Choosing the Right Developer Strength & Getting the Mix Right Are Really Important For the Final Color Result.Bullet-Point Summary - Getting your Developer Use RightThe rules for developer choice with Ugly Duckling colorsUse 10 Vol for level on level-on-level coloring and going darker. Show
Use 20 Vol for 1-2 levels lift, for toning blonde hair and for grey hair coverage. Use 30 Vol for 2-3 levels lift Use 40 Vol for 3 levels lift and more. The recommended mix for our hair color is 1+1 The rules for developer choice with Ugly Duckling bleachesUse 20 Vol for up to 3 levels lift and for the regrowth area (hair processes faster there because of the heat from the scalp) Use 30 Vol for any lift higher than 3 levels lift. Do not use 40 Vol with Ugly Duckling bleaches. It is not required, as our bleaches lift very fast. The recommended mix for our bleaches 1+2 The rules for developer choice with Ugly Duckling cream and liquid toners, & with high lift colorsUse 20 Vol for Ugly Duckling cream toners and high lift colors (anything beginning with 100). The recommended mix is 1+2. Use 7, 10 or 20 Vol for Ugly Duckling liquid ammonia-free toners according to lift required. The recommended mix for liquid toners (Blondify) is 1+1. HOW TO MIX BLEACH & COLOR WITH DEVELOPER - WATCH VIDEO:
Hair by Elona Taki. 1. What does the Developer do to the hair?Hair Developer is essentially hydrogen peroxide formulated inside a cream base in order to make it more cosmetic and gentle for the hair and the scalp. Developer activates the hair color and bleach. It helps the color or bleach open up the outer layer of the hair (the cuticle, in other words) and allows the mix to penetrate the hair shaft. Hair developer is typically formulated in different strengths, from 5 Vol and 7 Vol all the way to 40 Vol. The developer strength refers to the oxidizing potential of the developer, or how much hydrogen peroxide it contains. 2. What are the commonly used Developer Strengths?The higher the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, the more "lift" you are going to get with your developer. The most commonly used strengths are as follows: 10 Volume Developer, containing 3% hydrogen peroxide is used for no-lift hair color, tone-on-tone and tone-down applications. 20 Volume Developer, containing 6% hydrogen peroxide is the developer strength the most widely used by colorists in salons. It will lift the hair by one or two levels, allowing color or bleach to penetrate in and do its work. Ugly Duckling recommends that you use this strength for most permanent color applications involving 1-3 levels lift. We also recommend that you use this for blonde toning applications as well as for grey hair coverage. We also recommend that you use 20 Vol when doing bleach applications near the root area or scalp. Hair here processes extremely fast and you should not use a stronger developer strength here. 30 Volume Developer, containing 9% hydrogen peroxide is the one to use when you are using high lift color or bleach on the lengths and you are going for lifts of 3 levels and more. 40 Volume Developer, containing 12% hydrogen peroxide, should only be used when faced with truly stubborn hair situations and that too on the lengths only - never ever on the scalp. It has extremely strong lifting power, but because it opens up the hair cuticle so much, it can damage the hair cuticle unnecessarily. Sometimes stylists want to use this with hair bleach in order to get their clients very very blonde - for example, to lift it by 7 or 8 levels. We don't recommend you do this when using Ugly Duckling bleaches, as they have been formulated to lift very well with 20 and 30 Vol developer strength only. 3. So How do I Know Which Developer Strength I Should Use?First, refer to the hair color chart below to figure out where your client's hair is currently.Your aim is to give a number to your current hair color level. Use the left side of the chart below to figure out what level your natural hair color (virgin hair) is on a scale of 1-10. If you have lengths which have been previously bleached or colored, you can use the right side instead. So for example if there is orange in your hair, you are at level 5 Light Brown. If there is a lot of yellow/orange, you are somewhere between level 6 and level 7. If you see only yellow, you are at level 8 or lighter. Next, figure out what level you are aiming for.Use the chart below to guide you. If, for example you are going for a true blonde color, the answer would be either 9 or 10. If you are going for a dark or medium blonde color, that means you are going for a level 6-8. If you are going for any warm vibrant fashion color, red or pink, for example, you will need to take the hair to level 7 minimum. And if you are going for any cold fashion color, blue, grey or violet, for example, you will need to take the hair to level 9 minimum. Finally, subtract the two numbers to figure out the level lift required.So let's say your regrowth is level 5 and you are trying to take that hair blonde. That would mean that you need to lift it by 10-5, in other words, by 5 levels. So in this case you would need to use bleach with 20 Volume, followed by a color also with 20 Volume. Make sure you do this calculation for every part of your hair, because your regrowth could be one level and your previously colored lengths could be another. 4. Do I need to use the same brand of developer as my color or bleach?Not necessarily. As long as the developer is a cream based one and it is fresh, it will work well on any brand of color or developer. What is important, however, is that you choose the correct strength of developer and follow the correct mix instructions. These may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. If you are using Ugly Duckling colors, toners and bleaches, follow the instructions given here and you will get excellent results. 