Any Majirel experts/hairdressers?

[WhereAreWeNow]

I've been dying my hair myself with Majirel and it's fine. I'm happy with the colour. My problem is there's more grey coming through and the dye isn't sticking to some of the stubborn wiry ones at the front.

My hairdresser advised me to go for a v low vol developer. I'm using the l'oreal oxydant 0 (12.5 vol). I've read elsewhere that 20 vol is standard for grey coverage. I'm not sure why my hairdresser is adamant I should stick with the 12.5 vol. I think it might be because my hair is quite porous and easily damaged.

Does anyone know about this stuff? Any advice on whether I need to use a 20 vol?

The colour is close to my natural brown colour so I'm just trying to cover grey, not dramatically go lighter or darker.

Have you tried one of the majirel colours that end with .0?

e.g. 6.0, 5.0, rather than 6 or 5

What shade are you using at the moment?

When I first started doing it I mixed a 5.0 with another shade but I was getting quite hit and miss colours. I'm now using 5.12 and not mixing it with anything. Do you think the 5.0 would stick better?

5.0 should stick better. I'd try a 1:1 ratio of 5.0 to 5.12

However, the double bases (ones with 0) come out quite dark, so you might want to go 1:1 ratio 6.0 + 5.12 to end up with a depth of colour equivalent to a base colour of 5.

I'd give it a go using the current developer strength and you could go up to 20 vol if you're finding that you're not getting coverage.

Another method is to apply the developer only to your roots for a period of time BEFORE you add your (developer + dye) mixture. I think it's called presoftening and it helps further lift the cuticles in order to deposit the dye molecules.

If you're doing your roots very often, you might not even bother bringing it down to the ends twenty mins into the developing time, as they'll be getting constant exposure to the dye every time you lather and rinse it off when the development time is up and you're showering it all off. Maybe only take it through to the ends when they become faded.

Thanks so much @CinnamonJellyBeans .
I already only do the roots. I don't pull the colour through the ends.
So do you think 12.5 is an OK developer for grey coverage? Everything I find online says 20 vol.

I'm a bit scared to start mixing the colours in case it looks very different to the current shade but I guess I can do a test patch.

So the ones ending. 0 are different to the single number shades? I thought 5 and 5.0 were the same.

The .0 shades are stronger and are designed to work well on resistant white hair.

I find that the .0 shades give very good coverage, to the extent that the finished result can look very matte and they also come out darker than I would expect. This is why I always mix my .0 with my chosen shade in a 1:1 ratio, rather than just use a tube of the ,.0 and nothing else.

5.12 is a nice cool colour. You can mix it with some 5.0 to make the colour take more, but if I were you, I'd actually use the next shade lighter, which would be a 6.0. (The higher the number, the lighter the shade).

If you are wary of this, you can start with a lower volume of the 6.0, so maybe 1:3 ratio of 6.0 to 5.12. The worst thing that can happen is that your newly touched-up roots may be a tad lighter than your desired shade. This can easily be remedied with a darker shade next time, but if you go too dark, it's there to stay, (or until it fades from your porous hair, which will fade more quickly), so it's best to err on the side of caution.

As for your developer, I always use the lowest peroxide % I can get away with that will give the desired result. I also find that as my hair is coarse and porous, I reduce the development time to 30 mins.

Thanks @CinnamonJellyBeans . That's so helpful. I do really like 5.12 so I'm a bit scared of anything that might take it lighter or darker or make it matte.
I've been leaving it on for 40mins (on hairdresser's advice) but worried that could be doing more damage than a stronger developer.

Thank you so much @CinnamonJellyBeans .
I took your advice and mixed my 5.12 with 6.0 (1/3 6.0 and 2/3 5.12) and it's covered my greys!
I'm amazed at what a huge difference it's made. I was worried it would be lighter but if anything it's darker. It's the best it's looked in ages.

That's great to hear!