Brow Dye Die Hards Alert: Andrea Gentle Creme Bleach Review

Since I dye my hair quite often, I make it a point that my brow color stays in harmony with my crowning glory's. I first met the Andrea Gentle Creme Bleach when I grew tired of hearing beauty attendants saying that the Sally Hansen bleaching cream is out of stock. I knew right then I had to look for another effective brow bleaching brand.

Where to buy: Beauty Bar

How much: 300php for 42g of bleach and 28g of activator

Shelf-life/Expiration: 24M

Application and Results. Preparing the product is easy. Quite easier than the Sally Hansen bleaching cream because the activator comes in cream form and not in the usual difficult-to-scoop-out granules. The Andrea Gentle Creme Bleach contains an instruction guide but allow me to repost, in photos, what the guide says:

1. Squeeze 2 1/2-inch strip of Creme Bleach into mixing cup. Measure by squeezing creme in a full circle once around the inside of the bottom rim of the mixing cup.
2. Squeeze Creme Activator into the mixing cup making a semicircle on top of the bleaching creme. 
3. Using the spatula provided, mix the two cremes thoroughly with rapid strokes.

If you hate the Sally Hansen bleach for its strong ammonium-ish odour, Andrea's rather faint scent may come as a surprise (and an advantage!) for you. I apply the creamy mixture as shown in the photo below and make sure that all the hairs are covered from roots to tips.

The first time I used it, I failed to cover all the hair (see photo below) and missed on sweeping the spatula toward the nasal area. The result? Unevenly bleached brows with the hair roots remaining black. It wasn't anything stark obvious but upon close scrutiny, it's a silent disaster. 

Bleach it right by following the tip given on the above photo and covering all the hair like how I did it in this post.

I leave the mixture on for 8 minutes. I find that this a gentler version of Sally H's because I rarely worry about overbleaching. You know how I leave on Sally H bleach in two bouts: first 4 minutes and the second 4 minutes? I do it in that manner because I always end up with orange brow tips when I do a full 8-minutes. 

Sally Hansen Replacement? Nope. But it's a good back up whenever Sally Hansen isn't available. Also, Andrea Gentle Creme Bleach appears to give me coppery brows while Sally H keeps hair bronzed out.

Andrea's hair lightening properties are a little weak and therefore, the risk of overbleaching is low.

What I love about it:

• cheaper than Sally H's and never goes out of stock (don't you just hate it when you need something so bad and stores tell you that they ran out of it?)
• I end up with a more natural-looking, lightened brow color
• no-drip, creamy formula (you never have to worry about drowning your eyes in bleach)
• faint ammonium scent
• the activator does not dry out. have you ever experienced Sally H's activator grains melting out despite tightly sealing the container?

Uh-ohs:

• first time I used it, it stung so bad (even after passing the patch test) and caused the skin around the brow area to redden
• it still did up to the third time I bleached
• bleach dies down fast relative to Sally H's

It's ironic that I find the Andrea Creme Bleach a less stronger formulation (i.e, milder scent, no need to section application into 2 sets, bleach wears out faster) but has caused stinging and redness on my skin. 

Recommendation. Highly recommended to those who consider brow bleaching paramount to their primping habits and can hardly get hold of the Sally Hansen bleaching kit. I'm still thinking if I'll repurchase the Andrea Gentle Creme Bleach. I rebleach so soon with it but when I think about Sally Hansen's activator powder melting (rendering it useless) after 4 uses, I begin to consider switching brow bleaching brands.