L’Oreal Professionnel INOA Hair Colour Review

I simply love hair colours and trust me when I say that I have tried the latest hair colour products or services be it at home or at a salon within weeks of launch. The results have been variegated, sometimes good and sometimes bad. In all this the victim has been my hair – turning dry, frizzy, damaged, and even greasy by turn. So when I heard about INOA, which claimed to retain your texture even as it gives you better results, I decided to try it out.

loreal inoa hair color

What is it: Couple of months ago L’Oreal Professionnel, the popular professional hair colour brand made, lot of noise about its innovation in hair colour called INOA (Innovation No Ammonia), which uses a new oil delivery system. This means that it has zero odour and no ammonia (a dream come true for hair colour regulars like me). According to the company spokesperson, with the invention of INOA with its ODS technology engine, a new dimension in comfort and colouring has evolved. In the regular version of the colour ammonia, the necessary alkaline agent is added so that it can lift the hair cuticles for colour deposition on the strands. However this left the strands swollen and dry leading to damage. Besides the damage, the smell of ammonia during and after application can be really offensive to your nose. But now L’Oreal Research has found this new colour delivery mechanism which uses mineral oil to act as the catalyst for depositing colour on the strands. This means it is gentler on the strands and scalp is also protected. Your strands do not get weakened during the colouring process and there is no smell.
loreal inoa hair color
Availability and pricing: INOA currently is available as a professional colour treatment that you can get done at any hair salon that uses L’Oreal colours. Most top salons across the country offer this colouring service. Today INOA is available in about 40 shades ranging from browns, chocolate, burgundy, caramel, mahogany, honey, blond, ash blond. The colourist can blend the colours to match your skin tone, which is a blessing for a girl like me whose complexion goes from fair to wheat to terribly tanned. You can go up to three shades light or dark depending on your mood, and get 100 percent grey coverage. The pricing of the product is slightly more expensive than other L’Oreal Professionnel salon hair colour service like Majirel. Each tube of colour costs Rs 1500, and the total cost of the colour service will depend upon the length of your hair and number of tubes used. Simple root touch up can cost you Rs 800, which a whole head global colour can be anywhere between Rs 2,500 to Rs 5000.

Application experience: I was quite excited about trying out this new colour since it promised not to harm my already weak hair. So as the colourist applied the colour mixture on my strands avoiding the scalp, I waited to get that aroma of rotten egg (a sign that ammonia is working on your strands) but did not get even a whiff of that smell. Instead my noise detected a floral fragrance. However I had to sit over an hour to get the colour on, because unlike in regular colouring, in INOA, the colourist needs to emulsify the mixture into the strand, much like a hair mask. This is to activate the ODS (oil delivery system) in the colour which will ensure the colour gets on the strands evenly. The gloop remained on my hair for a longer period of time so that it could develop better. Then my colourist took me to the backwash for washing off the colour with extra dose of shampoo. This extra shampooing is needed to clear the colour residue and to bring out the hue. She used the INOA post colour shampoo twice followed with the appropriate masque/conditioner at the back wash. Post wash and conditioning and blow drying my hair glimmered with a new depth, and had an added glisten.
loreal inoa hair color

Pros of L’Oreal Professionnel INOA Hair Colour

Here’s what I like about the colour.

  • There was no rotten egg smell during and after the application.
  • The colour felt rich and deep.
  • My hair had added gloss.
  • No itchiness of the scalp.
  • No frizz and dryness of the strands even after a week of application.

Cons of L’Oreal Professionnel INOA Hair Colour

Here’s what I don’t like about the colour.

  • It takes a longer time to develop, so you have to sit on the hairdresser’s chair longer, which can try your patience.
  • Wish it could come cheaper. A full head of colour with INOA can set you back by at least Rs 4K.

loreal inoa hair color
Verdict: Despite the service hurting my pocket, I would go back again for touch ups because the colour was definitely gentle on my hair and scalp.

