topic Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience in WEN

My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

bmorechick — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 19:29:26 GMT

Ok so I was intrigued by this and ordered and received it. The first time, The deep purple threw me off, so I only used one pump and mixed it with a few pumps of the regular CC and ran it through my hair for a quick second cleanse. Saw no difference. So I went whole hog this morning. Full on Spirit as my regular wash. OMG the entire shower was purple, the walls above the shower were flecked with purple. I will tell you, rinse it off right away. Dont let it dry because you will have to scrub it off.

So after it dried, yea I saw a richer hue and I guess that will be what we should expect. It wasn’t anything that I would order again though...and I love WEN. I think I am satisfied with the regular CC.

I left it in for 5 minutes as suggested by the WEN folks for greatest effect. However, I did notice it left a slight purple hue under my fingernails and I have short, clipped no manicure nails. Ive washed my hands at least 10 times today, but it’s still there. Looks like I’ve been digging in the dirt

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

blackhole99 — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 19:43:47 GMT

If you don't have some gray in your hair the 2nd cleanse with the toner may not be for you IMO. I have salt and pepper hair and it works great for me, makes my gray sparkle and my med. brown richer. I leave the toner on for 15 or 20 minutes, I agree the toner doesn't do much if you don't leave it on for awhile. Also, it does make a mess, so you have to be careful.

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

World Traveler — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 20:16:44 GMT

I have never had a problem with the purple getting all over the shower and hard to remove; same with my hands/nails. No problem at all. But that might be because my hair color is natural, so I don't use cold water. I use warm water. Perhaps warm water is better at dissolving it. Perhaps do it in the sink where you have more control over where it splashes.

At any rate, my gray hair LOVES Bella Spirit Indigo. The longest I have left it on is four hours, just as an experiment. It does rinse out, so there was never any fear of overdoing it. For me, the way I like it is to use my regular Tea Tree for the first cleanse and then mix Indigo with the seasonal of choice for the day....50/50. Leave it on as long as I normally do with the second cleanse.....the time it takes to wash my face and body thoroughly. Perhaps a couple or three minutes.

Thanks for your review!

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

geezerette — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 20:27:51 GMT

I’m not overly entranced with the Indigo Toner. But my hair is still mostly brown with gray. It does enhance the gray, but I actually prefer my brown hair with its warm undertones rather than cool. And yes, the staining is a pain. I have purple stains around my nails until at least the following day after washing. (It does look like dirty fingernails.) And I have yet to be able to not get purple on my towels. Granted, it washes out, but because of the stains, I only use the toner the day before I plan to wash towels.

All that said, I love how the Bella Spirit leaves my hair! And the soft fragrance is such a pleasant difference from the other cleansing conditioners. I love the Bella Spirit Cleansing Conditioner and need to use it alone, without the Toner, which I haven’t done yet. If it becomes available separately, I’d happily purchase just the BS CC alone.

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

riley1 — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 20:28:57 GMT

No problem rinsing the shower or my hands - I have used the BSI as my second cleanse and as a leave-in the last couple of cleanses.

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

x Hedge — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 21:39:41 GMT

I've only used my Bella Spirit Indigo 3 times.

It's slightly drying even tho I use Remoist in my 2nd cleanse and lots of oil in my leave in.

Certainly not as drying an a non-WEN blue toner though.

Last time I used the Indio I left it in for about 45 min. I don't have a problem with skin stains because I pause and scrub with a nailbrush during the cleanse.

I wash my long hair bent forward at the kitchen sink, and there's purple spatter all around, no matter how careful I am. Perhaps length of hair makes a difference in the spattering.

I thought I'd wiped it all each time, but recently noticed tiny dried on purple dots on the white window blinds, above.

The only thing that's been truly strained is a kitchen gadget made of white silicone. The purple just won't clean or even fade from that material.

Its washed right out of everything else though.

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

bmorechick — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 22:12:42 GMT

Riley1...I’m not sure why but when I received some tips about the indigo from the wen website, they in bold letters advised DO NOT USE INDIGO AS A LEAVE IN...no reason given

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

RipleyGirl — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 23:49:04 GMT

Hmmmm seems I'm not leaving it in long enough. I have medium ash blonde hair and it didn't really seem to change much, but then my hair color might not show much of an effect since I don't have a lot of gold. Smells lovely though.

I did splash some of the blue around the shower, but I didn't notice color in my nails.

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

CamilleP — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:19:04 GMT

I didn't have any staining, perhaps our hard water helps with that? Do you have naturally soft water, or a water softener in your home? I agree with others, if you don't have much grey, Indigo might not do much for you. I'm ash blonde going grey, and the last time I got a haircut, the stylist remarked on how pretty my silver grey was as it came in, so I know that Indigo is indeed helping my hair. The stylist said she didn't blame me for not wanting to mess with regular coloring, my grey was such a pretty color. For me, Indigo is well worth using in my second cleanse going forward, I think I'll order a gallon from Chaz directly when he gets some back in stock.

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

Drythe — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:27:08 GMT

Hello Friends,

I still have not tried these products!

