When I was a kid, my mom and auntie would retreat into the bathroom, hands wrapped in latex gloves, newspaper covering the counters and floor as they mixed together a dark, foul-smelling paste in a plastic bowl. For hours, they’d alternately gossip and brush the paste into each other’s hair. When the monthly ritual was done, their gray hairs had been completely vanquished. I, a judgmental know-it-all, would scrunch my nose and say this all seemed like too much effort.
They told me to wait until I started graying.
Two decades later, I maintain that I was correct. Thanks to an ill-fated pandemic experiment with purple hair, I know at-home hair dyeing is a righteous pain in the butt. I vowed to never do it again. Then, at my last haircut, my stylist tried to upsell me on a dye job because, “You’re too young to be this gray.” At that moment, I saw my mom and auntie in that old bathroom, pointing their fingers at me, cackling.
Thus began my two-month experiment with L’Oréal’s Colorsonic.
I first came across the $124.99 L’Oréal Colorsonic at CES 2022. It’s a high-tech hair wand with bristles that spit out goo so you can quickly dye your hair. The bottom half has an empty chamber where you insert a refillable hair dye cartridge. The top half has a nozzle with bristles that oscillate more than 300 times a minute to evenly apply color. You press a button, brush this thing through your hair, and voila! You’re done. There are some extra techy features thrown in — for instance, the cartridges have chips so the device can tell you how much dye is left. The pitch is to make dyeing your whole head, root touch-ups, and covering grays easier, quicker, and more affordable than a trip to the salon. And in the world of beauty tech gadgets, there isn’t really anything else like this.
Me, and my multiplying grays, wanted to believe. Let’s be frank: dyeing your hair isn’t something many people do on a whim. The Colorsonic’s audience is primarily women, many of whom, on at least a subconscious level, view a beautiful head of hair as a source of cultural power. Changing your hair color is a way to completely alter your image. But it’s not easy. It’s a deep commitment in terms of time, effort, maintenance, and money. Something like the Colorsonic is alluring precisely because it’s saying that power can be yours for less work, money, and time. And hair dyeing is also a dicey proposition. Unlike at-home straightening or curling, you’re applying harsh chemicals to your head. If done wrong, it can destroy your hair. There’s a reason so many people choose to spend several hundred dollars to see a professional, even when box dye costs $10 at CVS.
So it’s a very good thing L’Oreal’s put some guardrails on the Colorsonic. It’s not a one-stop dye machine. This device is only designed to handle the coloring part of the process. The cartridges are permanent hair color formulas, which means they do have a lightening agent. However, they’re not as powerful as straight-up bleach. If you want to bleach your hair, you’ll have to buy a kit or see a pro. L’Oréal’s also sticking to natural colors for this first shade range. For a dark brunette like me, that means unless I bleach my hair first, I have to stick with colors that are close to my natural shade. This isn’t a tool for complex dye jobs. That, in turn, minimizes the damage the average person can do.
With all this in mind, I was equal parts nervous and excited to unbox the Colorsonic. To my surprise, everything is thoughtfully packaged and designed. You’re meant to store the device in the original box insert, and it comes with reusable gloves and a giant waterproof, tearproof instruction sheet complete with QR codes to video tutorials. The instructions are straightforward, and the actual process of dyeing your hair is shockingly easy. Anyone can insert a cartridge into a chamber, press a button, and brush their hair. The first time I tried it, the entire application process took 10–15 minutes.
That’s wild. I have a full head of hair. In my misguided purple hair era, dyeing half my head often took 45 minutes. Brushing the Colorsonic through your hair is also a neater process than sectioning your hair, clipping it, and then painstakingly applying dye in thin layers. The latter not only takes time but also left me and my all-white bathroom looking like I’d just murdered Barney the Dinosaur. I wouldn’t call the Colorsonic completely mess-free. You inevitably get some dye on yourself and the sink. But cleanup — including rinsing the Colorsonic with its cleaning cartridge — took five minutes.
While waiting for the dye to set, I thought it had to be too good to be true. A half hour later, after rinsing and drying my hair, I was right. My hair was a richer brownish-black, but my grays hadn’t gone anywhere.
Apparently, grays can be dye-resistant. To conquer the stubborn buggers, multiple Reddit forums suggested leaving in the dye longer. Fine. I figured I’d experiment and see if doing that around my temples would make a difference. After my first application, I still had about a third of the cartridge left. But by the time I finished the whole warm-up process, my first cartridge was empty. I had to order another one online for $30.
My third attempt has so far been the most successful. To the point where I’m fairly certain my first cartridge was a bit of a dud. Not only did the dye come out thicker but the application was even smoother. I let the dye set for 45 minutes. I felt confident going into the rinsing process that my grays would be vanquished.
About 70 percent of them were.
I looked maybe a year or two younger! Coworkers and friends complimented me! A good chunk of the grays at my temples — the ones that bother me the most — were either gone or blended in better. But my goal had been to completely nuke my grays. After another, slightly less successful fourth attempt, I can still find quite a few whenever I put my hair up. I’ve been told by my spouse, colleagues, family, and friends that this is a problem between me and my vanity.
That’s the thing about hair tech. Whether it’s L’Oréal’s Colorsonic or one of Dyson’s curlers, it still requires a degree of skill, luck, and know-how to get the best results. I could just have biblically stubborn grays. I’m convinced my first cartridge was a bit wonky. It’s possible my application skills aren’t quite up to snuff yet. It could be that this particular hair dye formula for the Colorsonic isn’t optimized for full gray coverage. Maybe, my mom and auntie tag-teamed their grays the way they did because it was a carefully refined process discovered through lots of trial and error. Perhaps I was naive hoping the first iteration of a gadget would make everything easy and perfect.
My time with the Colorsonic has been a lesson in what tradeoffs I’m willing to accept. I’ve used $60 worth of cartridges and a $125 gadget to get middling results. At $185, that’s much more expensive than if I’d just bought two boxes of dye but more affordable than the rates at my salon in New York City. (I was once quoted $600. Respectfully, no.) It’s also much less time-consuming than box dye or the salon. So far, my hair remains undamaged. Sure, I wish that the cartridges gave me more bang for my buck, but I’m much happier not spending an hour scrubbing stains out of my bathroom counters and tub.
Whether the Colorsonic is worth it boils down to what you value: the best results, cost, or convenience. Pick two. My mom and auntie picked results and cost, hence their laborious dedication to box dye. For results and convenience, a salon is going to get you the most foolproof experience. Personally, I’ve realized I’m a cost-and-convenience gal. I’m happy with a middle-of-the-road price and good-enough results. Especially if it means getting a lot of time back. That makes the Colorsonic a great fit for my needs. It’s just not a perfect one.