“I'm sure you have heard the exuberant amount of "Madison Reed" hair color ads from social media to radio. As a professional stylist and salon owner, I had to try it as well as testing how to purchase on their website. Their site is user friendly and they ask as many relevant questions pertaining to your hair as much as possible which will help determine the best shade, etc. This is far more helpful than buying a box dye at the drug store and thinking the shade on the box will be your end result, but hair dye is not one size fits all.  I realize many people may not be able to afford salon hair color, but are you really saving a whole lot with Madison Reed? Their color kits can be a bit costly compared to purchasing a hair color at a beauty chain such as Sally's. They do offer some professional advice via the site, but without seeing your hair in person & knowing the exact chemicals you use, your hair density, percentage of actual grey, it can be quite difficult to say what will work best for your individual color needs.” ~Noelle Spinosa  

If you have virgin hair (no color/chemical treatments), then using Madison Reed may be okay. What is not okay is if you have chemicals in your hair (which most of us do) and by adding more (or different) chemicals to it, it now becomes something you only see in nightmares. In some of Madison Reeds videos they suggest running color from roots to ends. This is not a good idea on previously colored hair. Hair color does not affect previously colored hair, particularly darker shades. Color doesn’t lift color. So if you are wanting to go lighter, forget it. Unless bleach is involved. The end result will be uneven with lighter roots (on your virgin hair) & darker ends.  If you are staying within your own color level - you may be fine with adding their hair dye, but you may also be surprised that the tones are not what you expected or hoped for.

Also, the grey coverage formulas of Madison Reed are very harsh. Supposedly, it contains no Ammonia, but it does contain ethanolamine which is essentially (1) part ammonia…masked by another name. Ammonia is a part of all permanent hair dyes because it swells the cuticle and allows for the color to penetrate thus changing your color. There are hair dyes that are semi-permanent, but they will not cover gray efficiently, because their job is to only coat your hair with color, which allows the color to fade as you shampoo. The developer just isn’t strong enough to open the cuticle much, and then push the color all the way into the cortex of the strand. I don’t understand how Madison Reed can differentiate themselves from other hair dyes.

Here is the rub: touch ups and consecutive processes with the same formula may not render the same result.  In the salon, we adjust color formulas based on color fade, greying, and chemical processes. And we are trained to know if the hair can, or cannot withstand the process. And if not, we have tools that will protect as we formulate.

As a stylist, I can tell you that hair color is much more scientific than what one may think. That is why it takes years to become a colorist. One doesn’t become good at applying color, just by doing their time in beauty school. Continuous training, with continuous classes, puts one at the top of their game, understanding WHY color responds the way it does, and that all hair is NOT created equal. It may look the same, feel the same, but because of other factors too numerous to mention, is not the same.

There is also an artistic factor that is taken out of the at home dye. Madison Reed also has balayage, which in most cases you are advised to bleach your own hair! It took some time to learn how to balayage. They also provide you with toner, for use, once you’ve bleached your hair. Toner is applied after hair is lightened to, ummmm…tone to a desired shade. Again, there are many factors to determine which toner will create your desired outcome. Some being: the underlying pigment of your hair (results of bleaching) may be more red, yellow or gold than expected and a cookie cutter toner simply may not work.  Also, if your hair is already dyed a dark color, bleach may not be your best option.  

My advice is to skip the Madison Reed lightening and balayage completely!

My opinion is that Madison Reed is better than drug store box dye because it does not contain metals, like the normal over-the-shelf colors do, but it is no better than a color that you could purchase at Sally's, or any beauty supply store that is open to the public (which is crazy…again, my opinion).  BUT…if you are lucky enough, an associate from a beauty supply store may have some color background and will help you determine which color to purchase and the appropriate developer.

Conclusion:  There is nothing better than having your hair colored at a professional salon, but if money is an issue, go to a beauty supply store. Skip Madison Reed. The hair color is less costly and pretty much the same quality. And please be careful if you attempt to lighten your hair on your own, many clients come to me for corrective color after doing so. And many times, they will have to sacrifice up to 6 inches of their locks because of immense breakage. And a reconditioning process begins…

Hang in there, guys and dolls. We’re almost ready to go back to work!!! Stupid Corona…