Red hair, do care: Batiste Vibrant & Red Instant Hair Refresh review

Of all the colours that I’ve inflicted on my hair over the years, the red that I'm currently revisiting has been far and away the most striking, the most comment-provoking, and the biggest pain in the arse to maintain.

One reason for this is that washing - especially with hot water - really does a number on red hair, contributing massively to colour fade. Which is grand if you're actually looking to tone down a too-bright cherry red, as I was a few weeks ago, but more often than not for artificial redheads it's a spectacularly undesirable side effect of basic barnet hygiene.

Happily, my go-to Batiste dry shampoo is available in a red variant - I had no idea! - which basically means that redheads can go wash-free for a couple of days to get a lie-in preserve their colour for longer or without anyone getting wise to their scuzzbucketry. 

Like all "hint of colour" Batiste products, the one for redsers is a tinted spray powder. Shake the can, direct the nozzle at your greasy limp roots and spray. BANG and the grease is gone!

A couple of caveats: if you're not careful in your application, you should fully expect to get a red forehead and parting and I'll have no sympathy for you. It's tinted, so don't be an eejit, you know? Also, there is a decidedly bright ginge tinge to this product, and I've found that it takes a bit more working through with fingertips and a brush than the other shades I've used to ensure an even distribution and avoid looking like you've been doing headstands in the Arizona desert.

That said, in the last couple of months I've been strawberry blonde, burgundy (I'm Ron Burgundy?), cherry red, ginger, auburn, bright copper, and sort of rose gold, mostly by accident rather than design, so it's fair to say that I've tried this red batiste on a couple of shades. And I'm happy to report that simply tweaking the amount I use and the distance from which I spray it on has meant that it's worked perfectly right across the spectrum of my changeable red hair. Bonus: it also disguises regrowth.

Must. Have.


Batiste Vibrant & Red dry shampoo, €4.99 / £3.99 for 200ml. Bought with my very own spondoolix.