eSalon

eSalon sells customized hair dye formulations to help you achieve your ideal shade at home – no expensive salon appointment necessary.

The company claims that every customer will work with a personal colorist to come up with a unique hair color designed to address your most significant hair coloring needs.

Everything about the eSalon hair dye experienced is customized to you; even the bottle label contains your name, and the date it was formulated. After delivery, you’ll have the option to work with a colorist to get any further questions answered

Our analysis will help you understand if eSalon delivers more value than what you’ll get from buying a box of hair dye at the drug store.

Ordering Process

To start the purchase process with eSalon, you’ll first share some background information:

• Your current hair color and whether it is dyed
• Whether you have had any chemical treatments in the past month
• How long your hair is
• Whether you have any grey
• Your hair’s natural thickness and texture
• Your ethnicity
• Your natural hair color

If desired, you can also upload a current photo.

Next, you’ll choose your preferred color from dozens of options selected for you and leave a message for your colorist (optional).

After, you’ll specify when you plan to color your hair and how often you plan to do so.

You’ll then have the option to purchase your custom coloring kit and, if you prefer, to sign up for auto-ship deliveries at a frequency ranging from every 3–10 weeks.

At this point in the ordering process, eSalon will give you the option to purchase a variety of products for 20% off. This includes:

• A reusable color tool kit ($16–$20)
• Color care shampoo and conditioner duo ($24–$30)
• Tint rinse ($12–$15)
• Protective cape ($9–$12)
• ‘Weekly Retreat’ moisturizing mask ($12–$15)
• Universal leave-in conditioner ($12–$15)
• ‘Shine Silk’ argan treatment ($14–$18)

Skip all these add-ons, and your custom hair kit will be $23.32 with auto-ship or $29.15 for a one-time order.

Upon ordering, a personal eSalon colorist will create your personalized formula. The company claims that its extensive team of licensed colorists work in critically-acclaimed salons and beauty institutes.

These stylists will choose from 150 possible instruction sets for your dye, which will include the necessary techniques for treating different hair sections, how long to leave the product on your hair, and possible troubleshooting techniques if you don’t love the results.

They will also work with you after you receive your order to answer any questions and ensure you’re happy with it.

Once your order arrives, it will include your personalized hair dye and application instructions, as well as a developer and two pairs of non-latex gloves for application.

Each delivery will only include as much hair dye as you need for one treatment session. Some people will receive two bottles, depending on their hair length, thickness, and how much of an adjustment the color will be from their current shade.

The dye should be used within a week of delivery.

Analysis of Ingredients

eSalon claims to use only high-quality ingredients in its salon-grade formulas, which ensures your hair stays healthy and retains color for weeks after application.

Even so, the company cautions that many users may experience skin irritation or other adverse reactions from using them.

One of the main ingredients in this formula is ammonium hydroxide. This common hair dye ingredient prepares the hair to receive dye so that it can better diffuse into the hair shaft.

However, it’s not without risk. Ammonia is harsh on hair, is known to trigger asthma attacks and other respiratory problems, and it might act as an endocrine disrupter, which means that it could affect your hormone levels.

For this reason, pregnant women should limit their exposure to this compound by dying their hair a maximum of three times over the pregnancy.

Some hair dyes are formulated without ammonia to avoid these concerns. However, they often produce less vivid results and result in faster color fading because the dye doesn’t adhere as well to each strand.

Sodium Sulfite is used as a preservative. It’s usually safe, but those with sensitivities can suffer skin irritation and asthmatic symptoms from exposure.

Overall, these ingredients are typical of what you would expect from home hair dyes. Nothing stands out as offering any specific benefits or risks compared to similar brands.

eSalon Membership

You can purchase eSalon hair dye as a one-time purchase or as part of your color plan.

Doing so will save you 20% per order and give you access to exclusive offers and personalized-how to videos for application.

Any eSalon product can be added to your dye order, and orders over $40 qualify for free shipping.

Every item added to your order will be redelivered every shipping cycle. You can add, skip, or cancel any item—or your whole order—at any point through your account page. It’s also possible to request any change to your dye formulation to bring out different color tones.

The company will issue refunds within 30 days of purchase, but only for unused products. These may be limited to one refund per client per product.

Analysis of Customer Reviews

20 customers have reviewed eSalon on our website, giving the company an average rating of 1.7 stars and a 10% recommendation rate. Reviews on Trustpilot are more positive, averaging 4.3 stars after nearly 1,000. We’ve summarized some of the prevailing opinions below.

Common Compliments:

• Salon-quality results
• Colorists easy to talk to and gave excellent advice for color selection
• Cute packaging
• Long-lasting color

Common Complaints:

• Recent reviewers share they believe the company changed its formula for worse results
• Products don’t fully cover grey hairs
• Leads to dull colors
• Left hair oily and gunky, even after multiple washes
• Limited color options
• Some received almost opposite hair colors

Popular Alternatives to eSalon

You have several options for receiving hair dye on a subscription basis. Two popular alternatives to eSalon include Madison Reed and Color&Co.

Like eSalon, L’Oreal’s Color&Co customizable haircare brand lets you order your preferred shade after working with a professional colorist to get it right.

The onboarding process includes questions about your gender, preferred shade family, whether you’ve had any chemical or color treatments in the past year, what your natural hair looks like, and other questions that are near identical to eSalon.

One difference is that you can request ammonia-free formulas for demi-permanent coloring.

As with eSalon, Color&Co offers several dozen shades to choose from. You can also sign up for a subscription to save 25% on every order.

Likewise, you can consult with a colorist at any point in the signup process to receive personalized insight. The company will even personalize each bottle with your name, similar to eSalon.

Color&Co’s hair dye kit is priced at $26.90. Alternatively, you can subscribe to save 25% and pay $19.90 per delivery (about $3 more than eSalon).

Madison Reed brands itself as a safer alternative to traditional hair dyes because it doesn’t contain harsh ingredients like ammonia, parabens, resorcinol, and more.

Unlike the other two brands, you can only choose from a range of pre-mixed dyes, though the company recommends specific shades based on your results from its initiation quiz.

You’ll pay between $22–$26.50 for each dye kit, again depending on whether you sign up for a subscription.

Despite its claims of using only safe ingredients, customer reviews show that many Madison Reed users have a negative experience with this brand, as it left them with an itchy scalp and even hair loss.

The Bottom Line: Is It Worth It?

eSalon’s hair dye subscription option seems like a viable way to keep up your color at home. You have ample opportunities to customize your shade and request input from the company’s coloring experts, and the brand’s pricing aligns with the competition.

One thing that concerns us is that the company’s advertising doesn’t seem wholly aligned with what it offers. eSalon’s color questionnaire asks for details about your hair health, texture, length, and other characteristics, and it’s implied that your custom formula will contain ingredients related to your specific hair needs.

However, every hair dye formula contains identical ingredients; all that changes are the coloring compounds. So while your quiz results may affect how much dye you receive per shipment, it won’t have much more of an impact on your product experience.

eSalon is a viable option for home hair dye, but we don’t see much that separates it from the competition. If you already have a brand you love, there’s not a compelling reason to make the switch unless it makes sense from a cost perspective.