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How To Be A Redhead Subscription Box Review – June 2016

Haley Faye
ByHaley FayeJul 9, 2016 | 22 comments

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - BOX

How to be a Redhead (H2BAR Box)
3.8 overall rating
12 Ratings | 9 Reviews

How To Be A Redhead is a monthly subscription box that sends sample and full-sized “Redhead friendly” products right to your door (meaning “free of heavy chemicals & complement red hair.” This is the first and only subscription box (so far!) designed for redheads! How To Be A Redhead and its co-founders, Adrienne and Stephanie Vendetti, are the curators of the box.

UPDATE:  Haley's June How to be a Redhead June box was lost in the mail, and they sent a replacement. However, it seems that in the replacement June box they added some extra samples and items to apologize for the lost box. We paid for this box as opposed to having it sent for free in exchange for a review, and we are committed to providing reviews that feature boxes that are exactly the same as every other subscriber.

Sorry for not realizing what happened before this review was published.

The original June box only included the items listed on the info card.

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - PACKAGING

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - ALL items

The Subscription Box: How To Be A Redhead

The Cost: $18.98/monthly for US ($38.98 monthly for CAN), or $180/12 month pre-pay for US, ($420/12 month pre-pay for CAN)

The Products: sample and full-sized products that are “redhead friendly” and free of harsh chemicals. All featured products have been tested by the curators for 10 days before being considered for the box.

Ships to: US & CAN

Check out the Beauty Subscription Box Directory and make sure to add How To Be A Redhead to your subscription list or wishlist!

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - INFO 1

June’s box is all about beach season! An appropriate (and often difficult) summer activity for redheads. This box is curated to help you discover products that help beach-going and sun exposure more manageable.

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - INFO 2

Each box also has an info card detailing and describing all the items featured in the box.

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - items 1

Just for Redheads Mascara Naturelle – value: $10.99

This mascara is in the shade “ginger brown” and is perfect for pale redheads to darken their eyelashes but still have a natural look!

Chella Awesome Auburn Eyebrow Color Pencil – value: $18

This eyebrow pencil is in an auburn shade and is very creamy. It goes on a little heavy for my liking for an eyebrow color, but works pretty well overall.

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - items 2

Here’s a look at the mascara want and a swatch of the eyebrow pencil.

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - items 3

Egyptian Magic All Purpose Skin Cream – 2 foil packets

This cream is a balm made out of all-natural ingredients and has no added preservatives, fragrances, chemicals, or parabens. I actually love this stuff, though I haven’t used it in years. I discovered it through Birchbox when I first subscribed and even bought a big tub of it.

Goddess Garden Organics SPF 30 Everyday Sunscreen Lotion – 2 foil packets

This sunscreen is made with plant-based ingredients and natural minerals! It’s also certified organic, biodegradable, and reef-safe! Those last two things are something I never thought about being an important factor/affect regarding sunscreen before. I like the formula of this, too.

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - items 4

Tela Blow Out Serum Smooth Operator - 0.5 fl oz, value: $3.20

This product has some great reviews online. It’s a serum for blow drying that’s designed to hydrate, strengthen, and nourish your hair and protect against damage and color fade.

SW Basics Exfoliant – 2 foil packets

S.W. Basics is a great natural skincare brand I know about thanks to subscription boxes. This exfoliant is made with “kitchen-cabinet awesomeness,” with ingredients including oat and almond flour and mineral sea salt!

Agadir Argan Oil Hair Treatment - 0.25 fl oz, value: $2.78

I love oil treatments for my hair, and this one looks like a lot of people like it! Including me… a couple drops in my hair before blow drying did work well to soften and smooth it. One important thing to note, though: this isn’t 100% argan oil. It’s mostly a silicone based product, so that’s what’s likely softening my hair, more than actual instant hair repair.

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - items 5

7th Heaven Creamy Coconut Mask - 0.5 fl oz, value: $1.99

I’m so excited to try this mask during my next “mom-time” bath! It’s key ingredients are cocoa, coconut, and shea butter – sounds like it should smell amazing. It’s good for hydration and dry skin, which is what I have.

TriDerma Facial Redness Repair - 0.5 oz, value: $3.50

This cream is designed to seriously help facial redness and eczema. It has anti-inflammatory ingredients, vitamins, and botanicals. I don’t have eczema but I’m hoping this will still be fantastic for my dry skin!

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - items 6

eSalon Perfect Ending Leave-In Conditioner – 5 fl oz, value: $15

I’ve tried this product before through eSalon’s own subscription service! I like the formula a lot, and I love the eSalon brand and still trust it for my hair color and to be safe for treated hair. I just wish they had a version with a pump spray… I prefer that over products I have to get all over my hands.

