How to Use
Powder. Water. And Time.
There's no developer to measure, no timer beeping at ten minutes, no stinging scalp. Plant colour asks for something different instead: it asks you to wait. Get the timing right and the rest of this is genuinely simple.
If you've only ever used a bottle
It starts as a powder,
and you make the paste.
There's no cream and no developer bottle. What's in the pouch is ground herbs and nothing else — you add warm water yourself and stir it into a paste, roughly the thickness of yogurt.
Then it goes onto damp hair like a mask, root to tip. It doesn't run, it doesn't sting, and there are no fumes — so you can leave it on comfortably while the colour does its work.
Wash & towel-dry
Clean hair, no conditioner. Blot until damp, not dripping.
10–20 minMix into a paste
Add warm water until it's as thick as yogurt. Mix a thicker batch for the hairline and temples — thick paste stays wet longer.
5–10 minApply & leave on
Cover with a cap and keep the paste warm and moist. How long depends on your shade — browns finish fastest.
60–180 minRinse & let it dry slowly
Water only, no shampoo — and no hair dryer. The colour keeps developing after you rinse, for as long as the hair stays damp.
48–72 hrsFour ways our herbs work
Not every shade behaves the same way
All 24 shades are made from the same small group of herbs — but whether yours contains henna, indigo, or both changes how long it takes and how you dry your hair afterwards.
Henna + Indigo
Our deepest, longest-lasting shades. Henna bonds early; indigo keeps developing for up to three days after you rinse.
60–90 minSoftened with Cassia
The same two herbs, thinned with colourless henna so less pigment reaches the hair. Lighter results, and a little longer to develop.
90–120 minHenna, No Indigo
Warm shades with nothing to cool them. No green stage and no three-day wait — the only group where drying method doesn't change the result.
90–120 minIndigo, No Henna
Our ash tones, plus Wheat Blonde and Violet. Without henna's bond they take the longest of any shade — this is where rushing shows most.
120–180 minSun Blonde sits outside all four. It contains neither henna nor indigo — its colour comes from turmeric instead, which is already coloured when it goes on. So there is no oxidation window, no green stage and no waiting: what you see at the rinse is essentially what you keep.
Rule one: give it the full time for your shade
Chemical dye forces pigment in fast. Plant pigment moves at its own pace and can't be hurried — henna bonds early, and the herbs without it take considerably longer. Rinsing early is the single most common reason a result comes out weak, patchy, or barely there. Whatever your shade needs, give it all of it.
Rule two: warm the paste, never dry it
Gentle warmth helps the herbs work. Dry paste stops working altogether, whatever the clock says — and a hair dryer is the one heat source that warms and dries at the same time. A warm towel or a heat cap is better in every case.
Never aim a dryer at the hairline or temples. That is where a cap seals least well, where the paste dries first, and where the greys you most want to cover are sitting. Use a thicker paste there and keep it covered instead.
A few details change depending on your shade. How long to leave it on, whether to add anything to the paste, and how to dry your hair afterwards — these differ between our herbal blends.
Choose your shade below and this page will show you what applies to it.
↓Step Zero
Which shade are you using?
Our 24 shades are built from different herbs, and a few of them behave differently. Pick yours and this page will show the timings and cautions that apply to it.
Black & Brown
Blonde
Red
Ash & Bold
Applies to every shade
Warmth helps the paste work; drying it stops the paste working. A hair dryer does both at once, so a warm towel or a heat cap is the better way to add heat. Never aim a dryer at the hairline or temples — that is where the cap seals least well, where the paste dries first, and where the greys you most want to cover are sitting. Use a thicker paste there and keep it covered.
Nothing selected? The steps below show the standard method — safe for every shade.
One shade works differently
Sun Blonde Is Built on Neither of Them
Every other shade in the range uses henna, indigo, or both. Sun Blonde uses neither — its colour comes from turmeric instead, and that changes how it behaves at almost every step on this page.
