Review: New John Frieda Go Blonder Controlled Lightening Spray

It's imperative that I begin this review by stating that, as with any product mentioned on this blog, I cannot be held responsible for the outcome if you try this product yourself. I am merely sharing with you MY experience with this product, and your results may vary depending on the color, texture, condition and porousness of your hair.

That said, the new John Frieda Go Blonder Controlled Lightening Spray worked exceptionally well on my hair and I'd love to walk you through my journey:

John Frieda Go Blonder Controlled Lightening Spray

(retail: around $9.99, 3.5 oz)

There was a $2 instant coupon on this box, which I used in conjunction with a sale at CVS, so I got this product for a real steal. Also, inside the box, there is ANOTHER coupon for $1 off your next purchase, which I very much appreciate since I intend to repurchase when I run out.

This is a controlled lightening spray, which means you will not see immediate results. As the box indicates, you will see "results in 3-5 uses." I also want you to be aware that this product contains hydrogen peroxide, and it works with HEAT to lighten your hair. The instructions do not mention sun (remember Sun-In Hair Lightener from the 80s which reacted to sunshine to lighten your hair?). This product requires a heat-styling tool to work its magic.

In fact, it recommends that you use a curling iron or flat iron after application for maximum results. Since I use neither of those tools to style my hair, I used a hair dryer (also recommended).

If you are thinking about trying this product, PLEASE enlarge the following photo and read the label carefully:

Now for the good part! First let me say that my hair is dark blonde/light brown with lighter pieces running throughout. However, my roots are a shade or two darker than the lower 75% of my hair, and that's the part I focus on when I color my hair. I also have lots of gray near my bangs, so I was REALLY hoping that using this product would eliminate my need to break out my usual box of color that I use to color my gray.

When I first decided to document this process with pictures, I thought it would be best to focus on my roots. Well, I am KICKING MYSELF for not taking a "before" picture of my new growth as it compares to the rest of my hair. I apologize, but I'll tell you more about that later on in this post.

Following the directions to a "T", I've been using this product immediately after washing my hair and applying it to my roots and bang area. I find the fragrance of this product pleasant--it smells just like a regular hairspray to my nose.

After application, I then blow-dry my hair, making special effort to apply lots of heat to my roots and bangs. And..that's it!

After the first and second applications, I was sad that I literally could not see ANY difference. But then I reminded myself that the box states "results in 3-5 uses" so I continued to use it every other day. As you can see, the change is gradual, and I actually decided to stop after SIX uses, since that's when I achieved my desired level of lightness (the box recommends up to 10 uses).

In the above set of photos, I want to point out a few things. First of all, in the first pic (with the arrow), I'm showing you that there are areas of my hair that are lighter than others. My biggest concern was that this product would turn my hair into one giant orange blog. Not the case! I still have multi-dimensional hair with darker and lighter areas throughout.

In the third photo above (with the white bar), I put the white bar across my head to indicate approximately how far down my new growth went BEFORE I started using this product. In other words, my hair was looking pretty shabby and my root color went all the down to the white bar.

The most fantastic thing about this product, for me, is that I literally cannot tell where my roots used to be--the color has blended SEAMLESSLY into the rest of my hair! I don't know exactly how this worked, but it TOTALLY worked!

My hair does not feel dry or damaged in the slightest, which I think can be attributed to the fact that this is a gentle, very gradual lightening process. Also, I stopped after six applications instead of using ten (I'm not saying that ten applications would cause damage, but since I only used six, I wasn't surprised to see that my hair felt the same as it did before I started using this product).

One last thing: after using this product six times, the bottle still feels a little more than half full. That's great news considering you only get 3.5 oz of product to begin with, so I imagine one bottle can last for two full rounds of lightening on my hair, since I only need to use it six times per round.

FINAL VERDICT: John Frieda Go Blonder Controlled Lightening Spray gave me the exact results I was hoping for, with little to no effort on my part. I was scared that it would dramatically lighten my hair after the first use, but it really delivered on its promise of controlled lightening. Six applications was all I needed in order to match the color of my new growth with the lower 75% of my hair. The transition looks seamless to my naked eye, which is absolutely amazing. I would say that if you're in a situation similar to mine (you have blonde to light brown hair with roots that are a shade or two darker) you might have success with this product as well. Just remember that you won't see results after the first few applications. I will definitely repurchase this product and continue to use it every time my pesky roots make their monthly appearance.

Have you tried John Frieda Go Blonder Controlled Lightening Spray? Do you think it sounds like a good match for your hair coloring needs? For more reviews of this product, check out the John Frieda website.