Like my hair color, have a teeny bit of grey right above ears, and love my highlites. So, no Indigo.

Would like to try Spirit, but have only found as a pair.

Glad you have a new WEN product to love!

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

Greenqueen — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 01:07:40 GMT

I'm in love with the Indigo, and I only have a small amount of grey. I'm a brassy brown, and it helps tremendously. So it's not just for grey, white or blond!

@World Traveler asked Chaz about using it as a leave-in and he said it's so there isn't staining on clothing. I've used it as a leave-in with no issue...you just have to be careful.

I've never had an issue with it staying under my fingernails...

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

riley1 — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 02:05:23 GMT

@bmorechick - I think Chaz said not to use it as a leave-in but that may have been to cover himself if clothes, towels, etc got stained. Now I have to remember where I may have read something to this effect.

Ok, I'll page @World Traveler she may be able to shed light on this.

In any event, nothing got stained - me, the t-shirt, bathroom - everthing is fine. Hair looks great as well!

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

bmorechick — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 02:09:53 GMT

I have medium brown shoulder length hair, with a few carmel highlights. Yes, I have grey at the temples and around my bangs but because I do not like the aging effect of grey hair, I color it and will until the day I leave this planet! I will use the Indigo every now and then but for me personally, it’s not a winner.

Thanks for all your comments and input!

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

World Traveler — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 11:53:25 GMT

@riley1 wrote:
@bmorechick - I think Chaz said not to use it as a leave-in but that may have been to cover himself if clothes, towels, etc got stained. Now I have to remember where I may have read something to this effect.

@Ok, I'll page @World Traveler she may be able to shed light on this.

In any event, nothing got stained - me, the t-shirt, bathroom - everthing is fine. Hair looks great as well!

@riley1 This is our discussion at the September salon visit I had:

I asked what the biggest misconception was on Indigo and he said that it is only for blondes. It is for all hair types, colors (natural or bottle), and that people are afraid it will turn their hair purple, so they just use a little bit. For blondes, it gets rid of any yellowing and/or brassiness; for redheads, it cools it down or if you had a red color that is already cool, it enhances it; for gray/silver hair, it is obviously what it does….brightens it up and gets rid of any yellow; for brown hair, it cuts out any yellow; and for people with black hair, it makes it look like the feathers of a black bird, very striking.

We talked about not using Indigo as a leave-in, even though he does. He said that the lab said not to because it might stain your pillow or on your skin if you are not careful. But he is careful and uses it that way. “Do as I say, not as I do.” Ha!

I told him about the many comments of you posters who have gotten a lot of volume out of using Bella Spirit Traditional, how full it makes the hair. He feels it is the rice, quoina, and the various exclusive water formulas it has (lavender, cucumber, eucalyptus, and bamboo).

By the way, he put Indigo on the Angels the prior day, and their coats were so beautiful….glistening when I saw them!

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

riley1 — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 12:53:04 GMT

@World Traveler - Ah, THANK YOU!! I knew I had read that someplace.

I did use it as a leave-in and everything was fine. Of course, I don't know what would happen if anything was light or white. And as I do my hair in the morning, I don't have to worry about the pillowcase!

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

World Traveler — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 14:21:42 GMT

I wanted to add that my tile in the bathroom is very, very light....cream colored. And still I see no purple stain or specks. So perhaps it is the hardness/softness of the water that make it a problem for some people. And the fact that I use warm water, not cold, to rinse my hair. Could be a combination of things, I guess.

I was trying to think if I ever saw purple stain/specks at the salon, but I think Chaz's wash bowls are black, so it wouldn't be noticeable. Next time I am there, I will ask the people who wash the customer's hair for Chaz, and see if they have noticed that.

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

riley1 — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 15:51:38 GMT

@World Traveler - Yes, the wash bowls are black. Which makes sense. Are the towels black also? I really am not seeing a staining problem with indigo as a leave-in and I'm sure I would have noticed something on the t-shirt I plop my hair in as it is light grey.

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

World Traveler — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 15:58:37 GMT

@riley1 Hmmmmm....Chaz's towels. I could be wrong on this, but I think they are a medium gray. Just never paid that much attention to it. ha!

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

San Antonio Gal — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 17:28:15 GMT

@World Traveler wrote:
I wanted to add that my tile in the bathroom is very, very light....cream colored. And still I see no purple stain or specks. So perhaps it is the hardness/softness of the water that make it a problem for some people. And the fact that I use warm water, not cold, to rinse my hair. Could be a combination of things, I guess.

I was trying to think if I ever saw purple stain/specks at the salon, but I think Chaz's wash bowls are black, so it wouldn't be noticeable. Next time I am there, I will ask the people who wash the customer's hair for Chaz, and see if they have noticed that.

@The tile in my bathroom is also very light, @World Traveler. I've not had any staining or specs anywhere - including under my fingernails...

Re: My Bella Spirit Indigo experience

World Traveler — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 18:03:17 GMT

@San Antonio Gal Ditto on the fingernails. Have not had a problem with Indigo underneath them either. Really strange why it is a problem for some and not others. Can't figure that one out.