Review: Etude House Bubble Hair Coloring in Dark Brown

Hello! (✌ﾟ∀ﾟ)☞

Last Sunday I dyed my hair. I'd been planning to do it for a while but I was iffy about going to a salon. Sure there are box dyes available in supermarkets here, but they don't work on dark hair like the Asian ones do. Since I was making an Etude haul anyways, I decided to give their Bubble Hair Coloring a try.

The Etude House Hot Style Hair Coloring due comes in 7 shades:

I bought Dark Brown for ₩ 7,000 ($ 6.39) from Gmarket. 

From the box: 

• This ammonia-free, foaming permanent hair color delivers beautiful, evenly covered hair with its non-drip, conditioning formula. 

There are descriptions and photos all over the box with one side dedicated to English. The instructions were clear and easy to follow, but even without them I think you could use the pictures to see what to do. 

Inside the box there are the packet of colorant (1), bottle of Oxidizing Developer (2), packet of Silky Perfumed Treatment, and ziplock bag with fold-out instructions (in Korean), gloves, and and a plastic gown. (I used my own black gown because it was a lot bigger and thicker.) 

Steps:

1. Drape enclosed gown around shoulders to protect clothing. Put on enclosed gloves.
2. Remove cap from Oxidizing Developer (2), empty Colorant (1) into Oxidizing Developer. Replace cap. 
3. Slowly tilt Oxidizing Developer to mix. Use immediately after mixing.
4. Press Oxidizing Developer pump to dispense foam.
5. Apply on hands first then hair starting at the roots.
6. Massage gently, making sure to completely cover your hair. 
7. Leave on for 20~30 minutes.
8. After developing rinse out foam with lukewarm water until runs clear. Gently massage Silky Perfumed Treatment into hair to saturate.
9. Leave in for 2~5 minutes and rinse. 

My mom wouldn't help me take any more photos since I was picky about the Before and I had my hands full so you can't see most of the process. ;;

Here is the Oxidizing Developer bottle with the Colorant mixed in. (There isn't the usual pink/white backdrop because I was sitting at the entrance to my house while mom watched dramas щ(ಥДಥщ))

The white-half ring on the ground is white you snap off in order to actually pump out the solution. It doesn't foam up hair like the videos and photos and there's not a scent unless you take a big whiff. It probably took 15-20 minutes to coat everything and there was still a lot of liquid left over, but I used the entire bottle because I wanted to make sure the color would change. It was super easy to do though and by the end I was making shapes out of my hair...

After I washed out the dye, my hair was extremely dry, hard, and, though it was still wet, obviously brown instead of black. (⊙…⊙ ) I thought maybe I had left it in too long and wasn't sure if the conditioner would fix that. But the Silky Perfumed Treatment really did make my hair feel like silk! I missed a spot on the back of my head so I used my regular conditioner but it didn't give the same feeling. I didn't remember I had petroleum jelly until after I finished, but the dye didn't stain my skin at all.

I know Etude's Bubble Hair Coloring didn't work on some people at all, but it worked too well on me. ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡I would say my hair is now a bit darker than auburn, but has the tendency to look cherry red in sunlight, all the way down to my roots. I didn't like the shade at first but it's starting to grow on me. People have complimented it's very natural looking, others say they didn't notice at all. 

I took the after photos two days after. My hair hadn't been washed since the dye and the only product I used on it was dry shampoo to control oiliness. They show how the color lifted but don't accurately depict the shade. It can look orange/orange-brown here but in real life it's just straight-up red tinted lol, especially in the sun.

Before:
(My hair is naturally dark, dark brown and was dyed 2 years before at a salon and 1 year before with henna.)

After:

(Indoors, natural light)

UPDATE: 2 WEEKS 

It's become darker and most of the red is gone, so now it looks extremely natural.

Overall: 9.5/10
Etude House should label their colors better, but I'm very happy with the result I got, especially for less than $7 (it's now on sale on Gmarket for around $4.50 ;;). I did get a uniform color despite not having one previously and with little to no damage. I also didn't feel any burning either. I think this product is one I can depend on, and I'll probably use it again to darken my hair in the summer.