*Please note this post was written before I began following the curly girl method. Most, if not all of the products and techniques mentioned are not curly girl approved.
Just a quick post as part of the never-ending saga that is my hair! Previously I have always used the Revlon Colour Bombs/Balls as they are sometimes called, but earlier on in the week I went into my local hair supplies shop to get another one and instead, I was recommended a new product, Colour Refresh by Maria Nila. Similar to the Revlon Colour Ball, Colour Refresh is a toner for colour-treated hair. It’s a nourishing mask which contains colour pigments that gradually wash out and leave your hair with a natural-looking shine rather than a gloss, and leaves the hair feeling incredibly soft, hydrated, nourished and healthy. Both the Revlon and Maria Nila toners are meant to brighten up and freshen colour-treated hair between salon visits and give you that extra shot of vibrancy that your hair can lack due to over-processing.
They are especially great for bright, high-maintenance colours such as red which can often fade after just a couple of washes! Although the Maria Nila Colour Refresh shade range isn’t quite as big as Revlon’s Professional Nutri Colour Creme, the Colour Refresh is paraben and sulfate free so is much kinder to your hair and like Revlon, they have some really fun, bright-coloured toners which are great to use on blonde or light-coloured hair for festival season.
Personally I find the Revlon Colour Balls an absolute nightmare to use in the bathroom due to the shape of them and the gloss finish to the bottle; by the time I’ve got the gloves on, and then the colour in my hands, that ball slips all over the place and more colour ends up splattered around the bathroom than on my hair! I prefer the tubes, but they are sometimes more difficult to get. The Colour Refresh bottle by Maria Nila on the other hand, is much easier to handle, excuse the pun. Apart from the shape of the bottle, it’s also got a matte finish to it which means it doesn’t slide out of your hands. Although they are priced a little higher than Revlon, I think you get more bang for your buck, a better product with Maria Nila, and free gloves! Don’t ever underestimate a freebie, previously I’ve had to pop into the local deli to ask for a pair of their disposable gloves and I’ve also resorted to using a pair of neon yellow marigolds – not cute, but anything to get a grip of that Revlon Colour Ball!
I have a lot of thick, long hair that loves to drink colour, and even I could get probably 3-4 uses out of one 300ml bottle of the Colour Refresh by Maria Nila, Revlon only has 250ml. What I really loved about the Colour Refresh was the natural-looking colour and tones it left in my hair, and the coverage – which was really, really good! If you haven’t tried a toner before, essentially it’s like a stain you put on your hair that gradually washes out. For me, toners are a great way to change your hair colour for a short period of time, allowing you to play around with colour without damaging your hair. You can even mix them to make your own colour cocktails!
I was hesitant about the colour at first, as the Revlon Colour Bomb in 411 Cold Brown usually makes my hair look black so I would have preferred to get a no. 5 shade in the Colour Refresh, which isn’t an option, but I got the shade Cacao Intense 4.10, which ended up being a perfect match to my natural colour. I can’t not mention how amazing my hair looks and feels since I put this toner treatment in, no doubt due to this product being paraben and sulfate free. And my oh my, the smell is just DIVINE! Unlike the Revlon Nutri Creme, I was advised to put a conditioner into my hair after washing the Maria Nila Colour Refresh out, to seal in the colour and it made a huge difference, it will hopefully help the colour last a little longer too – but I’ll keep you posted on that.
Maria Nila is a Swedish brand where all “colour-protecting” and hairstyling products are developed, produced and packaged in Stockholm using the highest quality ingredients. They don’t test any of their products on animals and strive to make all ranges 100% vegan. Similar to other brands like Redken and L’Oréal Professional, Maria Nila has a range of shampoos, conditioners, masques, lotions, creams, oils and hair styling products to suit a range of hair care needs, and I am certainly going to try some of them out once my trusted L’Oréal Professional Intense Repair (which I posted about here) runs out.
Have you tried any products from the Maria Nila range? What did you think of them? So far, I am loving this brand and it is my favourite find of September!
Gabriella x
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