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Coloration: How to Find the Right Hair Color

New hairstyle, new chapter in life! Start a new journey with a fresh hair color and enjoy the uplifting feeling of a new beginning with a shade that suits your type. Discover which  suits you best and whether you should use a hair dye or a toner. You will also find our exclusive selection of professional hair colors, learn about different coloring techniques, and find out which shade suits you best—so you can achieve the perfect result and enjoy your new self for a long time!

New hairstyle, new life! Keep rediscovering yourself with colorations and toners. Professional products care for the hair and deliver long-lasting, shiny, and radiant color results. Expressive, vibrant, and brilliant colors bring more variety. For professional color results, you need professional hair dyes. They stand out clearly from drugstore colors because they nourish the hair more deeply and make the color last longer.

Finding the right coloration: Which hair color suits me?

Would you combine clothing colors that already make you cringe just by looking at them? Exactly. You should think the same way about your hair color, because once your hair is dyed, there’s no easy way back. That’s why it’s even more important to find the right shade. Your hair color must suit your type and skin tone so that it looks professional and you feel comfortable with it.

How to Determine Your Skin Type

Which hair color suits you best depends on the undertone of your skin. The right hair color makes you look healthy and radiant. If you choose the “wrong” shades, you might appear pale and tired.

  • What color is the skin around your joints? Take a look at the veins on the inside of your wrist: if they appear dark blue or violet, this indicates a cool skin tone. If they look olive or green, then you have a warm skin tone.
  • What undertone does your skin have? If it has a yellowish or golden hue, you belong to the warm type. If your skin appears bluish, pinkish, or olive, cool shades will suit you better.

Cool Type

Cool types look best with all cool tones, which beautifully flatter the complexion. The following shades are ideal:

  • Dark reds
  • Ash brown
  • Light brown tones
  • White blond

Warm Type

Warm types suit all warm tones such as:

  • Golden blond
  • Reddish browns
  • Warm beige tones
  • Reddish blond

Coloration Blond

Blonde shades never go out of style. In recent years, cool blonde has been especially trendy. It particularly suits lighter skin tones. The variants Platinum, Ice, Silver, Sand, and Beige are beautiful shades for blonde hair. Schwarzkopf BlondMe Toners are perfect for this—they lighten and tone the hair in a single step! You can even choose from exotic shades such as Brown Mahog, Biscuit, and Strawberry. Plus, they create the highly popular matte effect! Tip: If your blonde shade has faded, we’ve got some tips on how to easily refresh it.

Coloration Brown´

Seductive, natural warm and cool brown tones are back in fashion. L’Oréal iNOA offers a range from dark brown to light brown gold irisé, sure to meet every color preference. A healthy hair feel is included. iNOA gives incredible radiance with effortless application—and all that without ammonia.

Coloration Red

Want a passionate, deep red? Then we recommend Goldwell Topchic Reds—fiery red tones for bold women! This high-performance hair color offers maximum coverage and perfectly even results in more than 100 shades, leaving hair smooth and strong.

Coloration Black

Our tip: If you dream of dark hair, it’s better to choose dark brown. It always looks more natural and creates stunning color depth. With Wella Colour Touch Pure Naturals semi-permanent color, you can refine, change, or intensify your natural shade at deeper tone levels.

Blonde Frau mit Tattoos
Frau mit roten langen Haaren

Which Coloration Covers Gray Hair Best?

There’s one question that still concerns many: Which hair coloration covers gray hair best? Don’t worry—almost all professional hair colors at BellAffair provide up to 100% gray hair coverage. We especially recommend L’Oréal MajirelWella Koleston Perfect Me, as well as the queens among hair colors: Igora Royal by Schwarzkopf.

How to Apply Hair Coloration Correctly

Applying hair coloration properly is the foundation for a beautiful, even result. Professionals know that achieving the perfect color outcome requires the right coloring tools and proper technique. Processing time, mixing ratio, and your original hair color all play an important role and should be carefully assessed by a trained eye.

In general, most hair dyes are mixed with a developer of the appropriate volume strength and applied immediately. Typically, the color is applied from the roots to the ends—unless a special coloring technique is being used. When touching up roots, it’s important to ensure that the lengths only come into contact with the color briefly, so as not to overstrain the hair. However, for certain techniques, the application begins at the ends instead.