Sunburn Alert Color-Changing Wristbands – 6 pack, value: $6

These wrist bands are little disposable, 1-time-use bands that change color to let you know how much sun you’ve gotten! They start out tan and then turn blue when expose to the sun and “activated.” Then you apply sunscreen to your skin and the band. It’ll eventually change to a light lavender color, and that’s when you need to reapply sunscreen. It works with SPF 15 and up.

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - items 7

Here’s what the band looked like once activated.

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - items 8

Red Apple Lipstick in Petal Pusher - 0.16 oz, value: $23.50

I found out about this brand through Benevolent Beauty Box – it’s a mineral lipstick made with healthy ingredients and things you wouldn’t be worried about accidentally eating, as you inevitably do with lipstick. This shade is a light hot pink and is made to be buildable so you can control the intensity.

HOW TO BE A REDHEAD JUNE 2016 - items 9

Here’s a swatch of the lipstick and what it looks like on. It’s very hydrating and has some subtle shimmer. I like it – it’s a great summer shade.

Verdict: I think How To Be A Redhead did a great job curating a box geared for summer and beach days for redheads. There were a few more samples and foil packets than I like, but I was still happy to see some good products and brands I like. I love the sun exposure bands and lipstick especially. As far as value goes, I estimate that this has a value of around $80 which is fantastic for an $18 box. I do think the upcharges for Canadian subscribers are really expensive, though. I understand extra for international shipping, but charging more than double the cost of the box? I don’t know – I’ve never seen that much of a difference for a sample box before and I feel like there must be a better way for them to ship?

What do you think about the How To Be A Redhead box?

Starting at $21.98
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The H2BAR Box delivers Redhead Friendly approved beauty items to doorsteps monthly and quarterly. Its goal is to empower redheads to feel confident, look amazing, and rock their beauty. The monthly H2BAR Box includes 2-3 full-size items and valued at $85+. The Deluxe quarterly H2BAR Box includes 10+... read more.
Haley Faye
Haley Faye
Haley Faye first discovered the wonderful world of subscription boxes in 2012 and began writing for MSA in 2014. Over the years, she has found many subscriptions to love. Now a mom of three, her favorite boxes are ones that dress her kids, help her get organized, feed her family, send her snacks, and offer educational fun for her children.

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22 comments

Bonnie

No more reviews? I have since seen spoilers for more recent boxes, but no actual reviews. I took a leap of faith and subscribed, even though I am really more golden than red. It just looks like a lot of great stuff, and I love that ginger mascara! Going to their site, I see they are a big fan of browns for redheads, and that works for me.

Can’t wait to see what’s in my first box!

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Sara

Really bad customer experience from start to finish. Essentially I paid in Nov. for a gift that my friend won’t even receive until at least Feb., if she’s lucky.

I bought a 3 mo. gift subscription in Nov. They didn’t send the first box that I already paid for –just an email telling her to CLAIM her gift. By then, both the Dec. *AND* Jan. boxes were sold out. The Feb. box doesn’t even exist yet so she gets an error message when trying to claim her gift.

I’ve emailed them several times and when you call customer service, you are forced to leave a message. I can’t speak to the quality of the box because at this rate, we’ll never get one.

Have they ever even read an article about running a business? Really poor…

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Claire

Do you think this would be a good thing for strawberry blondes? I’ve never used a brow pencil before in my life, I wonder if it’d be too dark. My brows are so light they’re barely visible, but match my hair color.

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Chrissy

This box had a lot more “extras” than the everyday subscribers got.

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carla

I posted a long and detailed comment about my experience with this box, including a list of items I received in June and July. I appears to have been removed. Can someone please tell me why? I was trying to be helpful. Thank you.

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Liz Cadman

Hi Carla! Sorry about that – since it was your first comment on the site, your comments had to be approved by admin first. All of your comments should be visible now. Thanks and sorry again for the confusion!

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carla

Thanks Liz! I was hoping to didn’t say anything too offensive!

Elizabeth

I’m totally a faux red (well, had some natural highlights with the virgin version of my hair) and figure most of this box will be useful. For things like brow pencils, my best friend is strawberry blonde and has to draw in her eyebrows every morning! She would love that pencil and mascara. And my cousin has this beautiful auburn color that her whole life people have asked if she colors (even when she was 8! Ha!) So it will all get used (or swapped) Nice box. Thanks for the review!

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Rachelle

I spent decades drawing in my eyebrows every morning. Then I found a talented permanent makeup artist and had my eyebrows tattooed on. Now I look in the mirror in the morning and see a complete face and smile. Has to be redone every 2-4 years but it’s so great. Highly recommend it.

