- You can mix demi-permanent and permanent color together if you want to achieve a less damaging dye mix for your hair. This way the color will last longer in your hair than if you only use a demi-permanent hair color. I’ll tell you why below.
- It’s always a good idea to use the same brand of hair color. You can opt for IGORA, REVLON, and L’ORÉAL brands, which offer both demi-permanent and permanent dyes.
- The traditional coloring mix is always made with one measure of dye and one measure of developer. In this case, you should prepare your mixture using ½ a measure of demi-permanent dye, ½ a measure of permanent dye, and one measure of developer.
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Can I mix two hair colors from the same brand? Yes, but read this first
Now you know you can mix demi-permanent hair dye with permanent hair dye.
On that basis, I’ll give you a professional colorist’s advice: mixing dyes is something that requires experience and knowledge.
If you don’t respect the exact proportions of developer and dye, you won’t achieve an even and long-lasting color. And here again, we’re talking about two completely different types of dyes.
- The demi-permanent dye doesn’t contain ammonia, so it lasts for less time than the permanent dye. You apply it with a 6- or 9-volume developer.
- Permanent hair dye contains ammonia. You apply it with 20-volume developer.
That’s why demi-permanent hair dye is less aggressive to your hair than permanent dye.
Now, why would you want to mix demi-permanent color with permanent color?
The only possible answer I can think of is that you want to achieve a longer-lasting color than if you dyed it with just a demi-permanent dye, but with less damage to your hair.
Could you achieve this by mixing demi-permanent and permanent hair color together?
Yes, you could, because by mixing the two dyes, the ammonia contained in the permanent dye would be diluted, and the mixture would be less aggressive to the hair.
Suppose you come home from the gym very thirsty. You squeeze three lemons and get pure lemon juice. Of course, when you take a sip, you can’t swallow it because it’s too acidic.
How would you fix that? Very easily: you could dilute the lemon juice with water.
The same thing happens when you mix permanent and demi-permanent hair color. You’ll get a dye mixture with more hold, because it contains ammonia, but that ammonia will be diluted.
Now we’ve reached this point, it’s important to know how to prepare your mixture. And that’s what I’ll talk about next.
How to make the perfect mix of demi-permanent and permanent hair color
Why? Because we already said that permanent dye is applied with 20-volume developer and demi-permanent dye is applied with 6- or 9-volume developer, depending on the brand.
As a professional colorist, I advise you to use 20-volume developer. Since the color mixture will contain ammonia, although diluted, you need the developer to be a higher volume to open the hair cuticles so the color gets fixed inside the hair.
Materials to make a mixture of demi-permanent and permanent hair color
- ½ knob of permanent dye.
- ½ knob of demi-permanent dye.
- 20-volume developer.
- Plastic container.
- Dye brush.
Preparing the mixture
Here’s a reminder of the proportions of the coloring mixture: 1 part dye + 1 part developer.
For example, 50 ml of dye + 50 ml of developer.
But, in this case, we’re mixing two dyes together.
Therefore, the dye mixture will be ½ part permanent dye + ½ part demi-permanent dye + 1 part developer.
For example, 25 ml of permanent dye + 25 ml of demi-permanent dye + 50 ml of developer.
- In a plastic container, place half the knob of the demi-permanent dye and half the knob of the permanent dye.
- Whisk well with a dye brush, and when they are mixed together, add the 20-volume developer. Mix until you get a smooth consistency.
- Start the application from the roots.
- Once you cover all your hair, leave the dye mixture to act for 45 to 60 minutes.
- After the exposure time has elapsed, rinse your hair with warm water and dry it with low heat.
Conclusion
You can mix demi-permanent and permanent color to achieve a softer coloring mixture that's less damaging to your hair. The color will last longer than if you dyed your hair using just demi-permanent dye.
Remember, it's important you use dyes from the same brand.