What's inside, in order of quantity
1st — the base
Colourless henna
Not henna, and not quite colourless. What it mostly does is take up space, so the pigment below it works on a smaller share of the pouch — which is how a light shade is made without lightening anything. Cassia obovata
2nd — the colour
Turmeric root
The only colouring herb in the blend. Its pigment, curcumin, is a bright yellow — and unlike every other pigment we use, it is already coloured when it goes on. Curcuma longa
4th & 5th — the cleansing
Reetha & shikakai
Both carry saponins, which foam gently in water and lift oil from hair. They appear in no other shade we make: a pale result needs a clean fibre to land on. Sapindus mukorossi, Acacia concinna
3rd, 6th & 7th — no pigment
Amla, bhringraj & brahmi
None of the three carries colour. Amla is the acid in the blend; the other two appear across our range on the strength of documented traditional use. Phyllanthus emblica, Eclipta prostrata, Bacopa monnieri
No henna. No indigo. Those are the two herbs every other shade is built on — and neither is in this pouch. That single fact explains everything else about how Sun Blonde behaves.
So there is no oxidation to wait for. Henna and indigo both arrive slowly: indigo passes through green, keeps developing for days, and stops if the hair dries. Curcumin does none of that — it is yellow in the pouch and yellow on your hair. What you see at the rinse is essentially what you keep.
How to use it
Step 1
Wash
Clean, damp hair. No conditioner beforehand.
Step 2
Mix
Warm water into powder, as thick as yogurt.
Step 3
Leave on
30 to 60 minutes under a cap — shorter than our other shades.
Step 4
Rinse
Water only. Nothing left to develop afterwards.
- ✓Dry it however you like. The drying rule on this page exists to protect indigo, and there is no indigo here. This is the one shade where a hair dryer changes nothing.
- ✓No green stage, and no three-day wait. Judge the result the same day.
- !Strand test first if your hair is very pale. Curcumin is a strong yellow, and pale or porous hair takes more of it than you might expect.
- !Turmeric stains. Skin, nails, towels, worktops. Wear the gloves and wipe splashes straight away.
What that gives you
Colour at the rinse, with nothing to get wrong afterwards. No oxidation window, no drying method to worry about, no waiting to find out what you ended up with.
What it costs
Curcumin is not light-stable, so this shade fades faster in sunlight than anything else we make. That is a property of the compound, not something a formula can engineer around.
Who is it for? Pale, grey or lightened hair that would suit a soft gold. On white and grey strands the yellow shows most clearly, because there is no pigment underneath to modify it.
It will not lighten dark hair. Nothing in the pouch removes pigment — plant colour can only deposit — and a pale yellow deposited on dark hair is invisible. If you want an actual change of colour, one of our other shades is what you need. How to choose your shade →
Steps 1 & 2
Prepare, Then Mix
Neither step takes long, but both decide how well the colour takes. Clean hair lets the pigment reach the strand, and the right paste keeps it there.
Wash and towel-dry
10–20 min
Plant pigment is carried by water, so anything water-repellent on the hair will block it. Wash thoroughly and skip conditioner entirely — then blot with a towel until hair is damp rather than wet.
- ✓Use a clarifying shampoo if you regularly use oils, silicones or styling products. Buildup is one of the most common reasons colour comes out patchy. A strong shampoo is helpful before colouring — it is only afterwards that it strips pigment.
- ×No conditioner, mask, oil or leave-in beforehand. These coat the strand and repel the water-based paste.
- ×Nothing creamy in the bowl either. Radico is mixed with water alone — not yogurt, milk or conditioner, whatever you may have read elsewhere.
- ✓Pay attention to the hairline. New growth at the roots has never been washed, brushed or heated, and it is often the slowest part of the head to take colour. Make sure it is genuinely clean of dry shampoo, hairspray and scalp oil.
- ✓Towel-dry to damp, not dripping. Damp hair helps the paste spread and lets you use noticeably less of it.
Too wet dilutes the colour
Water still sitting in and on the hair thins the paste on contact, and a thinner paste gives a weaker result. Blot until it stops dripping.
