Only mixing part of a home dye kit

[SeaDogs]

I have a few greys around my temples and my hairdresser has been mixing a teaspoon of semi permanent to cover them.

She charges £20 for this which is fair enough as obviously I’m in a chair for the developing time but in terms of the dye used it’s expensive.

I could easily do it at home myself but it feels a waste to mix a whole pack of dye and developer. Has anyone had any luck mixing a small quantity from a home kit? Can’t work out if it’s daft even to try.

I do this. I've been using half a pack of L'Oréal Casting for a while but I've realised that I could do 1/4 instead as I don't need that much. Just make sure you get the ratio right (I use a Calpol dose measuring cup) and screw the lids back tightly. It keeps fine (I keep the open pack in a cupboard out of sunlight).

I've been doing this for decades as I've been greying in front since my teens.

I buy the root touch up and only use half.

Yes I used to just put half of each in a Tupperware and mix it

Brill, I shall give it a go. Thank you.

I cannot believe how long I have been home dying my short hair and have only just discovered you can use half and keep the rest!

What?! What dye do you all use where you can only mix half?

I use about a third of a L'Oreal box each time and daub it on where needed - I've gone from grey to blonde so not as noticeable as brown. Squeeze third of tube into small ramekin-like dish and measure in a third of developer and stir well. You can get the brushes in Superdrug.

You can get the mixing bowl and brush from Superdrug.

@molka you can do it with any dye I think. Just mix up half and save the rest until next time.

I use Schwarzkopf, it consists of a tube of cream and a bottle of developing lotion. How would I just use a bit?

@molka I use Schwarzkopf. I just measure out 1/3rd of the tube and 1/3rd of the bottle into a little bowl that has measurements on it and mix together and apply with a brush. Works perfectly and saves wasting the whole box when I only need a root touch up.

I just estimate half from each tube/bottle and then mix.

I assume you know this given your posts, but just in case you can't mix it all and then just save half.

Then I just wash the mixing bowl and brush and put back in the box for the next half. Gloves too.

@Lottieskeeper I had no idea you could do this. How long does the rest of the bottle and tube stay good till? I.e when would I need to use it up by. I usually do my roots then run the rest through the rest of my (long) hair to keep the colour even, if I only did roots - would they be a different colour to the rest of my hair? (as in more intense) If it matters, I use a shade of red.

Any box dye

Just measure it properly

>>>I use Schwarzkopf, it consists of a tube of cream and a bottle of developing lotion. How would I just use a bit?

I do this with the L'oreal root touch up thingy.

The most important thing is to work out the ratio of colour to developer and then mix accordingly. Look at the volume of the tuble and the volume of the lotion and then you can work it out.

The one I use is a ratio of 50/50 so I know that I need approximately equal quantities of colour to developer.

Then just put the amount of colour you want into the mixing receptacle and add the relevant amount of colour.

If you use it a lot you should be able to judge if you've got it right because the colour change after mixing it should be the same.

I do it by eye in the mixing tray. The colour is squidgy like toothpaste so is 3D; the liquid is runny. I put a line of colour along the tray close to the 'wall' of it. Then pour the developer along the line for the same distance until it looks about the same amount - usually two or three passes for me.

It's just ratios that's all.

Oh and the unmixed tube and bottle last for ages as long as they are both screwed tight shut. It's the same when we do the skin test 24hrs before when you just mix a liitle bit (we all do this, right?!).

I bleach my sons hair with Garnier Nutrisse.

We put roughly 1/3 of each part in a plastic tub and mix. The rest is kept for next time.

The tub is then washed in very hot water and kept, but only used for hair dye just in case.

@Billandben444
I genuinely havent changed colour because I thought I wouldnt be able to do a test 24hrs before without having to buy an extra box dye.

I had my hair dyed once by a hairdresser friend years ago and have only ever dyed it the exact same colour for this reason. My mind is blown that I can just use standard boxes, dye a little bit then 24 hrs use the same box to dye over. oh my goodness. I have been wanting to move from schwarzkopf to a brand that is a bit "nicer" for want of a better word.. better quality/gentler/more expensive. Is Garnier nutrisse "better"?

I asked my hairdresser what dye and developer she used and bought some from
Sallys online. I use half a tube of dye and 38ml of 20vol developer (which came in 1500ml bottle!!) for root coverage every six weeks or so.

My hairdresser also does a roots and go or shadow and go where she literally puts the dye on, pops on a cap and you drive home to wash it off and dry yourself. Maybe that’s an option?

I've been doing this for many years. In fact, as it so happens I did this last night.

What I've done is kept a few of the empty developer bottles from previous dyes, poor half of the developer into one of the old bottles, (sitting the bottles side by side it's easy to make sure there is half in each bottle), make sure the cap on the new bottle is put back on tightly.
Then squeeze half of the tube of colour into the old bottle, and put the cap back on the tube tightly. Shake and use the mixture in the bottle you've prepared (I just use my hands with the gloves on, no brush, it's more affective really massaging it in with your fingers). Put in the cupboard the other half solution, and the tube for the retouch ups a couple of months later. That way you get two uses out of it.

But the trick is to rinse out/keep a spare developer bottle (with the cap) so you can keep the new bottle with half in it for next time.

Did I dream I read this somewhere, that unused dye can blow up or something?

I suppose it refers to already mixed which should be used immediately, but the unmixed parts are ok to leave once screwed shut tightly, is that right?

Yes, never leave mixed dye lying about but quite safe if kept separate. In fact I always rinse the used bottle out well just in case before I dispose of it.

I use a plastic measuring spoon (like you would use for food recipes). I’ve mixed as little as a teaspoonful or tablespoonful each of dye and developer for touch ups. Use a plastic bowl. Just make sure the ratio on the box instructions is 1:1