Hair Color Mix Calculator

What are the recommended mix ratios for Ugly Duckling colors?

All professional hair colors are formulated to be mixed with a certain quantity of developer, and Ugly Duckling is no exception.

Get your mixes right and you will get much much better color results.

In this article, we explain everything you need to know about hair color mixes.

WATCH VIDEO: HOW TO GET THE PERFECT MIX WITH CREAM COLORS

A mix of Ugly Duckling Intense Pearl Blonde with 20 Vol

For regular colors:

For most cream based Ugly Duckling colors, our recommended mix is 1 part color to 1 part developer.

We sometimes write this in our blogs and articles as 1+1, or 1:1.

For high lift colors and cream based toners:

For our high lift colors and our cream based toners, the recommended mix is 1 part color to 2 parts developer.

The added amount of developer helps achieve the lift which allows you to kick out yellow and get to the right color level when using these products.

So this would be written as 1+2, or 1:2. Where the first number refers to the amount of color, and the second to the amount of developer.

This mix rule applies to all the products shown below:

WATCH VIDEO: HOW TO APPLY CREAM TONERS

For Blondify liquid toners:

For Blondify liquid toner, the recommended mix is 1 part toner to 1 part developer.

Or in other words, 1+1, or 1:1.

Blondify is a non-lifting but nonetheless very pigmented toner. It does not require too much developer.

Our liquid toners can be mixed in a plastic applicator bottle. This makes for easy mixing - just shake.

And also easy application - just pour and rub.

WATCH VIDEO: HOW TO MIX AND APPLY BLONDIFY LIQUID TONER

How do I measure out my color mixes?

Use a kitchen scale for best results. Put the color bowl on it and set the weight with the bowl on to zero.

Then squeeze in your desired amount of color.

Note down the weight in case you forget! If it is a full tube that you are squeezing out, that is 3.5 oz.

Then if your mix was 1:1, put in the same amount of developer again.

3.5 oz, in other words.

If the mix was 1:2, put in double the amount of developer.

7 oz, in other words.

Ugly Duckling tubes are bigger than the average on the market.

One full tube plus the recommended amount of developer will generally give you enough for a full head of shoulder-length hair. 

What happens if I put in more color versus my developer?

Adding in more color will tend to produce darker but flatter results.

The color will be strong but will tend to lack vibrancy.

Not recommended.

What happens if I put in more developer versus my color?

You will get a little more lift, but the color will come out lighter and thinner, and will wash out quicker.

Not recommended either!

Can I use more developer in order to get more lift?

See above - it is not recommended. Stick to our mixes and you will get much better results.

However, if you want more lift, instead of playing around with mixes, think instead of increasing developer strength, from 20 Vol to 30 Vol.

20 Vol gives 1-2 levels of lift.

30 Vol will give you 2-3 levels of lift.

What happens if I need more lift than 3 levels?

If you need more lift than that, you need to bleach first.

Then color.

Can I mix 2 different hair colors?

All Ugly Duckling colors are intermixable.

This includes toners and regular colors.

For example, if you are looking to go white ash blonde, but you also have grey hair, you can mix intense pearl blonde 100V with 9N, for example.

You can also mix liquid colors with cream if you wish.

So you could mix Blondify Natural Violet Blonde toner with 10N.

When mixing colors, you need to take into consideration the total amount of color used.

Then add in your developer accordingly.

What happens if I am mixing a 1:1 color with a 1:2 toner? What mix do I use?

Take 1:1 (one part product to one part developer) as your mixing ratio and you should get good results.

Our products are built with a certain amount of flexibility.

A slight variation in the mix ratio is not the end of the world!