And suddenly, they’ve had a breakthrough, and come out with 10 minute hair colour.

All the different brands are having a go; so either there is some super secret spying going on in the labs, or they were all just waiting for the others to drop the bombshell and do it first. After all, we should be angry. How many hours have you wasted avoiding windows and waiting for your colour to develop?

I tried out L’Oreal’s Excell 10 offering in Chocolate Brown, just one of the 13 shades available. Apparently, this product is the result of ‘many years of research’, and is, in turn, the ‘new generation’ in hair colouring.

I shall attempt to contain my excitement.

L’Oreal Excell 10 is permanent colourant, and puports to leave your hair feeling stronger than before. The pack includes the ‘Easy Colour Comb’ which is supposedly simpler than the usual slim-tip bottle applicators you’ve used before. This is fine for the roots, but the lengths are always going to be tricky, especially if you’re looking to get the colourant on your hair, as opposed to your shoulders. Maybe I was doing it wrong?

So, once I was happy with my coverage, I sat, and I waited. But of course, this wasn’t like the other times. This was a short ten-minute wait. Except, when it came time to rinse, my hair didn’t look coloured at all. Defying the rules, I left it on for a couple more minutes; but I figured, in the pursuit of a truthful outcome, ten minutes was all it was going to get to prove itself.

I rinsed, and dried, and my hair was darker. Chocolate brown even. Great. Case closed then?

Well, no. Two washes down the track, and I was losing colour; fast. A week later, and I was back to my pre-dye colour.

My chocolate brown was just a distant memory, and my hair felt just the same as before too.

Has L’Oreal changed the face of home hair colouring in just ten minutes? Nope.

Back to the drawing pad?

If you want to try out ten minute hair colour, you can pick up a pack of L’Oreal Excell 10 from Boots.com, now just £4.99 here, or go for Nice n Easy’s attempt, Perfect 10, for £6.99.