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31 thoughts on “L’Oreal Professionnel INOA Hair Colour Review

  1. Hey Pribee…..I have to color my hair….kind of necessity :toothygrin: :toothygrin: :toothygrin:
    So I will definitely try this one…… :thanks: :thanks: for the post
    And I loved the color you chose…..suits you very well :waytogo: :waytogo:

    1. Hi Jinal,

      Thanks…:) Even i like this hue…after ages of getting my colour wrong i found this right shade but that’s because the hair colourist at the salon is an expert…its thanks to her…

      cheers
      Pri

  2. My MIL is gettn hair color done on Sunday…..thankyou for the review :yahoo: …and the i liked the color that u hav done…what is the shade name ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:) ?:)

    1. Hi Farha,

      Sorry for the delay in getting back to you…my shade is a blend between chocolate and mahogany…INOA is a salon service available at any salon…the stylist can blend the shade to match the skin tone.

      cheers
      Pri

  3. hi pribee thank you for the post.
    am totally new to hair colouring. I have few grey strands. so bought revlon top speed dark brown shade.
    I have not coloured my hair ever in my life.
    i think u r the right person to help me out by giving proper guidelines.
    my doubts are
    how to do a patch test I mean allergy test ?
    how can I know whether I have sensitivity to it ?
    the leafletsays to do an allergy teest by keepoing a dose of colour inside the elbow .Am i supoosed to keep the test for 48 hours untouched? but then I wonder How can I keep it without even getting wet?
    In fact they have asked to put blkack colour on one side of the brush and the white colour on to other side of brush and am suposed to comb the hair using that brush..but there also I dobt how could two colours spread evenly on my hair ?

    sorry sweetie have so many doubts. all IMBB colour experts please help me if you have used revlon top speed hair colour.
    many thanka

    1. Hi Sumsu,

      Regret the delay in getting back to you…yes patch test means allergy test…the best place to try out the test is near the nape of your neck, underside of your hair.

      When you apply the colour for the first time you may feel a bit of tingling since ammonia and hydrogen peroxide in the colour can cause that…but if you get a burning sensation or severe itchiness on your scalp when applying or after you have washed off the colour, then you know you are sensitive to the chemicals in the box.

      Hey the test means that you apply the shade as per instruction on the underside of your hair…take a strip of your stands, apply the colour as per instruction, wash off and check for reactions for the next two days…if nothing happens then go ahead use the full box to do the colour.

      See i have not tried Revlon colour fast yet…so can’t say about the method…seems tricky 😉

      My advice: if you are first timer, go to a salon to get your first colour done, then you can do touch ups and hue changes. Otherwise try the girls in your local parlour who can apply the shade for you at a nominal price. Most would be happy to offer this service.

      Am about to try Wella Kolestint…will keep you guys posted on that…

      cheers :))
      Pribee

  4. Thank you sweetie.
    I have a small baby so cant afford to spend time at salon. so have to get i done at home. in fact revlon top speed is a home kit. contains one white coloured tube and one blasck coloured tube. leaflet says just to put black colour on to oe side of brush and white colour on to another side of brush and just comb it through strands. they say thats the most easiest home based hair colouring kit in the market.
    but then again I wonder how can the colour spread evenly?

    so as per ur suggestions i plan to do a strand test . i shall apply the colour on few strands and leave it for few hours let me see whether i develop an sensitivity..
    by the way revlon top speed is totally ammonia free and I just wish to do touch ups just to cover the grey. and dont want to do entire hair colouring.
    does ammonia free colours are also sensitive to skin ?
    tips appreciated

    thank you so much

  5. I was very happy with INOA on my first color treatment. Unfortunately, after my second treatment my hair became dry, coarse, and brittle and the color faded horribly in about 10 days. I went back to my salon and she said she had experienced customer complaints before and she re did it with organic color systems and it was wonderful. I am on my third treatment of that and love it. I don’t know if this was something to do with my specific hair type, but I would like to know if anyone else is experiencing these problems?

  6. Nice colour, i know you said that your colour you used is chocolate and mahagony but is possible to know the exact colour numbers you chose?

  7. hi
    I want to use l’orel inoa color at home but don’t know how to use because it’s very expensive to go parlour every time.so could u please help me.

  8. hye… i need to color my hair..its been 6 months since i last coloured my hair blonde,and now the color is wearng out of my hair,hence leaving it pretty…and i want to try INOA… well,my hair is a little longer than shoulder length and very thin..what do you think will be my expenditure then ???

  9. Hi, I had my hair done with INOA no ammonia. After practically about 6 weeks, the whole hair strand of my grey hair was back to grey. Why is this?

  10. Hi there… Actualy am pregnant but have to color my hairs doctor recoment not to color my hairs bcz of amonia nd some chemicals in hair colors… can u suggest i shud go for inoa color or shud wait till my baby to be born??

  11. Coloured my hair with Loreal Majirel I hair colour black in d parlour, I but with in 10 days, I colour went off,can any one suggest inoa is best and what is the ratio to be mixed

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