Review: Etude House Bubble Hair Coloring in Sweet Orange +plus+ a brief history of whatshername

As I have said in my first ever blog post, I am a late bloomer. In all beauty-related aspects, I think, and this includes dyeing my hair.

I’ve wanted to dye my hair so bad, even way back, even during high school, but since my school didn’t allow it, I never dared to do so. (I did have it temporarily dyed reddish brown during Christmas break though – washed it after three days and the color vanished... didn’t expect it to be THAT temporary L)

Here’s how it looked (Luckily, I was able to save this picture)

Gahd, I look so slim here. But now...

When I reached college, the desire was still there but being more conscious and aware of what my hair was like (thick, frizzy, and difficult to maintain), I still didn’t pursue. And to add to that, I didn’t know what exact shade I wanted! I wanted a low maintenance and not-so-outrageous color, but different and noticeable too. (I’m so contradictory, I confuse myself sometimes) Of course, the color had to suit my skintone as well.

Come my 4^th year in college, (this was during summer and OJT days) my cousin dyed her hair Mahogany and it looked really good on her. I obsessed about it for around 2 weeks and decided to follow suit. So for almost a year (dyed my hair once every six months), this was my shade.

Since I started reading beauty blogs during the last quarter of the year, I’ve constantly landed on beautyblogs which featured Etude House’s Bubble Hair Color. I found it intriguing because it was a shampoo-type dye, which was a first for me. But since I was content with my shade, I shrugged off any inkling to try it out.

Come December, I noticed that my natural shade (darkEST brown) was showing already. Seems my hair regrowth is getting faster. That was the time when I’ve been frequenting EH stores, and before I knew it, I made up my mind to try the famous hair colorant.

The great debate happening all inside my mind was the shade – Wine Red or Sweet Orange? Lucky me, Wine Red was out of stock. And we all know what happened next. See related post here.

(WOW ANG HABA NA NG INTRO KO. The babbler in me has been unleashed yet again! Mwahahaha! --- and the brief history of whatshername has been told. ^_^)

Claims to: be a shampoo-type bubble hair coloring item to dye your hair. Its bubble foam can give more vivid color than cream-type items.

Price: Php378.00 (around 8USD)

One box includes: 

~Hair Coloring: 30ml (1.01 fl. Oz.)

~Oxidizer: 50ml (1.70 fl. Oz.)

~Silky Perfumed Conditioner: 10ml (0.34 fl. Oz.)

~Gloves

Thick gloves! I like!

~Vinyl Gown

As opposed to the gloves, this was so flimsy

~Directions (in Hanggeul)

All in all, this is what one box contains:

How to use:

1. Pour content of Hair Coloring into Oxidizer. Gently shake it round and sideways.

Tip: Shake it NOT in the way a champagne bottle is shaken. When it feels like it has blended well (meaning no more liquid feel), it’s ready.

This serves as the cap of the coloring

I darkened the photo a bit to show how it looks BEFORE shaking

2. Pump to get foam.

Tip: Pump a little amount so you’d get the hang of it first. Once you get the feel of  it, pump away! J

Don't forget to wear your gloves ;)

3. Apply as if applying shampoo, but make sure to apply evenly. Leave on for 30 minutes then rinse well.

Tip: Use the Silky Perfumed Conditioner when rinsing. It left my hair superbly smooth, I couldn’t resist stroking my hair!

Notice the foam turned from purple to brown?

I applied it to dry hair, but it didn’t lather up. That took me about 20 minutes. I thought, it’s a shampoo-type dye so I guess I should wet my hair. I did and it became all foamy and bubbly. The product was more than enough to cover my long, thick hair. I didn’t finish it up because I was already trying to finish it when the bottle felt like it was only half-empty. Also, time was ticking! I already had the dye on for more than 45 minutes. If I tried using it up more, I feared I might overdye (is there such a word?) my hair and become a pumpkin-head. But now I wish I did finish it all up! Read on to see why.

Here are before and after pics of my err.. thick, dry and wavy hair.

BEFORE (all with flash)

AFTER (with flash)

Completely bare face

See how my roots are still dark? Maybe I should've scrubbed the roots with the remaining mixture instead of throwing it out :(


AFTER (without flash)

I absolutely love this bubble hair color from Etude House! You know why? Aside from how vibrant my hair looks, it isn’t as dry and tangled, considering how horrible my split ends are. (Would someone please send me a Bedhead set please? Hihihi.) While applying it, it doesn't sting unlike other colorants which really hurt when applied. The last time I had my hair dyed, my eyes were tearing up because it hurt real bad. And as mentioned earlier, the conditioner that comes with it is super nice too!

PLUS! I searched online for bubble hair color, and landed on this cute multiply store that sells various beauty and wellness products from Japan and Korea. They offered three brands of bubble hair color but all three were selling for around Php700.00 (around 14 USD) plus shipping! That's almost double the price! Thank God for Etude House! :D

However, it's said that bubble colorings lasting power is only 1-2 months as compared with normal dye that lasts for 3-6 months.

Will I repurchase? Definitely! Maybe in Red Wine this time?

What do you think lovelies? Which hair coloring method/product do you prefer? Do share! :)