TL;DR Easy to use. Didn't turn my virgin hair orange. Applied on wet natural red virgin hair for 8 minutes. Smell isn't bad. Hair left soft and conditioned. Achieved desired results. Reapply once a week (or as needed). Highly recommend! (update at the bottom) I'm 43 years old and my hair is starting to darken out to an auburn I don't really care much for. People are starting to call my red hair brunette. Makes me sad I'm losing the vibrancy of my red!! After reading the reviews I was scared to try this. Many were way more orange than I wanted. Most are on already bleached/color treated hair. The application times and methods were all over the place. I wanted only subtle change and nothing drastic. I wanted to keep my red hair natural looking, but make the color pop again. I read through SO MANY of these reviews trying to decide if I should and how to execute this flawlessly. Lol APPLICATION METHOD I USED: I decided to stay on the safe side and apply it in the shower on wet hair for 8 minutes. If it wasn't enough I would up the time. I know it washes out but I didn't want to have to take 3 showers to tone it down and waste unnecessary product. I washed my hair with shampoo first to make sure my scalp and roots were clean and free of oils. Then used approximately 6 pumps total and worked it into my hair (like shampoo) again. Then ran a comb through it all from root to ends to ensure even distribution. After my 8 minute timer went off, I Rinsed with cool water and got out. I used a hair dryer to dry my hair. Curled it all then took the photo. ROOTS: I noticed many mentioned their roots not being touched and I'm not sure on those if they were all on people with color treated hair. I felt like I read one natural that felt the roots got neglected. There was no issues with my roots STAINING: I had no issues with staining. Applying in the shower I just worked it into my hair and didn't get it everywhere. Rinsed my hands immediately once I got it in there. SMELL I personally liked the smell. It's not very strong. I'm honestly surprised it even has been mentioned. CONDITIONING It left my hair feeling soft. It was nearly slipping out of my curling iron afterwards. COLOR I am happy with the color it has added. Very subtle, but I can tell. It did not completely cover my greys but I do think one wash with it toned them down. Is exactly what I was looking for. I might wait a couple washes and then leave it on wet hair for 10 minutes. Then update with a photo. MAINTAIN COLOR: I apply this about once a week and apply it more to my roots than the rest of my hair. Then comb out down through my wet hair with a large toothed comb so that it blends in, but doesn't continue to overdue the ends as much. EYEBROWS: I've applied this to my eyebrows so that they match better. Must do so carefully unless you want stains around your brows. ;) REMOVE COLOR: I accidentally discovered that Apple Cider Vinegar shampoo will take most all of the color out in one wash! I wanted to add this for anybody that would like to reverse the process after undesired results. I LOVE that this has and will revived my natural red hair!! Highly recommend to my fellow natural redhead sistas!! UPDATE: It's really hard to get the red to show up in pictures, but I wanted to update how things were going on this product. It is now April 3, 2024. After a few applications I received the shade I used to be. I use this once a week and only for about 5 minutes on wet hair. UPDATE: I have now been using this for over a year as needed to blend in at the roots to keep it looking vibrant and natural. In Sept 2024 I received a complement from a flight attendant telling me to never color my hair. Trust her that she used to be a hairdresser. So pleased she couldn't tell I touch up my natural red hair. Made my day. :) Last picture is today after a year use. Dec 28, 2024.