Question about mixing custom colors with darker bases

I used to always start with a light base when I was mixing custom colors for clients. Like I would grab a level 8 or 9 and add my tone from there. But last month I had a client who wanted a deep auburn red and her natural level was a 4. I tried my usual method and it came out way too muddy after about 2 washes. So I tried the opposite approach for her touch up - I mixed the color directly onto her natural dark base with a higher volume developer and just a little bit of lightener in the formula. The difference was night and day. The color stayed vibrant for over 5 weeks and didn't fade weird. Has anyone else found that working with darker bases instead of lightening first actually gives better staying power for certain shades?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_carr720d ago

Oh man, this is making me think of something totally different but related. I had this one time where I was trying to mix a dark cherry color and I kept getting this weird greenish tint no matter what I did. Turns out my base was too warm and I was fighting against it. I finally just gave up trying to lift it and started building the color darker with a blue based red and it worked perfectly. Like you said, the staying power was way better too. Sometimes fighting against what's already there just makes everything worse.

karen_nelson4020d ago

Honestly, "fighting against what's already there just makes everything worse" is so true. Ngl, I did the exact same thing with a copper tone once, kept trying to lift the warmth and it just got muddy until I worked with it instead.