NEW: Schwarzkopf Color Mask

In 1909, Eugène Schueller founded the French Harmless Hair Colouring Co, the first of its kind in the world. Eugène made his fortune selling his hair colourants to Parisian hairdressers, allowing women to enhance their natural hues and cheekily decieve their men. His company later became L'Oreal, but the important part of this story is the birth of a completely new industry - home hair colour. I've been dying my hair since I was a teenager, trying everything to get away from my natural mousey brown and closer to a richer and glossier shade. Although the instant feeling post-dye is one of exhilaration and the need to swish your locks like a shampoo ad, this can quickly be replaced with dull colour and brittle ends. Schwarzkopf have launched a new professional quality home hair colourant to ensure colour is rich, but also that the condition of the hair is enhanced too. I popped along to a hair masterclass to find out all about their Color Mask product, an innovative pot of hair mask that's the first to offer hair colourant in this format. The good news is that it's really easy to use, with all the ingredients being put in the pot and shaken to mix, and even easier to apply - it needs to be worked into hair like you would a hair mask and left on for around 20-40mins to work. What I love about this hair colourant is the added conditioning ingredients in every element of the hair dye, rather than leaving it until the end when you slap on the conditioner to re-hydrate; this ensures your colour is rich and your hair feels fanstastic for longer. I even used this on my hair extensions and was left with an amazing colour result, healthy looking hair, no greys and the best shine I've ever had post-dye. (I'm waiting for before and after pics so will share them ASAP!) I've been extremely impressed with how the colour has stayed glossy in the days after too, catching the light and making my barnet feel healthy and thick. For £6.49 for a pack this is an utter bargain too, providing a salon-effective result for practically pennies; I would totally use this again and plan on touching up my roots with it in a few weeks time. If you're a home hair novice or just need some helpful hints as to how to make the process as easy as possible, here are my top five tips for dying your hair. Will you be trying it out this Bank Holiday weekend?

1. Before you dye your hair, condition it the day before or leave an overnight treatment on a week before. Get your hair in the best condition before you dye it for optimum results.

2. Artificial colours will not lighten artificial colours. You can't dye over dyed hair with lighter shades, so make sure you look at your ends/mid-sections before choosing a colour.

3. Vaseline around the hair line will protect your skin from hair dye. Conditioner or moisturiser will also help to create a barrier and stop the absorption. Don't dye your face!

4. Always measure your developing time from when you fully finish the hair dye application, not from when you start. You can also increase developing time by up to double if you need to.

5. If you have trouble dying the back of your head, tie the front half up before you apply to the back. It will seem less daunting and enable you to maneuver effectively.




The Schwarzkopf Color Mask is available in 15 shades priced £6.49 each