Today’s post is sponsored by Nexxus Salon Hair Care. 

So, I am approaching 40, and my hair has been fighting me on this one since I turned 33. I am a natural brunette. No other way around it, except for those brief moments in college when I was seduced by the San Diego sunshine and decided to lighten up my locks a bit. Other than that, brown, brown, brown. Which is a bit challenging when you start to go gray.

For a few years, I was OK with spotting one or two whispy pieces. I’d cover it up with a quick swipe of my mascara wand until my next hair appointment. Truthfully, though, I had highlights and all kinds of hair colors going on, so they gray just blended into wash. Once I started having children though, it became harder and harder to get to the salon every 4-6 weeks. As I got older, it became harder to extend those weeks from 4 to 6 to 8. At one point I remember considered buying a bottle of dye to just do myself at home. I tried this once in college…was not a good look for me. Instead, I opted to have my hairdresser just get rid of the highlights all together, and bring me back to my natural color. Though less maintenance, I still found myself needing to be at the salon no more than 6 weeks after my last appointment, and that was pushing it. At least I just had to sit there for one color process, and could be in and out within an hour if needed, with wet hair.

Of course, single color processing gets boring after awhile, and I needed, wanted, something to bring my hair back to life. This time around, I went with the ombre look. I absolutely love this because I can still have depth to the color of my hair, and only have to do my roots each time. A fun new look, but same gray haired sob story. Some things just never change, I guess.

The Sway Team at Conde Nast reached out and asked if I would be interested in trying a new line by Nexxus- the Nexxus Color Assure System. I have not used Nexxus since I was in high school, but the new line looked intriguing and possibly one that would be beneficial. A beautifully wrapped box was sent to me, with these fantastic metallic pink bottles which made me excited and annoyed at the same time. I really don’t like high maintenance products. I don’t have time for 12,000 steps before I get to the finished results. I’m lucky if I can get into the shower alone, and remember to shave my legs, let alone put 8 different bottles of product on my hair and wait the allotted time in order for them to work. Admittedly, the bottles stared back at me for about a week, which was the same amount of time until my next color appointment.

I love that fresh look after the hair salon. With the Nexxus Color Assure System just begging me to use it, I thought, OK, let’s see if it will really do what it says and keep my grays hidden longer. Surprise surprise! There are 4 bottles, but seriously 4 super easy steps. As long as I remembered to do the first step, add the Color Assure Pre-wash Primer to my hair before getting into the shower, the rest was crazy easy.

The important thing to remember about this primer is that a little truly does go a long way. Too much will leave your hair feeling and looking heavy with product. I know because it happened to me. But, was super simple. I left the bottle right nest to my face wash, which I also put on before getting into the shower, rubbed it through my hair, then jumped in. I washed my hair with the Color Assure Vibrancy Retention Shampoo & Conditioner.

The one thing I didn’t love about the shampoo and primer combo was that I found the shampoo to not suds up enough for my liking. I wasn’t sure if my hair was really getting clean, which caused me to use more of the shampoo than I normally would have. The conditioner was just like any other.

Once everything was rinsed out and towel dried, I sprayed the Color Assure Glossing Tonic in my hair, then combed through. Four easy steps.

Results: the color lasted. Really, it did. Even though I am still struggling to find a balance of the amount of product so my hair doesn’t feel heavy, I was pretty impressed. We spent a week at the beach and in the pool about 2 weeks after I got my hair colored and started using the Nexxus Color Assure System, and though not quite as shiny from the salon, the color was still rich, and I did not spot any grays after 3 weeks. They usually start making an appearance at that time. You will see in the pictures below that my hair still has great color from top to bottom. I love that!

Which product does all the hard work around here? The Color Assure Pre-Wash Primer. All the products are needed, of course, to get the full benefit and great results. However, it’s the primer that is the activator.

• The Pre-Wash Primer is meant to repel water- one of the harshest agents for fading hair color.
• Ingredients like white orchid extract help to provide moisture, while ingredients like almond oil work to reduce breakage, and coconut oil makes your hair extra soft.
• Combined, the ingredients in this product work to give you color that lasts up to two times longer than if you didn’t use the Pre-Wash Primer.

Try it for yourself and see how the Nexxus Color Assure System works for you! Visit Nexxus.com or follow @NexxusHair on Twitter or Instagram to learn more.

Thank you Nexxus Salon Hair Care for sponsoring today’s post.