Dalena dares to ask…I would like to know the scoop on John Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette products. Do they really make a difference on brunettes?
The Right Brain responds:
Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette line consists of shampoos and conditioners, glazes and styling products, all aimed at different shades of brown hair. Do Brilliant Brunette products function any differently than “regular” products? Not really. Basically Frieda is just adding a little color to the products to make them more appealing to brunettes, there’s no special technology here. Read the labels carefully – they don’t even make any special claims! All they say is stuff like this:
Developed exclusively for brown hair, this collection exposes the unique richness of brunette.
Ultra-conditioning formula rehydrates and revitalizes dull, dry, brittle hair for renewed silkiness and exceptional shine
Restores the multi-dimensional richness of brown hair while invigorating highlights
Brings out the multi-dimensional richness of brunette…without adding or depositing color
With regular use, dry lackluster brown hair will develop incredible radiance and a silky texture
Low-pH formula features cocoa bean extract and crushed pearls
For natural, color-treated or highlighted brunettes
Other than telling you it will make your hair shiny, they’re really not saying all that much. The glazes are a little different than typical products but even they don’t do very much. You can read our earlier post on glazes if you’re interested.
For styling products the story is pretty much the same: the styling cream illuminates brown tones and creates silky perfection; whatever that means. Since brunette hair doesn’t really have different styling needs than other hair colors, it doesn’t even make technical sense to have separate products. That’s totally driven by marketing, not science.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
The Brilliant Brunette products are brilliant – from a marketing perspective. And they’re fine formulas. If you like ‘em, use ‘em. But they don’t do anything special for brown hair.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Y’all are crazy! Maybe it’s just redheads but I noticed a SUBSTAINTIAL different back in the day the color glaze was sold for redheads in both my color and hair health.
I used Brilliant Brunette ONCE, and it made my hair look extremely greasy – after being out of the shower for 10 minutes! I have fine hair so maybe that made a difference, but I will never use it again.
I agree with Tania that the redhead one does actually deposit a lot of color. Enough color that you should avoid using the product if you have nice highlights. But, if you feel like your hair is getting a bit dull and you don’t want to go to the salon, it will definitely do the trick. I had to use it daily until I built up to the color I wanted, and then only once every few days to maintain.
I have curly, brown hair with natural highlights that aren’t very noticeable… but after using John Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette shampoo and conditioner for daily use, my hair had dramatic results after 2 weeks. It really helps with dry, frizzy hair. I love it! It really brings out the shine and natural highlights
i’ve only used the mosturising shappo and enhancing conditioner twice, but WOW! what a difference… I’ve used a range of different brands that have just made my hair greasy and sticky looking after the first wash. I’ve got thin, horribly straight split-ended mousy brown hair, but after just 2 washes my hair has become silky soft, with lots of volume and I haven’t had to wash my hair EVERYDAY like I used to (know every 2/3 days due to my hair not getting greasy)
Hopefully the brown colour in the shapoo does darken my hair over the next mont or so, due to wanting a slightly darker hairtone. That was one of the main reaseons it caught my attension in the first place and if i HAD seen “Brings out the multi-dimensional richness of brunette…without adding or depositing color” i wouldn’t have been so keen to buy it, and would have gotten the “Tony and Guy” ones instead.
Giving my hopes into this one, and i certainly think it’s good quantity for money (£4.75 for 250ml) There are some brands that charge £4 for 150ml! :/
Definitly recommend, even after 5 days of buying the product
^ sorry a few spelling mistakes there :/
I’ve used John Frida products for years, always with great success. I recently started using Brilliant Brunette Color Glaze & I see a dramatic difference. My experience is that it deposits just enough color to enhance my natural highlights as well as make my hair very shiny & healthy looking. I typically use it with John Frida Brilliant Brunette Daily Shampoo & Conditioner – both great products.
I started using the Brilliant Brunette conditioner years ago and I have to say that I did notice a difference. I have quite a bit of natural blond highlights, and the light-colored brunette conditioners really bring them out! I did switch to a different product for a few months and found that the blond disappeared once again.
I have to say, though, I’m not a fan of the shampoo. It just doesn’t clean well enough for me and leaves my hair feeling greasy when I use it in combination with the conditioner.
My sister turned me on to the Brunette Glaze and I love it! My hair is very long. I am 50 years old and was showing quite a bit of silver hair coming through. Now, my silver hair is light brunette. It makes it look like natural highlighting. I will never use hair dye again!
This post is ridiculous!! Seriously!! I use John Frieda Brilliant Brunette collection (shampoo+conditioner+treatment envelope 1x a week+volumen mousse everytime I’m gonna style it) for almost 9 months already and it not only WORKS BEAUTIFULLY, but it also have an AWESOME SMELL!! And the smell lasts for hours, even after my hair is dried.
I moved from UK to Germany and my hair changed completly. It got dry, with fritz, and looked “burned” at the tips. I tried several famous brands of shampoos and neither did my hair “adapt” to the difference of environment or made my hair “go back to normal”, until one day I went to a German hairdresser and he recommended using John Frieda for the “fritz control” or for the “dried hair” for at least one month, then I was suppost to change for the Brilliant Brunette (since brunette is my natural color) after those 30 days of treatment-trial.
I spent (and still spend) 6.89 euros for the shampoo, 5.99 euros for the conditioner. I pay 1 euro for the treatment cream and 12 euros for the mousse, that I buy once a month (kind of).
In the first days, obviously, I did not see a big difference, but after two weeks using the products my hair was “back to normal” and today, almost 10 months of usage, my hair is more beautiful than it ever was, I swear to you.
John Frieda does work. This post sucks.
I don’t agree with this post, honestly. I think it’s kind of one of those “to each his own” shampoos. But when I used it, it made my hair soo smooth and shiny. Not greasy or weighed down at all. I’ve only used it a little so I’m not 100% sure if it’s intensifying the brown yet. But yeah I like the results so far…I’d recommend it.
I use it to prevent greys from popping out too early in between colourings, and also it helps maintain my colour so it doesn’t fade into a dull dry looking brown. I can only afford a salon hair colour treatment like 2 maayyybe 3 times a year and this is the only stuff i can afford that really does help my hair.