Are you planning to dye your own hair?

Here’s how to prepare and how to choose the colour that suits you best! Our hair experts offer advice on bleaching (… and greying!), switching to a darker shade, and colour maintenance. Because your new colour should stay beautiful for as long as possible.

1. HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT SHADE?

When choosing a new hair colour, there are a few things to consider. It’s advisable to colour your hair 2-3 shades lighter or darker than your current colour. It’s also important to determine whether you have a warm or cool undertone in your skin before selecting a colour. There are different ways to find out.
Try this test! Do gold jewellery pieces suit you better than silver? Then you have a warm skin undertone. If silver suits you better, your skin has a cool undertone.
You can also try this test with different coloured clothes. Wrap your hair in a white towel so your natural hair colour doesn’t distract. First, put on a shirt in a warm shade, like yellow, orange, or red. Does it suit you? Then you have a warm undertone. Then try a shirt in a cool shade, like purple, blue, or green. Does that suit you better? Then you have a cool undertone.

2. COLOUR LEVEL AND NUANCE

Now that you know if you have a warm or cool undertone, you can take this into account when choosing a nuance for your new hair colour. First, choose a colour level. It’s wise to go 2 to 3 shades lighter or darker than your current colour. Each colour level has a number; the darker the colour, the lower the number:

1. Black – 3. Dark Brown – 4. Medium Brown – 5. Light Brown – 6. Dark Blond – 7. Medium Blond – 8. Light Blond – 9. Very Light Blond – 10. Highlight Blond

In the example above, you see Mahogany with the number 5.5. This shows colour level 5, with one colour nuance after the decimal point: 5.

5 = colour level Light Brown
.5 = colour nuance Mahogany

Example 2: Long Lasting Chocolate Brown 5.35

This colour has extra gold pigment added. Because the number .3 (gold) comes before .5 (mahogany), the colour contains more gold than mahogany.
The final result: a warm, rich hair colour called Chocolate Brown.

3. Bleaching

How does bleaching work? Bleaching coloured hair should only be done by a professional hairdresser. If you try this with an at-home product, it can cause uneven colour patches in your hair. Bleaching natural (uncoloured) hair works very well with one of the three bleaching options from the Long Lasting Colour range. Sometimes it needs to be done twice because warm tones, such as mahogany, copper, and gold, can remain in the hair longer. These warm tones stay in the hair longer than natural shades like brown, blond, and black. This can cause your hair to turn orange when bleaching.

Bleaching can be done with three variants from our Long Lasting Colour line:

• With Ultra Blond 00, you can go 4 to 6 shades lighter. This treatment doesn’t add colour but bleaches your hair. The photo on the packaging is therefore not the result you will get on your hair; it depends on your current hair colour. You can use this on light blond to dark brown hair. It does not cover grey hair. Want to create your own highlights? This Ultra Blond 00 is also the best choice. We have included a cap and hook needle with this colour to make it easier.
• With High Light Blond 10.00, you can go up to 3 shades lighter. Again, the photo on the packaging does not show the result you’ll get on your hair; it depends on your current hair colour. This colour is 30% grey covering and can be used on light blond to light brown hair.
• Finally, we have a bleaching option that adds silver pigments to your hair: High Light Silver Blond 10.01. It neutralises yellow tones in your hair. With this colour, you can go up to 3 shades lighter and use it on light blond to light brown hair. It is not suitable for grey hair.

4. Colouring from light to dark

Before colouring your hair from light to dark, you need to prepare it. This ensures good coverage and prevents a greenish tint. This preparation is called pre-pigmentation. It involves adding red pigments to your hair to cancel out any greenish hues in your colour. The easiest way to pre-pigment your hair is with Colour Mousse Mahogany 6.45. Apply this mousse to your hair before colouring and leave it in. This adds warm tones into the hair shaft.

STEP 1 – PREPARATION
Prepare an old, dark towel or a salon cape to protect your clothes during mixing and colouring. You’ll also need a wide-tooth comb (not metal), hair clips, and optionally extra gloves.

STEP 2 – MIXING THE HAIR DYE
Drape the cape or towel over your shoulders and put on the provided gloves. To prepare the hair dye, squeeze the entire contents of the tube into the Activator bottle. The mixing ratio is 1:1. Screw the cap back onto the activator bottle and shake until you get a uniform mixture. Then, break off the tip of the cap. The hair colour is now ready for use.

HAIRDRESSER TIP:
“If you have short hair or are mixing two different colours, only mix the dye and activator that you are going to use. You can keep the rest for your next colouring session; the dye in the aluminium tube and the activator in the mixing bottle. Once these two components are mixed, you cannot store them anymore.”

STEP 3 – LET’S GET STARTED
General: The packaging contains enough product for a full colour treatment for shoulder-length hair. For shoulder-length to long hair or thick hair, more packages are needed. Prepare one package at a time. Apply the contents of the first package to the hair on top of your head and at the back. Then prepare the second package and use it to colour the hair at the sides, along the face, and the ends.

If you’re colouring your uncoloured hair:
Using the applicator bottle, apply the mixture to dry, unwashed hair. Start at your hairline along the forehead. Be careful not to get dye on your forehead and ears. Apply the mixture section by section, from the roots to the ends. You can place the sections you’ve done on top of your head. Use a comb to take a new section for applying the dye. Then distribute the remaining mixture evenly through your hair with the comb and massage it in well. Leave the dye to develop for 30 minutes. Do not cover your hair.

If you’re colouring previously coloured hair
If your hair has been coloured before and you now have visible regrowth, we recommend applying the mixture to the roots first. You can use about two-thirds of the mixture for this. Massage it in gently. After 20 minutes of processing time, distribute the remaining mixture through the rest of your hair. Massage again lightly and leave it to develop for another 5–10 minutes. Do not cover your hair.

STEP 4 – PROCESSING TIME
The processing time for all Hennaplus Long Lasting Colour shades is 30 minutes. Do you have black hair? Then the processing time for Burgundy 3.67 and Reddish Black 2.66 is slightly longer. For best results, leave these colours in for 40–50 minutes.
The processing time for High Light Blond 10.00 and High Light Silver Blond 10.01 depends on the desired level of lightening. Depending on your desired result, the processing time can be extended to 40–50 minutes.

STEP 5 – RINSING AND AFTERCARE
After the processing time, apply some lukewarm water to your hair. Gently massage in the water. Then rinse your hair thoroughly and generously until the rinse water runs completely clear.

Do not towel-dry your hair completely; instead, squeeze out the excess water. It is important to treat your coloured hair with the Colour Fix Leave-in Conditioner. You’ll find it in every Long Lasting Colour package. Mix the entire contents of the sachet with 200 ml of lukewarm water and pour it over your hair. Massage it in well. Then squeeze your hair thoroughly. This treatment is meant to stay in your hair—do not rinse it out. It provides extra protection and shine, and it helps prolong your colour result.