How I Colored My Hair at Home in Five Minutes for Under $5

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I rarely review hair products, so when I do, a product not only piques my interest but also exceeds my expectations.

I have a black-hued bob (my hair is naturally a darker brown), and I only do two things to it: flat-iron it and conceal greys with hair color.

Usually, I go to my colorist at the salon for touch-ups, but with a hectic travel month, I recently had to do it at home.

I was looking for a product that would deliver salon-level color payoff without damaging my hair.

Plus, while I am a beauty writer, I’m not a hair colorist, so I needed to find something relatively beginner-friendly.

As I dug through my beauty closet for some hair dye (one of the perks of the job), I finally found Motions Xpress 5 Minutes Permanent Hair Color Shampoo .

At just $4.23 a packet, the ammonia-free Amazon’s Choice offering was waiting to be ripped open.

The package includes one hair color cream sachet, one developer sachet, one leaflet, and one pair of gloves.

I opted for the shade Natural Black and got right to it.

Applying with gloves was a totally new experience for me, as I was previously loyal to the Clairol Root Touch-Up Powder when I was in a pinch between salon appointments.

The instructions say to put on the gloves, fold both sachets, cut the tops open, and pour both contents into the palm of one glove.