What volume developer to use with Wella hair color?

Question

I have very dark brown hair and would like a true light brown color WITHOUT BRASSY RED TONES. I found the Wella Creme color I would like to use but I don't know what volume developer to use or how much. I am looking to get either the Wella Dark Blonde or Sunlight blonde in 2 oz. sizes. Is this enough for a whole head application? My hair is about 4 inches below my shoulder. Also I have only found 1 place on the web that sells these products to non-licensed individuals and that is beautyclicks.com. Unfortunately their offering of developers is very meager. Does anyone know of another site with a larger variety? Does it matter what developer you use and is Wella good for true color results when compared to the swatch? Thanks!

Answer 1

First off, be very careful doing a home job like this. The reason we are pros, is bc we have had alot of training to fix situations. But I will tell you what I can to help
From what I have exprienced wella is not too bad.
2 oz may do it depending on how think your hair is, but to be safe I would get 4. Mix up 2 to begin with, then if you need more, you can always mix more. If not, you have it left over for next time. With coloring yourself, it is very important to make sure you get all your hair saturated with the color, otherwise you will be left with patches of your color now.
Do you have color on your hair now? Anywhere from the roots to the ends? The reason I ask is bc color does not lift color. Basically if you have any color anywhere on your hair, it doesnt matter what developer you use, you will not get the desired result.
I obviously have no idea what your hair looks like so it is very hard to say what exactly to use. But if you can, find a swatch chart, and match your haircolor now with a number. if you are a dark brown you will probably be around a level 4. 10 volume developer will lift 1 level, 20 will lift 2, 30 will lift 3 and 40 will lift 4. This is not always exact thou depending on your hair.
As far as not having brassy red tones, I cant tell you. We are trained to be able to see your hair and know what to mix. And I dont know names of colors I know numbers. You want to steer clear of anything that says warm, gold, beige, etc, if you dont want these tones thou. Dont dip too much into anything with ash in it either. Otherwise it can tend to look green or gray.
This is very tricky business lifting hair. Everyones hair is diffrent. I would strongly suggest to try a test strand maybe on your neck line first. See how it comes out. Especially because if it doesnt turn out too well and you have to end up at a salon to have it fixed it can run into the $100s.
Good Luck!

Answer 2

Wella colors are great but jrcosmogirl333 hit right on the nose. You should be very careful when dealing with professional colors. The mixing process can be tricky and you could have yourself a green mess on your head.

The higher the volume of developer(20 30 40) the higher the lift. So if you have very dark brown natural hair you can start with 30 volume(speak to a professional first!)
Mixing a 20 and 30 will not get you a 50 either in case you were wondering they don't work that way.

Before you try this yourself go and talk to a stylist you know and trust. Yes we are here to make money but a good stylist will sit with you and tell you what will work for you and what won't.. If you insist on doing this yourself anyway get all the information you can and make sure you have a back up plan.

Whatever you do, do not, I repeat and I can not stress this enough. Do not cover your mistake with anything that says black or even dark brown. Once you do there is no turning back. Black is the hardest color to cover and when it fades you always get green! The same goes for darkest brown.

Stay away from ash and neutral colors as well they too are based with green. If you know your color wheel you can figure out which colors to mix yourself but ask, most beauty suppliers have experienced staff and they should be able to help you.

Look at the color swatches it can help you determine which color to get. However be fore warned the color on the swatch is not the color you will get depending on your natural hair color(we are talking hair that has no color on it) and the color you pick it could go lighter, enhance what you have or darken.

There are many things to consider here so be careful. If you don't mind experimenting with your hair then go ahead knock yourself out and have some fun with it. Otherwise seek professional advice from someone who can see your hair and get a better idea than anyone of us who responds to your call for answers. Good hair coloring :]

I know you didn't ask for all this information but I hope it helps anyway
LG

Answer 3

Wella Red Hair Color

Answer 4

I'm afraid to tell you that it is very difficult for a professional to do what you want to do with your hair!

How do you know the Wella color is the correct shade for you? There are two things you have to look for: don't just pick an ash colo, most are green based, you actually need a shade with a blue/violet shade to handle the brassy tones when you lighten dark hair, If the shade is lighter than medium brown, you will not get the desired result, your hair will be very brassy. Believe me, I've had to try to fix this type of mess!

I have a few hispanic clients that I lighten the base color of their hair with a level 6N/6G (Joico Verocolor) with 20 volume and then highlight with bleach in very small sections to get an overall light brown look.

You could lighten your hair with the first step, it really looks very pretty and softens the harshness of the really dark hair.

Answer 5

Wella Developer

Answer 6

I love Wella Cream color, I get mine at Sally's Beauty Supply. They are all over the US & http://www.sallybeauty.com.

I have dark alburn hair & to keep the same level of color, I use 20 volume. To lighten it a bit, I use 30 volume & to really lighten it I use 40. Just kind of have to experiment, after you get the color on, keep a close eye on it, if it starts lightening fast, wash it off. To keep the red tones down, get an ash type color, ash masks red.

Wella also makes a "Gold" tint. I have a very thick head of hair so I use one 2 ounce color & one 2 ounce bottle of gold with developer for each & mix it all in a big bottle.

If think you would need 2 bottles of the Wella 2 ounce ones, my hair & our hair would be close to the same lenght & one will not do mine, but the way I mix one color, one gold & developer for both in one bottle I have plenty & usually a little I have to throw away.

Answer 7

Jet black hair. I have really dark brown hair and I believe dark hair looks better. I avoid really like blonde hair.

Answer 8

I honestly adore dirty blonde hair it looks truly pretty

Answer 9

The worst hair episodes my friends and I have had were ALL done by "professionals."