L'oreal Feria: A horror story. Anyone else?

[ibleedlipstick]

I have been dyeing my hair black for almost 6 months. It is about APL, and while I realize that I won't be able to grow my dyed hair as long as I could grow virgin hair, I really like how my hair looks while black.

I had been using a Clairol color from Sally's for a long time, but wanted a more blue-black and decided to pick up the Feria in "Starry Night" (I'm a sucker for cute product names.)

It was awful. I followed the directions exactly, and my hair is now frizzy, breakage-prone, and terrible.

Before, even with the dye, my hair was extremely healthy (without fail, my stylist would tell me how healthy my hair was) because I take excellent care of it otherwise.

I have dyed my hair multiple times over the years, with many different products, and never had this much damage — not even from bleaching. (except one bleach job that ended in my head being shaved. This is close.)
I am devastated, conditioning and oiling like mad, and incredibly angry.

Has anyone else had this much damage from this product?

[missfortune9335]

I haven't tried Ferria in many many years, but back when it was first introduced as a new product I tried a box because I liked that the color was supposed to be "multi faceted" (what can I say, I was young and the marketing got to me!)
Anyway, it turned out an *awful* mess. I had to go to a salon, have my hair stripped and re-colored, and of course quite a bit cut off the length. ugh. The stylist asked what I had used, and when I told her the response was "ahhhhhh. We've actually been seeing alot of people with pretty bad results from Feria, they shouldn't be allowed to sell that stuff!"
I don't know if she was exaggerating or not, but I sure never bought another box of that stuff again. I'm sorry about your hair, hopefully after a few deep treatments it will improve some. I have my fingers crossed for you!

[chrissy-b]

I'm sorry this happened to you. When I used to dye my hair, that was the only permanent color I used and I never had any problems with it whatsoever.

[RocketDog]

Back in college I used pretty much every brand of dye I could find in town, and Feria was the ONLY brand that gave me any troubles. I have since heard so many stories similar to mine that I would never, ever recommend it to anyone.

[akuamoonmaui]

I agree. I used Feria once and my hair was so, so dry afterward. Never again. I just tried Hydrience though and my hair is/was very soft (about a week and a half later).

[christi.adell]

Oh no! Feria is the devil's work! I hate that stuff. Stick with the Sally's colors. Box developers are too harsh anyway since you're going black. I'm not positive but I think box colors use a 30 or 40 volume developer. Way too high for depositing black color.
I would definitly stick with the Clairol color and a 10, maybe 20 volume developer. Also Clairol at Sally's does have a blue black color it's called Black Azure I think...either way the base color is listed on the bottle.

[virgo75]

Add me to the list of unsatisfied customers.

I used Feria about a million years ago and suckered into the same color(Starry Night).

My hair felt like straw and was brittle.

And I guess when they say "multifaceted" they mean that your hair will go from shiny and black, to dull with a greenish hue after a couple of washes. :rolleyes:

My fave commercial hair dyes are Clairol Natural Instincts(semipermanent, but is basically permanent) which actually made my hair feel better after coloring and Revlon's Colorsilk. The latter is super cheap, but it works well and didn't dry my hair. It also came in my perfect, exact shade hair match for black. :thumbsup:

[kwaniesiam]

Speaking as a stylist, Feria is AWFUL. It is the worst box color out there IMO with and a horrible pain to try and color over.

[Amarth]

I used the same dye a few years ago and didn't have any issues. However, that was also when I didn't care about damaging my hair and I straightened it every day as well, so I probably overlooked any damage it did.

[ibleedlipstick]

Oh no! Feria is the devil's work! I hate that stuff. Stick with the Sally's colors. Box developers are too harsh anyway since you're going black. I'm not positive but I think box colors use a 30 or 40 volume developer. Way too high for depositing black color.
I would definitly stick with the Clairol color and a 10, maybe 20 volume developer. Also Clairol at Sally's does have a blue black color it's called Black Azure I think...either way the base color is listed on the bottle.

Thank you for the recommendation! I will look for it when I go to dye my hair again.