Which Techniques of Coloration Exist?

In recent years, ombré and balayage have become especially popular. Hairstyle trends are just as individual as the people who wear them. And just as varied as the looks are the techniques behind them.

Balayage

Balayage is a freehand technique where only the roots are left untouched. For this popular trend, in which individual strands are lightened in the lengths and ends, a hair color is chosen that harmonizes with the natural tone. This avoids creating a contrast that’s too harsh. Illumina Color Me+ is particularly suitable for very light hair (level 8 and above) and works perfectly for the balayage technique. It creates especially soft transitions and an intense shine. The hair smells wonderful and feels soft and silky. You can see how to achieve the trendy balayage look, which never goes out of style, in the video.

Ombré

For the ombré technique, which creates a color gradient in the hair, a lightener is often used. To avoid stressing or damaging the ends, a gentle lightening product is chosen. With this technique, the application begins at ear level. Our tip: Schwarzkopf BlondMe Premium Lightener 9+ with Bond Enforcing lifts up to nine levels and minimizes hair breakage by strengthening the hair fibers. This professional lightening powder is gentle on the hair and provides extremely intense lightening. Afterward, the hair feels smooth and strong—you’ll love the result.

Full color applications

A simple task for skilled hands with the right hair color, because global coloring—dyeing the entire hair in one color—is part of every stylist’s standard repertoire. Both permanent hair colors and toners can be used for full color applications. The most popular hair colors include iNOA by L’Oréal, Majirel from the same brand, Goldwell Elumen, the colors from Schwarzkopf Igora Royal, and Wella Koleston, which is among the bestsellers at BellAffair.

Highlighting techniques

In the highlighting technique, strands are applied either on the top of the head or throughout the entire hair. These can range from very fine highlights to thicker streaks. The finer the highlights, the more natural the result. If you want dark reflections on blonde hair, consider Goldwell Colorance Low Lights. The lowlights at levels 6, 7, and 8 bring blonde hair back to its natural depth.

Coloration trends

If you want to refresh your hairstyle, you can add exceptional color accents with highlights, lowlights, or babylights. Highlights create striking contrasts by coloring only certain sections a few shades lighter, adding movement to the hair and a natural look. Lowlights produce particularly interesting effects on light hair and add depth and volume to the hairstyle. Babylights are another way to accentuate the hair. Here, the front sections on either side of the face are given light strands—reminiscent of children’s hair, which is often lighter around the face than the rest.

Natural color gradients

Currently, techniques that create a natural look are especially trendy. With only one or two lighter or darker shades, the highlights become a subtle statement. For complete color changes or 100% gray coverage, colorations are particularly suitable. Wella Koleston Perfect ensures convincing color results.

The geode hair trend from the United States is also on the rise: inspired by minerals and gemstones, the color is applied from bottom to top, similar to the ombré trend. In the more intense version of this technique, additional colorful highlights can be added beneath the top layer of hair. The color is only visible when you part the hair—just like a geode that reveals beautiful colors inside when opened.

How long does a coloration or toner last?

A permanent coloration lasts indefinitely. In most cases, the color only needs to be refreshed at the roots, since the color pigments remain permanently anchored in the lengths and ends. Depending on how fast your hair grows, regrowth becomes visible after about four weeks.

A toner is a particularly gentle form of coloring, as the pigments do not penetrate the hair shaft. Depending on your natural hair color, a toner lasts up to eight weeks before it is completely washed out. An intensive toner is chemically between a toner and a permanent color, but it also fades after about eight weeks. Regardless of whether you choose the gentler toner or the permanent dye, proper hair care afterward is crucial. It helps regenerate the hair and maintain color vibrancy for longer.

How to properly care for colored hair

Colored hair needs high-quality care to maintain its brilliance and shine. Insufficient care leads to premature fading and dullness. In addition to shampoo, you should regularly use a conditioner and a hair mask once a week. A highly recommended option for colored hair is the Color Brilliance series by Wella. The shampoo in this line is available for both fine and thick hair.

For blonde and lightened hair, Blond Absolu by Kérastase is our top choice. To maximize your hair’s radiance, you can also use a shine spray.

