though, it’s a treatment that hydrates and strengthens the hair.
Felicia recommended a warm mahogany shade to suit my skin tone, but there was a pigment-free option too. I opted for colour, interested to see how it would turn out.
The process was fuss-free. After shampooing, Felicia massaged the gloss into my wet hair. There was only a hint of a fragrance; Felicia explained that it’s made from vegan ingredients and is biodegradable, too.
Over the next 20 minutes, the bright red tint slowly transformed to a deep, brownish-red. After a wash, blowdry and gentle wave, the shine and colour were amazing. But the biggest difference was how lustrous my hair looked – I kept wanting to run my hands through it!
Whether you have coloured hair or older hair – very long hair like mine, Felicia recommends having the Color.Me Gloss treatment every six to eight weeks. It keeps building on the bonds in the hair, making it stronger with every treatment.
A few days later, my hair is still shiny and voluminous. When I comb it, the brush runs through smoothly and there’s less hair breakage. I’m absolutely loving it!
Patricea Chow
#2 Review – Danielle
Here’s how my hair-colouring experience usually goes: It starts with a couple of hours in the salon, where I get lovely blonde highlights and then look and feel fabulous for a week or two. A couple of weeks later, it’s looking a bit brassy, so I use the blue shampoo. After six weeks, I suddenly notice dark roots, and my highlights look like a red-blonde rinse with dry, stringy ends.
Of course, I never make a booking for my next treatment, so I look like this for a couple of weeks before I can get an appointment. Start the process again.
My salon experience
The Color.Me Gloss demi-permanent treatment is performed in a salon in under an hour. It’s best applied to clean, dry hair, said my stylist Srico Wee, Kevin.Murphy ambassador and a freelancer at Cut It Studio. That way, it tends to last longer and the colour is more vibrant.
For my colour, we combined 80 percent cool blonde with 20 percent warm blonde to avoid a too-grey or too-red effect.
Once he’d applied it to the hair in sections, it stayed on for just 15 minutes. Then I was off to the basin for a wash. No need for a toner; that’s all included in the product, along with a strengthening and conditioning treatment that leaves the hair smoother and slightly thicker.
After blow-drying, I could see the overall effect. It looked as if I’d had my highlights redone, only slightly darker. And because the colour takes differently to areas of different colour, it looks very natural.
The conditioning treatment has made my hair super-soft and smooth. With the colour lasting 15 washes or more, I think this is a great way to extend the time between highlights and still look good.
Danielle Rossetti
FAQs
Who is this demi-permanent colour treatment for?
You’ve seen Color.Me Gloss working superbly for two reviewers with very different hair types and tribulations. Remember, though, that this colour treatment is demi-permanent, and not ideal for hair with a high proportion of grey or white. For that, the stylists recommend Color.Me, an ammonia-free permanent colour from the Kevin Murphy range.
Where can I get it done, and how much does it cost?
Click here to locate a salon that uses Color.Me Gloss and other top-notch Kevin Murphy products.