I'm kind of wondering if it was just the developer that was so wretched, and if I could just use the color tube with a 20 volume developer from elsewhere? I do like the color, just not the overall crunchiness. ("Crunchy" is a word that should never, ever be associated with hair.) I also prefer brush/bowl dyeing to bottle, because I have so much hair that I almost always miss a spot in the middle somewhere.

[Nymph]

I used the mango color once, my hair didn't complain too much but it was such a nuclear orange color that I didn't try it twice, since that wasn't what I was aiming for back then.
Back when I bought the stuff I think it still had ammonia in it, though.

[Montage]

In my experience, Feria is good in the sense that it will deliver the vibrant colours promised on the box.

However, it is very harsh stuff! It's worse than bleach imo; Feria is the only product I have used that has made my scalp sore. If you put it on longer hair it is bound to cause a meltdown, so I wouldn't risk using it unless your hair is in perfect condition.

[MafiaPrincess]

I used feria 66 for 2-3 years. I got a beautiful colour and kinda miss it. Never had issues with it.

[grrlshapedthing]

I had a similar result with feria's light auburn, turned out clownish orange and streaky... I always dye my own hair and NEVER ever have had this issue with any other brand... my hair also was dry and straw like :-(

[Quixotica]

I use Feria's Natural Black ( Leather ) and I've never had a problem with it. It doesn't irritate my scalp or cause my hair to be dry or feel damaged. That being said - my hair can take some serious abuse. But I like Feria. :shrug:

I think it all just depends on the person and their hair. I definately don't think it's a dye for someone with very fine, fragile hair. My hair is made out of freaking spider webs :)

[patienceneeded]

I used this once, ONCE, because it was so horrid! I had used several other brands in the past (colored my own hair for several years, every 3-4 months) and this completely fried my hair. I had to get a major chop and have a stylist fix the color. Scared me off home dyes permanantly, I went to salon (Aveda) only after that. Of course, I have now decided to dye no more...but that Feria stuff was Nasty.

[BittSweetCherry]

Argh, no! I dyed my hair the same shade years ago - it looked nice for a fortnight - not as dark as I wanted - and then washed out to a granny rinse blue-grey colour :( and yes, it turned to straw after that. Never again!

Despite being a 'permanent' hair dye, the last traces washed out in 4 months, whereas the last tints of the temporary (24 wash) ones I tried were all cut out.

[Karala]

I used tons of different box dyes in my life and I think Feria is the most damaging I ever tried.

[Dolly]

I used chemical dye for years, and in general, I ALWAYS had trouble with L'Oreal varieties! I always liked Clairol (particularly Hydrience) the best. A little over a year ago, I couldn't find my brand and got L'Oreal Preference instead.....BIG MISTAKE! The color I used was supposed to be intense deep red, but turned out almost black. And, my hair was so damaged that I have since then had to go from solid hip length to just below BSL.

[kwaniesiam]

Thank you for the recommendation! I will look for it when I go to dye my hair again.


I'm kind of wondering if it was just the developer that was so wretched, and if I could just use the color tube with a 20 volume developer from elsewhere? I do like the color, just not the overall crunchiness. ("Crunchy" is a word that should never, ever be associated with hair.) I also prefer brush/bowl dyeing to bottle, because I have so much hair that I almost always miss a spot in the middle somewhere.

No, never mix brands of color with other developer, it can end badly. Especially when using a box dye.

To get black you only need to deposit color, so 10 vol. developer is what you want to use. You can find a nice blue-black elsewhere. Personally I use and love Goldwell Colorance Demi in 2A, but you need a license to purchase it in stores. Maybe you can find it online?

[RavennaNight]

I remember using feria the first time I ever dyed my hair black. I just remember it bled so much. I had to wear black shirts for days because the dye would leak all over my clothes if I didn't blow-dry. My hair was pretty fried when I started using the black box dye, so I guess it got more fried? I never paid attention then. I tried so many dyes.

[Quixotica]

Nevermind about my previously posted question :) Just realized I'd asked it elsewhere.

[christi.adell]

No, never mix brands of color with other developer, it can end badly. Especially when using a box dye.

To get black you only need to deposit color, so 10 vol. developer is what you want to use. You can find a nice blue-black elsewhere. Personally I use and love Goldwell Colorance Demi in 2A, but you need a license to purchase it in stores. Maybe you can find it online?