5. How do I mix 20 Vol developer with hair color?Mix developer and color in a plastic mixing bowl. Experienced colorists can get the developer mix right by just pouring in & looking at the mix - but we don't recommend this!! Use a weighing scale or the markers on the bowl to get the mix ratio right. Keep stirring or using a whisk until you get a totally cream smooth paste. Ugly Duckling colors have been designed to give very good product saturation but you do need to get the mix right. This is what a mix of Ugly Duckling color and developer should look like: Hair Color & Developer Mix:6. How do I mix 20 Vol developer with bleach?Mix using a weighing scale or the markers on the plastic bowl. If you are using the Ugly Duckling bleach scoop, you can use the same scoop to measure out the developer. The Ugly Duckling scoop is 1 oz. For every scoop of bleach you would need 2 scoops of developer. This is what a mix of Ugly Duckling bleach and developer should look like: Brilliant Blonde Blue Bleach & Developer mixBrilliant Blondexx Bond Protect Bleach & Developer Mix:7. What happens if you use developer by itself?You will manage to open the cuticle and you will get some of the hair's natural melanin to come out. So you will lighten the hair as a result to some degree. But the color result will be very imperfect and we don't recommend it. You will just end up needing to color again to get it right and the multiple applications of developer will do unnecessary damage to your client's hair. 8. Why use 20 Vol for Toning?Toning is level on level, so 10 Vol, Right? Umm...not so fast!! Not if the hair has been incorrectly pre-lightened. See the pictures below:
What would not work is to tone with 10 Vol on this type of hair. 9. Why Use 20 Vol Developer for Grey Hair Coverage?So when I am doing grey hair coverage, that's level-on-level. So I use 10 Vol, Right? Featured Products
10. How Much Developer Should I Use for Ugly Duckling Color, Toner & Bleach?The recommended mix ratio for Ugly Duckling Color is 1 part color to 1 part developer for most of our colors. 11. If I use More Developer Will I Get More Lift?No, it does not work like that. 12. Does More Developer Make the Bleach Mixture Stronger?No, it will not do that. All bleaches are designed with a certain mix in mind. Ugly Duckling Brilliant Blonde mixed with 30 Vol developer in a 1:2 mix. 13. What Happens If I Put Too Much Developer In The Dye?Your mix will be more wet, & more runny. 14. What Happens If I Put Too Little Developer in The Dye?Your mix will be too dry, and you won't be able to
saturate the hair properly with product and you may also get uneven and patchy color results. 15. Are There Any Cases Where it is a Good Idea to Deliberately Put in Extra Developer?Putting in more developer will give you a runnier solution. A runnier solution will allow you to work fast. This may be an important factor when your client's hair is long and you want to give all the hair the same processing time roots to ends. Even when going with a runnier solution, aim at a maximum mixof 1:1.5 for Ugly Duckling Color and 1:2.5 mix for Ugly Duckling Lighteners (Brilliant Blonde) and toners. Any more and you may be compromising color results. 16. Are There Any Cases Where it is A Good Idea to Deliberately Put in Too Little Developer?It will help if you want to do a balayage technique (free painting with dye brush) and you want to position the color accurately and not have any product dripping off the brush. 17. How Long Will Developer Keep?You need to discard your developer bottle within 12 months of opening. 18. Is developer bleach?No, the 2 have very separate chemical properties. Bleaches contain persulfates and are made for stripping color out of hair. Think of developers as activators. You need developer to activate the bleach. You also need developer to activate hair color. 19. Does developer damage the hair?Excessive chemical processing damages the hair. When you have lightening or coloring or toning to do, do it once and get it right. That would be our motto. USING DEVELOPER - OUR VERY LAST WORDSChoose your developer strength according to how many levels you need to lift.
Featured Products Bond Protect Bleach $34.00 Purple Duo Small $60.00 / $40.00 Intense Pearl Blonde Toner $12.00 Intense Silver Blonde Toner $12.00Video of a Toner & Developer MixIn this short video, you can see the application of Intense Pearl Blonde Toner 100V with 20 Vol Developer. Hair by Ashley Betancourt. Watch Video of Ugly Duckling Hair Color 10.1b Color & Developer Application:In this video,
the stylist Brittney is applying 10.1b which is once again a color. Hair by Brittney Perez. WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR A LIFT FROM DARK BROWN TO ONE BLONDE IN ONE SESSION ONLY:Hair by Ashley Betancourt, NY Looking for your personalized guide to developer choice (including full recipe)? Then go here:https://www.uglyducklingcolor.com/developer-choice Can I use 20 volume developer to lighten my hair?Without bleach, 20 volume developer alone can lighten your hair by about one level. So if you're currently a level 5 light brown, using 20 volume developer alone can lighten it to a level 6 dark blonde.
Can you use high lift color with 20 vol?If you do want it lighter, either high lift or an ash blonde dye with 20 or 30 vol developer is going to work for that (with the regular blonde dye being more controllable because you can choose a darker shade for more toning vs high lift being only one shade available generally).
How long should I leave 20 developer with color in my hair?What is this? Blonde hair may lift 2 levels in as little as 10 minutes when you use 20 volume developer, while darker hair may take closer to 20 or 30 minutes to achieve 1-2 levels of lift with 20 vol developer. You should never leave bleach mixed with 20 vol developer on your hair for more than 30 minutes.
What happens if I use 20 developer instead of 10?For more than 25% grey hair, we recommend 20 Vol rather than 10 Vol. You will be softening the cortex more and depositing color pigments deeper, not just coating the outside. The hair color will also last longer that way.
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