For your shade: this is the group that most rewards care here
Your shade has no henna in it, so indigo is doing all the work on its own — and indigo has no fast-bonding pigment to fall back on. Anything left on the hair that repels water costs you more here than it would on a brown. Wash thoroughly, skip conditioner, and give the roots and hairline particular attention.
Mix into a paste
5–10 min
Measure out the powder for your hair length, then add warm water gradually and stir until completely smooth.
Short hair
20–30 g
0.7–1.1 oz
Shoulder length
40–60 g
1.4–2.1 oz
Waist length
70–100 g
2.5–3.5 oz
- ✓Warm water — comfortably warm, not boiling. Water that's too hot can dull the result, especially in shades containing indigo.
- ✓Judge by texture, not by ratio. Around 1 part powder to 3 parts water is a starting point, but keep adding water slowly until the paste is as thick as yogurt — thick enough that it won't drip.
- ✓Set aside a thicker batch for the hairline and temples. Add a little extra powder to part of the mix. Thick paste holds its water longer, and those are the spots that dry out first.
- ✓Stir until completely smooth. Dry lumps are pigment that never reaches your hair.
A runny paste gives a weak result
If the paste drips, it's too thin — add a little more powder. Thin paste slides off the hair instead of staying in contact with it for the full time, and it also dries out sooner, which stops it working before the clock runs down.
For your shade: add cider vinegar and let it rest
Your shade has no indigo, so you can take advantage of henna's preference for mild acidity. Replace some of the water with a splash of apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice), then cover the bowl and let the paste rest for one to two hours before applying. The acid draws the colour out first, so more of it transfers to your hair.
For your shade: plain water, and mix fresh
You may have read that vinegar improves henna — it does, but your shade also contains indigo, and acid works against it. Use plain warm water, and apply the paste soon after mixing rather than letting it rest overnight.
For your shade: plain water, and mix fresh
You may have read that vinegar improves henna — it does, but your shade also contains indigo, and acid works against it. Use plain warm water, and apply the paste soon after mixing rather than letting it rest overnight.
For your shade: no vinegar, and mix fresh
Acid helps henna, but your shade works on indigo, which acid holds back. Mix with plain warm water only, and apply soon after mixing — advice about resting a paste overnight is written for henna, and there is no henna in your pouch.
For your shade: plain water, and use it straight away
Sun Blonde contains neither henna nor indigo, so none of the usual vinegar advice applies either way. Plain warm water, mixed smooth, used soon after mixing. One thing worth knowing before you start: turmeric stains skin, nails, towels and worktops — wear the gloves and wipe splashes straight away.
About adding vinegar
Cider vinegar helps some of our shades and hinders others — it depends on whether yours contains indigo. Select your shade above and we'll tell you which applies. If you'd rather not choose, plain warm water is safe for every shade.
Steps 3 & 4
Apply, Then Let It Work
Applying takes about twenty minutes. After that, the paste does the work on its own. How long it needs depends on your shade — and on how readily your hair takes water.
Apply from the roots down
10–20 min
Once the paste is ready, work reasonably quickly. Wear gloves, part the hair into sections, and start at the roots — that's where regrowth and grey show first.
- ✓Work it in, don't just brush it on. Knead the paste into each section so it surrounds the strand rather than sitting on the surface.
- ✓Grey needs more paste. Grey strands have no pigment of their own, so give those areas a heavier, more generous layer.
- ✓Use the thicker mix at the hairline and temples. These are the hardest areas to keep sealed, and the first place the paste dries out. A thick extra coating there holds its water for longer.
- ✓Cover with the enclosed shower cap as soon as the hair is evenly coated. Plastic wrap works too, and tucking it down at the hairline is worth the extra minute.
A trick from our customers
Transfer the mixed paste into an empty applicator or squeeze bottle using a funnel. It makes reaching the roots far easier than working from a bowl, especially at the back of the head.