Yes I was going to say this as well. I wouldn't try to mix it, it could react badly and cause even worse damage.

I checked and Black Azure is the blue black I've used by the Miss Clairol brand(it was under my sink :)) Though I think they have another one as well.
I use it with 10 vol like kwaniesiam recommended for depositing the color.

[Beansidhe]

I tried one of their red shades once, over ten years ago. It was like napalm! It burned my scalp and fried my hair. I don't remember the color lasting any longer than the milder dyes. I used boxed dyes on and off for well over a decade, and probably tried everything on the market at the time. The Feria was by far the most damaging. Colorsilk was my go to dye, the least damaging.

Aaaah, so glad I'm a hennahead now! :)

[Arndis]

I used Feria plenty of times and never had any problems -- but I was always going from medium-brown or faded-out-red back to bright red, with that and pretty much every other dye I ever used. I never tried black. I also used Garnier Nutrisse, L'Oreal Preference, Clairol Herbal Essences and L'Image (maybe also Hydrience), and my hair was about the same with any of them. Maybe I've just got tough hair....

[uwsbottleblonde]

I don't care for Feria when it comes to lightening my hair...how can something be so drying yet still not lighten your hair close to the color on the box? The only other time I've used it was when I dyed my hair jet black to counteract a bad bleach job, which it did what I was desperate for it to do. As long as I prefer a lighter hair color than what I was born with (which will most likely be until the day I die), I'm going to stick to the ammonia-free variations of hair dye from Clairol.

[IcarusBride]

I have a friend who uses Ferria every 4 weeks or so, she loves it! It fades really fast, but looks incredible freshly done. "multi-faceted" is a good description. Here's a picture, it was taken by cellphone camera so you can't see how shiny it looks in real life, but maybe you can get an idea of the depth of the color:
Picture! (http://i55.tinypic.com/30bclqt.jpg)
I pixelated out her face for privacy, sorry it looks so bizzare!
However, it makes sense that she doesn't notice much damage, as she keeps her hair this short or shorter, so the dyed hair only stays around for a year or so before it's cut off.

[MafiaPrincess]

I have waist length hair. It liked me.. I don't have damage.. I do miss the multifacitedness of the colour. Mine wasn't as bright as the above..

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Mafia_Princess/Agility/_IGP8106.jpg

[ibleedlipstick]

Will the 10 vol. developer have similar results to the 20 vol. developer I've been using? Or will the color be less intense? Sorry if it is a stupid question, but everything I've been told by non-LHC people says 20 vol. is the way to go.

Christi.Adell — thank you for the recommendation! I bought it today and plan on dyeing my hair this weekend.

[Kirin]

Feria was my go to color when I used to color it, and I never had any problems. It was the "Preference" line that would screw my hair up.

That said, I got the best results from the Revlon cheapo box.

Honestly, in reading the ingredients on boxes of color, they are all mostly the same. I think it has to do with some of the additives to make them "special" that's the real culprit

[misspriss]

I used to dye my hair black in high school. I used Feria a couple of times, because I liked the solid black/blue black they offered. I don't remember if it was starry night or not, but it was the blue black. I just remember the smell was horrific, and it caused a lot of irritation to my eyes and nose because the bathroom is not very well ventilated, however, I have problems with most hair colors, just not as extreme.

My hair came out fine, but my hair is particularly dye resistant. The dye faded badly on me and would not last. The only color I found that stuck was when Garnier had 100% color in blue black; I have not seen that in stores in a long time but I do see some colors in Target so they may still make it. That NEVER faded. Not one drop. My hair was blue black until I bleached it light blond with that stuff, and it was hard to bleach out.

So no, I had no problems, but you are talking to the person who bleached their dyed black hair to pure blond and didn't have an extreme amount of damage from it, yeah it was a little dry but it wasn't straw or anything. My hair is tough.

[trillcat]

I went the other direction with Ferria years ago, I used one of the Ultimate Blondes, it turned my hair white. White to the point of hey, no more pigment in your hair, what did you do to your hair? Good luck in fixing that! Never again, I may as well have put pure bleach on my head.

