Ion Color Brilliance Brights - Titanium & Shade Diluter Review

So, I've wanted white/silver hair forever. But no matter how many times I'd try toning or using purple shampoo, it never really got to the shade that I wanted. I had seen reviews for various silver dyes (like Directions, and Pravana), but couldn't really muster the guts/desire to purchase them off of eBay.

I happened to browsing the Sally's website the other day when I came across Ion's new line of hair dye colors, which, lo and behold, included a silver dye called "Titanium". They were also running a deal where if you bought one of the new brights colors, you could get a free tube of their shade diluter as well. WELL WHY THE FUCK NOT.


Each came in a 2.05oz tube which I had assumed when combined, they would be enough for my hair. IT WAS NOT.


This was the initial proportion I had mixed up. However, it didn't look like it was going to be dark enough so I added in a little bit more of Titanium.


The first thing I noticed was just how thick the consistency was. It was literally like cake frosting, extremely hard to move my brush through but it blended really nicely. This, however, caused a lot of trouble when applying it to my hair and made it rather difficult for me to get an even coat. The thickness also made it hard for me to spread the dye all over my hair, and so I ran out - fortunately it's coated enough so it doesn't look too awkward but at the length my hair is, it should have been enough! Ah well.


~*so hot*~ I left the concoction on for about 20 minutes, and here's how it turned out!:

super shitty basement lighting!
It looked awful to me at first, but I think it's because I had been looking at it in my very yellow toned basement apartment lighting. In daylight...


Ahhh, much better! It's pretty close to the shade I wanted. It's a little bit uneven because I ran out of dye, but in general I'm pretty happy with it. I think if I were to do it again, I'd use conditioner to dilute instead of Ion's shade diluter - I think the conditioner would help make the consistency a bit easier to work with. Overall, yes, I'd recommend it. It's certainly cheap enough to take a chance on, but just be warned about the thickness and make sure you buy more than enough to cover your head. 

19 comments:

  1. THAT's what you call uneven?? Honey please. I have uneven bleached bangs and uneven pastel to hot pink bangs (the conditoner and color method).XD I do like this and it gives me an idea of how the shade diluter works as well as how Titanium can look. Thank you! I agree on the fact that Ion is really thick; at least it coats well, won't drip or make a huge mess.

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    1. True, not dealing with dye all over my sink was a good thing! :) It was a bit more uneven than this picture shows (for whatever reason my camera had a serious issue capturing different shades of silver) but maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought. Hope you have good luck with it if you end up using it!

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  2. Looks great! My hair is an uneven mess of VERY light blue, grey/green (the toner I used was weird...), VERY light purple, and light ashy-blonde roots. If I diluted it but made this a bit darker, like a light/medium gunmetal grey, would it cover my mess?

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    1. Thanks! I'm no hair professional so I don't really feel too comfortable advising you. I'd be concerned that since the dye is so thick and hard to cover evenly that it might not cover your already uneven hair. Best thing to do is see a hairdresser if possible :)

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  3. the shade diluter is an option right? like i don't have to mix it with the hair dye?

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    1. Exactly :) The shade diluter just makes it lighter. If you just use the dye by itself it will come out a darker, gunmetal grey.

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  4. I like your blog, you've got a wit that can't be denied! How can I follow? I don't see a link...Em

    http://theskinnybyemily.blogspot.com

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  5. i am sitting here with a tube of titanium on my head. but it looks greenish

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  6. So i used titanium and it turned my hair blueish gray. how would i get it to silver from there? could i just use the diluter? or mix it like you did?

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    1. Hi! I'm not a hairdresser, so I'm not 100% sure - what color was your hair to begin with?

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    2. Hola Hi , sorry mi inglish . Me Too It hace a ver blue tones how i can to lower the bue tones over the Grey ? I has highlights silver and iwas put the color with acondicionaire , no more

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  7. Did you get this hair dye on the UK sallys website or the US?

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  8. So...I decided to try this out too. I've been heavily highlighting my hair for 5 years now to blend my greys. But hey...grey is in now! I too thought that the 1 tube of diluter would be enough. I did about 1oz titanium and whole tube of diluter since it was not enough , I added about an ounce of conditioner. As I sit here with it on my head I came across your site, looking for hope on not having enough diluter. Your color came out great...my fingers are crossed. ;)

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  11. How does it affect hair texture? I've been doing my own hair, but went to the salon twice and my hair is gummy and fried! I want to keep it silver/white (my natural hair is a 6N), but I've never used Vivids and don't know what to expect on my now damaged hair. Has any one tried Titanium with conditioner instead of shade diluter? Help me save my silver/white hair!

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    1. It wont hurt your hair as it has no ammonia or peroxide. It makes my bleached hair feel soft. Fractionated coconut oil will help heal your damage. From bkeaching. So will castor oil. Hope this helps as i have fried my hair in the past thats why i use semi permanent dyes now.

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  12. So I just bought the diluter and titanium and my hair is blonde with some light silver gray which is what IM going for, so use all the diluter and just add the titanium to the look I want?

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