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Elizabeth

Oooh, I’ll suggest it to her. Thanks!

Michelle

Weird, I didn’t get several of the items but I did receive 2 boxes. I missed out on the Brow pencil, blow out serum, aragon oil, and Triderma. I’m not going to bother contacting cs because I already decided to cancel. They include too many sulfate and silicone products in their boxes, despite their website disparaging those ingredients.

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carla

My June box only had the items listed on the card, none of the extras, plus only 1 sunscreen packet and 1 Egyptian Magic packet. July’s box was even worse, so I cancelled too.

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Laurie Hall

The charge for Canada is not too bad since it includes postage. With a $1.30 conversion to US dollar is comes out to about $25 US per box and that includes shipping.

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Cat

Glad to see a review of this, almost signed up last month. As the youngest of three redheaded girls, if there is something I don’t want to use, one of my sisters will for sure.

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Jennifer

I subscribed and got my first box on 7/2. I’m assuming it was the July box, because it was completely different from the one in this review. I got a drugstore lipstick, some hair bands and a lot of foil packets. I cancelled because it didn’t seem redhead specific and because it wasn’t worth the cost. If I would have gotten this box, I would have stayed.

My question is did everyone else get this box in June? Was my box just a mid-summer fluke? If they just had a bad month, I’ll give them another try, but if this was a case of a reviewer getting a special box, I’m out.

Thank you to my fellow redheads!

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carla

You received the July box. Did you get the BedHead shampoo and conditioner minis? Were yours expired too?

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Jennifer

Yep, I forgot about those because I tossed them for being out of date. What I received matches your list (next comment). My cider rinse had leaked out and dried as a sticky film over everything else, so that was empty. This was my first box from these folks and I canceled- even without judging the broken item, the value just wasn’t there (and there was nothing specifically red-head about it).

The box in the review is of an entirely different caliber and I suspect the H2BAR folks knew it was being sent to a reviewer. I’d be very interested to know what MSA got in its July box.

carla

I subscribed to this box the last 2 months and my June box did not have all of those items! I was only sent the items as listed on the card. My box did NOT have the Chella eyebrow pencil, the Triderma Facial Redness Repair, the Tela blowout serum, or the Agadir Argan oil treatment. My box contained only ONE sample of the Egyptian Magic and ONE sample of the Goddess Garden sunscreen. The value of my box was significantly less than Haley’s. Perhaps they enhanced Haley’s box because Haley is a reviewer??

My July box was a total bust. I received BedHead Resurrection Shampoo and Conditioner Minis (2.54 oz each), which would have been nice if they hadn’t expired in January and February of this year! (Expiration dates were on the tubes!)
The July box also included:
CoverGirl Outlast All Day Lipcolor in a red color that is much too loud for me as a fair-skinned redhead.
Udderly Smooth Hand Cream–the small tube you can buy at The Dollar Tree for $1!
1 Blue Lizard Suncreen Sample Packet
3 pack of Invisibobble hair rings (in Christmas packaging)
dpHUE Apple Cider Hair Rinse sample
1 Beauty & Pinups Fearless Treatment hair masque
Benzac Blemish Clearing Hydrator, 1 oz which expires 09/16

Needless to say I promptly cancelled my subscription after receiving the July box. The fact that H2BAR pumped up Haley’s box with extra products screams dishonesty to me. Sending products that expired 6 months ago is totally unacceptable, and it’s definitely not worth $19 to me. Sorry to have to post a negative critique, but consumers have a right to know…

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Beth

Thank you for posting this! I cant believe that for the cost! Wont be subscribing now! H2BAR- take note and fix your subscription box! I can go to a Sephora, Ipsy, or Birchbox all for $10 a month- and they’re all high end beauty products!
I’ve had great experiences with Sephora customizing my products to my unique needs as a redhead. I shouldn’t have to pay more with a company catering to red heads!

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Liz Cadman

We’ll reach out and ask about the discrepancy in boxes. We pay for this box and want to make sure we’re reviewing the exact same box paying customers receive.

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Jennifer

Liz- If Haley Faye has gotten her July box, I think we’d all be interested to know what she got in it. I strongly suspect it won’t match what the rest of us got. Thank you!

Luna

I’m so happy to see this box reviewed on MSA. It’s been on my radar for a little while, and even though I’m hispanic and not their target audience, this still looks like a fun box to try out. Since I’m on a no-buy of beauty boxes for the the rest of the year, this has already been added to my list of boxes to subscribe to next year.

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