[christi.adell]

Will the 10 vol. developer have similar results to the 20 vol. developer I've been using? Or will the color be less intense? Sorry if it is a stupid question, but everything I've been told by non-LHC people says 20 vol. is the way to go.

Christi.Adell — thank you for the recommendation! I bought it today and plan on dyeing my hair this weekend.

No prob! Hope you like it.

As far as the developer goes...Keep in mind I'm NOT a hairdresser so I might not be right (I've just dyed my hair ALOT in the past and have had hairdresser friends).

Anyway I think 20 vol. are used for permanent color (some lift), 30/40 used for a lot of lift or bleaching and 10 for depositing color.
Since black doesn't need any lift because you're going darker that's why I use 10 vol.(whereas if you had say brown hair and wanted a lighter color, you'd need more lift than a 10 vol).

I've never had a problem with color intensity using the 10 and as long as you're not shampooing it with harsh shampoos every day your color shouldn't fade out too quickly, of course that's based on my experience and everyone's hair is different. :)

[misslicorice]

Sorry to resurrect a thread from ages ago, everyone, but I have a recent Feria horror story that may defy description. o_O I got a box of their "soft black" color to touch up my roots (I usually use a different brand of black dye). It didn't cover my light brown virgin roots at all, but it did manage to completely destroy my hair.

I left it on for the recommended amount of time and only applied it to the new growth, but the ends are fried! My hair is so dry that it has become a static factory, even after using shea butter, argan oil and Feria's nasty, cone-ridden conditioner. :(

Has anyone else had an experience like this? What on earth would prevent the dye from covering my roots and fry my hair as thoroughly as 40 volume bleach? When I touch it, it almost feels like it's coated in hair spray or something.

[leandrahime]

Apparently I am the ONLY one who has had good luck with this. Before I went to pro dye (no more tho!) I used Feria almost exclusively. I loved it! My hair was not only gorgeous but wonderfully soft! Maybe it was the color... I used the lighter blonde shades...

[Jeno86]

I used this product many years ago. It didn't fry my hair right away, at first it was very nice. However, after using it for a few years, it ruined my hair. My ends were so dry and damaged; which resulted in me cutting about 18 inches off just to get all damage out. Sooooo wish I knew about henna back then. :sad

[wvgemini]

I've used some of their reds before. No real horror story, but I wasn't particularly impressed either. For as much hype as they used to get and as expensive (compared to many others on the shelf) as they are, they sure didn't live up to my expectations.

[MaiCarInMtl]

I'm certain I used Féria a few times many, many years ago and I don't recall ever having a problem with it. Then again, it was a time when I was dying my hair monthly and barely used the same colour/brand 4x in a row... Mind you, I tried the more purple one, not blue. I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience.

It's been a while since the original post - how is your hair doing now?

[Mesmerise]

I used to use Feria because most of the other box dyes I could find just didn't have the vibrant reds I was after! I think Mango was the one I really loved. I actually stopped using Feria because I stopped being able to find the colour I liked!!

However, it always faded anyway... hmm I can't say it made my hair worse in condition than any other dye, but then again my hair's not in great condition now, so possibly the Feria has contributed to that. I don't get lots of splits, but my hair is frizzy and ick. The length of my hair probably has several Feria applications over it too...no idea how many lol...

I did find that it covered my greys well, whereas some box dyes don't, or it fades faster off the greys and you can see them, which is what I hate.

But now I'm 100% henna, and I believe I'll be able to achieve the vibrant red I'm after with henna so no longer have any need for Feria or any other box dye!

[pink.sara]

Boo Feria! I have used starry night and it killed my hair. Not to mention the fact it kept washing out and staining my blonde streak grey :(
The only thing that stopped my crunchy hair from having to be cut off straight away was Kerastase Forcintense treatment capsules. Oil treatments made it worse and no normal protein things worked either.
Now I use a goldwell black mixed with a blue from a hairdressing wholesalers or sallys and a 20% developer as my virgin hair is quite resistant.
Worst case scenario I have used Live XXl cosmic blue which was better (but only slightly!)

Hope you can repair your damage. :)