Leave it on
60–120
60–90
90–120
90–120
120
As per the pouch
minutes
minutes
minutes
minutes
minutes
Sun Blonde
Times vary by shade — browns need the least, ash tones the most. Select your shade above for the exact time.
Henna bonds earliest of our herbs, so browns and blacks are the fastest shades we make. Leave it up to 3 hours if you want a deeper result — longer is always safe.
Colourless henna dilutes the mix, so your shade needs a little longer than the deeper browns. Ninety minutes works; two hours makes it certain. Up to 3 hours for a richer result.
Your shade tones rather than covers, and tone builds gradually. Ninety minutes works; two hours makes it certain.
Your shade carries no henna, and henna is the pigment that bonds earliest. Yours is the one group that genuinely needs two hours — and three on resistant or heavily grey hair.
Sun Blonde is the only shade with neither henna nor indigo — its colour comes from turmeric, which is already coloured going on. There is no oxidation window to wait for afterwards, so the time on the pouch is the whole of it.
Does your hair take water easily?
Plant colour travels in water, so hair that resists water is slower to take. Three questions that point the same way:
- ?In the shower, does water bead for a moment before it soaks in?
- ?Does it take a while to get your hair properly wet through?
- ?Do conditioners and masks seem to sit on top rather than sink in?
If those sound like your hair, add 30 to 60 minutes to the time above. If none of them do, the standard time is enough.
This is a rough guide rather than a measurement — we are not aware of a reliable home test for this. But it is the adjustment that most often makes the difference between a result that takes and one that doesn't.
Henna bonds to the hair earlier than the other pigments, which is why our browns can finish in an hour. Shades built without it take longer to reach the same point — and none of them can be rushed past it.
- ✓Keep it warm. Wrap a warm towel over the cap, or pull on a fabric cap to trap body heat. A microwavable heat cap works well too.
- ✓Keep it moist. The paste has to stay damp to keep transferring colour. If it starts to dry, mist lightly with water through the cap.
- ✓Check the hairline once or twice. It is the first place to dry and the last place people look. If it feels crusty, mist it and re-seal the cap.
- ✓Longer is safe. Up to three hours is fine and gives a deeper result. There's no penalty for leaving it on.
Warm the paste — never dry it
Gentle warmth speeds the colour along, but dry paste stops transferring colour altogether, whatever the clock says. A hair dryer is the one heat source that does both at once, which makes it the riskiest way to add warmth. A warm towel or a heat cap is better in every case.
If you do reach for a dryer, keep it low, keep it moving and keep it over a well-sealed cap — and never aim it at the hairline. That is where the cap seals least well, where the paste dries first, and where the greys you most want to cover are sitting. Drying that area is the surest way to make sure it doesn't take.
It isn't the same hour as a chemical dye
There's no burning, no fumes, and no reason to stand in the bathroom waiting. Cover it and carry on with your evening — the paste conditions your hair the entire time it's colouring. Chemical dye gives you thirty minutes because thirty minutes is about all a scalp can take.
Steps 5 & 6
Rinse, Then Let It Dry
Rinsing is straightforward — water only, no shampoo. How you dry your hair afterwards matters more than most people expect, and for some shades it decides the final colour.
Rinse with water only
10–20 min
Rinse with warm water until the water runs clear. This takes longer than you'd think — the paste is ground plant material, and it needs to be worked out thoroughly.
- ×No shampoo in this first rinse. Shampoo at this stage lifts pigment straight back out of hair that has only just taken it.
- ✓Work it out with your fingers under running water, section by section, until you can no longer feel grit.
- ✓A little conditioner is fine here if the last of the paste won't shift. It helps the grit slide out and won't disturb colour that has already bonded. Before colouring is when to avoid it, not now.
Rinse thoroughly — but don't keep rinsing
Once the water runs clear and you can't feel grit, stop. Hair that takes water easily also gives pigment up easily — every extra wash in these first days carries a little colour away with it.