How to color your roots yourself

When your coloration grows out, the roots start to show. But should you color your roots yourself? We would only recommend this to experienced specialists, as there is a high risk that the roots and lengths will not match in color. The lighter your hair color and the darker your roots, the greater the risk of a color mishap. Coloring the back of your head is also quite challenging. Therefore, it’s best to leave root coloring to professionals and use a root spray instead. These popular root products can be applied in seconds, are weather- and sweat-resistant, and last until your next hair wash. For more tips on refreshing your roots, check out our blog on coloring your hair at home.

What is better – coloration or toner?

Coloration or maybe a toner? Are you adventurous or do you prefer to stick to one look? If you like to adapt your hair color to your mood, the season, or an outfit, then a toner is the right product for you. With a coloration, however, the hair color is changed permanently, and it is extremely difficult to remove these pigments from the hair again.

What is the difference between a toner and a coloration?

First, with a coloration, the hair structure is opened in order to permanently anchor the color pigments. In the case of a toner, the pigments do not penetrate the hair but instead lie around the hair. The toner is therefore a much gentler color treatment. 

Coloration or hair dye: lasts permanently, washing behavior: fades slowly, advantage: long-lasting color, touch-up at the roots and only minimal fading in the lengths and ends. 

Toner: lasts up to 8 weeks, washing behavior: color fades gradually, advantage: color can be changed frequently.

And what is bleaching? 

Melanin—these are the pigments that determine our hair color. Eumelanin is responsible for black-brown pigment, and pheomelanin for red pigment, which gives blonde and red hair its tone. Unlike coloring or toning, bleaching removes all pigments from the hair. As a result, the hair becomes pigment-free and therefore colorless. That’s why bleaching is not considered a hair color in the actual sense.

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Professional Hair Color from Top Brands

For salon-quality hair color, BellAffair offers a selection of top brands. Rely on professional hair colors and enjoy results that look as if they came straight from the salon.

L'Oréal Coloration

The epitome of professional hair color from L’Oréal: Majirel. This permanent cream color impresses not only stylists with its 100% coverage but also anyone who dyes their hair at home. Majirouge provides rich, vibrant red tones for lively results. With L’Oréal Highlifts, you can achieve very bright, powerful blonde shades. Majirel Mix allows for limitless creativity, intensifying both warm and cool tones. Majirel Cool Inforced delivers intense beige and ash nuances in salon quality. Dialight is L’Oréal’s gentle intensive toner, offering a unique vinyl-gloss effect. You’re guaranteed a brilliant appearance.

Why L’Oréal Colorations Are Popular 

’Oréal colors deliver reliable results and exceptional coverage. Many customers are delighted to have finally found their ultimate hair color.

Schwarzkopf Coloration

Schwarzkopf is a true expert in hair colorations. The popular Igora Royal hair colors offer an unmatched variety for endless styling possibilities. Intensive toners like Igora Vibrance deliver impressive color brilliance. Even for mature hair, Schwarzkopf offers the right solution with Igora Royal Absolutes Silverwhite. Step into a world full of deep violet, seductive red, and royal blonde tones.

Why Schwarzkopf Hair Colors Are Popular

Professional hair colors from Schwarzkopf are especially appreciated for their creamy, easy-to-apply texture and consistent results. The hair feels healthy and strong after coloring. 

Coloration Without Ammonia

Ammonia opens the cuticle layer of the hair so that the color pigments can penetrate the inner structure. The alkaline component quickly evaporates when exposed to air. Ammonia ensures that the color adheres properly and lasts a long time. Colorations without ammonia therefore have a shorter lifespan but are gentler on the hair. One of the most popular ammonia-free colorations is Zero Amm by Schwarzkopf. With 100% gray coverage and incredibly intense color performance, it has become a bestseller with more than 50 shades available. 

Wella Coloration

For many, Wella Koleston is the absolute top professional hair color. It’s a modern formula featuring technology that neutralizes free radicals, ensuring an exceptionally even color result.

Why Wella Professional Colors Are Popular 

What surprises many users is the pleasant, non-pungent scent of Wella color. In addition, it is less harsh on the hair. Combined with its impressive coverage (up to 100%), this makes it one of the most widely used professional hair colorations.

Buy Professional Hair Color at BellAffair

Buy professional salon hair color from BellAffair at attractive prices. Discover a new side of yourself with a new hair color. Benefit from fast shipping, selected promotional products, and multilingual customer service at BellAffair.