The herbal smell isn't paste left behind
For a day or two afterwards your hair will smell faintly of hay or fresh grass, and the smell often returns when hair gets wet. This isn't residue sitting in your scalp or roots. It's plant material that has worked into the hair itself — and while it's there, the colour is still setting.
Washing again and again to chase the smell away is the quickest way to wash the colour out along with it. Leave it alone and it fades on its own within a couple of days.
Let your hair dry
Towel, then time
Blot with a towel and let hair dry on its own — and wrapping it in a towel to slow the drying is better still. The longer hair stays lightly damp, the further the colour gets. If your air is very dry, a humidifier or a steamy bathroom buys you more of that time.
No dryer — not warm, not cool
The problem is the drying, not the heat, so a cool setting is no safer than a hot one. We tested this on grey swatches: the blow-dried sample stopped developing and stayed warm-toned, and re-wetting it afterwards did not bring the colour back.
Why this matters for your shade
Your shade contains indigo, and indigo isn't finished when you rinse. It carries on developing only while the hair stays damp — air-drying helps because it keeps the hair damp for longer, not because of the air itself. Dry it fast and it stops where it is, leaving the henna underneath in plain view as a red or copper cast.
Why this matters for your shade
Your shade contains indigo, and indigo isn't finished when you rinse. It carries on developing only while the hair stays damp. There is also less indigo in your pouch than in the deeper shades, because colourless henna takes up part of it — so there is less to spare if the reaction is cut short.
Why this matters for your shade
Your shade is built entirely on indigo, and indigo keeps reacting after you rinse — for as long as the hair stays damp. Drying it cuts that short, and since there is no henna underneath to fall back on, an interrupted result can look like almost no colour at all. Expect a green or blue-grey stage first: that is the reaction running, and it clears on its own.
Why drying matters
Most of our shades contain indigo, which is still reacting when you rinse. It carries on developing only while the hair stays damp, so drying hair quickly stops the colour partway — and that does not reverse. Select your shade above to see whether this applies to yours.
Good news for your shade: dry it however you like
Your shade contains no indigo, so there's no second reaction waiting to finish and nothing to interrupt. Blow-dry, style, do as you normally would — the colour is already where it's going to be.
Good news for your shade: dry it however you like
Sun Blonde contains neither henna nor indigo. Its colour comes from turmeric, which is already coloured going on — so there is no oxidation window and nothing to interrupt. Dry and style as you normally would. Worth knowing for later: turmeric is not light-stable, so this shade fades faster in sunlight than the rest of our range.
This is the one step that can't be undone
Everything else on this page can be corrected on a second application — herbal colour deposits, so you can always add more. Drying too fast is different: once the reaction has stopped, adding water back does not restart it. Leave the hair alone for the first two days: no shampoo, no hot styling, water only if you need to rinse.
After the rinse
The Colour Isn't Finished Yet
Chemical dye is done the moment you rinse. Plant colour keeps working for another day or two — which is why the shade you see in the mirror tonight is not the one you'll be wearing.
The first days
No shampoo for
48–72
72
72
48
48
48
hours
Judge your colour on
Day 2–3
Day 3
Day 3
Day 1–2
Day 2
Same day
not tonight
Timings differ by shade — indigo-rich colours take the longest to settle. Select your shade above for yours.
Your shade contains indigo, which keeps developing for two to three days after rinsing — and only while the hair stays damp. The tone will shift noticeably in that time. Wait for day three before deciding what you think of it.
Your shade contains indigo, which keeps developing for two to three days after rinsing — and only while the hair stays damp. The tone will shift in that time. Wait for day three before deciding what you think of it.
With no indigo in your shade there's no slow second reaction, so it settles quickly. What you see after the first day is close to what you keep.
Your shade is built on indigo, which finishes developing over the following day or two. It may look weak or greenish at first and deepen as it settles — don't judge it on the first evening.
Sun Blonde's colour comes from turmeric, which is already coloured going on — so there is nothing to wait for and the result is the one you saw at the rinse. The 48 hours above are simply to let the pigment settle before you wash.
- ✓Water-only rinses are fine. If your hair needs freshening before the window is up, rinse with plain water rather than reaching for shampoo.
- ✓No heat styling for the first two days. Straighteners and hot dryers are best left until the colour has settled.
- ✓Expect the herbal smell to linger and to return when hair gets wet. It fades on its own within a couple of days.
Making it last
Plant colour doesn't grow out in a hard line — it softens gradually, so there's no sharp regrowth edge. How long it holds depends almost entirely on what you wash it with.
- ✓Use a gentle, sulfate-free shampoo. The milder the detergent, the longer the colour stays.
- ×Avoid clarifying and anti-dandruff shampoos between colourings. They're designed to strip what's on the hair, and that includes your colour.
- ×Avoid alkaline soap bars afterwards. Soap sits around pH 9–10, far above hair's natural range, and lifts plant pigment quickly. Before colouring is a different matter — see below.
- ✓Hair that takes water readily lets colour go readily too. If that sounds like yours, wash less often and keep the water cooler.
Our own shampoo bar: useful before, not after
We sell a true soap shampoo bar, and it is alkaline — we say so on its own page. That makes it genuinely useful the day you colour, because it strips the oils, silicones and styling residue that would otherwise block a water-based paste.
The same property works against you afterwards. Use it to prepare, then switch to something gentler while the colour is living on your hair. This is not two contradictory pieces of advice — it's one property, useful at one end of the process and unhelpful at the other.
Why alkaline lather lifts henna colour
Henna's pigment, lawsone, forms a bond with the keratin in your hair — a bond that holds best in mildly acidic conditions. Alkaline lather works in the opposite direction, loosening lawsone from the fibre and carrying it away. A soap-based bar around pH 9–10 can undo weeks of colour in a few washes, and often leaves hair feeling tangled besides.
Why your shade needs gentler washing than most
Your shade carries no henna — and henna is the only pigment we use that bonds covalently to keratin. Indigo is held in the outer layers of the hair instead, which is exactly where shampoo reaches first.
That is what makes ash tones, Wheat Blonde and Violet possible at all, and it is also why they soften sooner than a henna-based shade. Wash less often, and gently. As the indigo goes, what is left behind tends to read warmer than the result you started with.
When it does soften, just colour again
There's no waiting period between applications and no build-up damage to worry about — each round conditions the hair as it colours. Many people refresh the roots every four to six weeks and do the lengths less often.
If the result wasn't what you expected
Herbal colour goes wrong in a handful of recognisable ways, and most of them have a specific explanation rather than a general one. Red or wine · Orange instead of brown · Green — usually normal · Yellow on grey. First order with us? A different shade is free. How the assurance works →
If it didn't work
Something Went Wrong. Here's Why.
Almost every disappointing result comes down to one of these — and one of them isn't a problem at all. Find what happened to you.
My hair looks green or blue-greyNormal+
This one is the process, not a fault
Indigo doesn't arrive as blue. It arrives as green and turns over the next day or two, on your head, while you watch. What you are looking at is the reaction running.
You see it most clearly on grey and white strands, and on hair around two tones lighter than the shade you applied — there is no pigment underneath to hide it.
What to do
- 1Nothing. Leave it alone. It clears on its own, usually within a day and almost always within two.
- 2Above all, don't dry it. Reaching for a dryer because of the green is how green becomes red. More on the green stage →
Nothing happened at all — my hair looks exactly the same+
Most likely cause
The paste was rinsed off too early, or something was in the way. Plant pigment needs real contact time, and it can't reach hair coated in silicone, oil or product buildup. Hair that is slow to take water needs longer still.
One other possibility worth ruling out first: plant colour deposits, it cannot lift. A shade lighter than your own hair will not show on it at all. If you applied a blonde to dark hair, nothing was ever going to happen.
What to do next time
- 1Give it the full time for your shade — and add 30 to 60 minutes if your hair is slow to take water.
- 2Wash with a clarifying shampoo first and skip conditioner entirely. Buildup is invisible but blocks the colour completely.
- 3Check the paste wasn't too thin. Runny paste slides off instead of staying in contact — and it dries out sooner.
- 4Keep it warm and damp throughout. Paste that has dried has stopped working, whatever the clock says.
Your shade is the slowest we make. It carries no henna, so it needs the full two hours — and three on resistant or heavily grey hair. This is the most common reason these shades appear not to work.
My greys didn't take — especially near the roots+
The cause we see most often
The paste dried out where you needed it most. The hairline and temples are where a shower cap seals least well, and where paste dries first — and they are also where people aim a dryer to add heat. Dried paste has stopped working, so the greys sitting there get the least development of anywhere on your head.
Grey strands also have no pigment of their own, so any shortfall shows on them immediately while the rest of your hair looks fine.
What to do next time
- 1Mix a thicker paste for the hairline and temples. Add extra powder to part of the batch. Thick paste holds its water far longer.
- 2Never aim a dryer at the hairline. If you add heat, use a warm towel or a heat cap over a well-sealed cap.
- 3Seal the cap down at the hairline and check it once or twice while processing. If it feels crusty, mist it and re-cover.
- 4Apply generously and add 30 to 60 minutes to your usual time.
- 5Colour twice in a week. Plant colour layers safely, and a second round builds noticeably more coverage on stubborn grey.
Your shade tones rather than covers. On grey it lays a soft tint over the strand instead of hiding it — a gentle, blended result rather than solid coverage. For fuller coverage, a deeper shade is the better choice.
Your shade has no henna in it, and henna is the pigment that bonds most firmly. These shades blend and soften on grey rather than covering solidly, and they need the longest development time of any we make.
It came out red, copper or orange — not the shade I chose+
Most likely cause
Every dark herbal shade is a warm colour with blue laid over the top. Henna and manjistha bond early; indigo arrives late and only develops while the hair stays damp. If the blue never finished, the warmth underneath is what you see.
It is normal for the tone to still be shifting on day one. It is not normal for it to still be shifting towards warmth on day three — that means the indigo stopped.
What to do
- 1Wait three full days before judging. Many "it came out orange" reports are from the first evening.
- 2Don't dry it in the meantime. Indigo develops only while the hair stays damp — and once it has stopped, re-wetting does not restart it.
- 3If it is still warm after three days, apply again and let it air-dry this time — or apply indigo on its own to pull the warmth down.
- 4Check your shade first. Brown, Copper Brown and Light Brown are built warm on purpose. Which of our browns run warm →
There's a purple or wine cast+
Most likely cause
The same thing as the red result above, at a different point. The indigo was stopped partway, and what shows through is the warmth underneath — which reads as wine or plum rather than copper in shades that carry manjistha, a blue-leaning red.
Drying the hair right after rinsing is the usual cause.
We have to be straight about this one: it does not reverse. We used to suggest that dampening the hair within a day could restart the reaction. We tested it, and it does not — a swatch that had dried this way stayed exactly as it was after re-wetting, and was unchanged at 72 hours.
What to do
- 1Colour again. Nothing was stripped out of your hair, so a second application can add the blue that is missing — the same shade, or indigo on its own.
- 2Air-dry that second application. A correction that gets blow-dried lands exactly where the first attempt did.
- 3First order with us? You don't have to try again — we'll send a different shade free or refund the colour. More on the purple result →
It came out patchy or uneven+
Most likely cause
The paste didn't reach every strand equally. This happens when there isn't enough paste, when it's too thin to stay put, or when parts of the hair take colour differently from others — previously coloured lengths behave differently from virgin roots.
What to do next time
- 1Mix more than you think you need and work in small sections, kneading it in rather than brushing it on.
- 2Use a squeeze bottle to get paste right to the roots, especially at the back.
- 3Colour again to even it out. A second application fills the gaps — plant colour builds rather than clashing.
The colour faded within a couple of weeks+
Most likely cause
It's usually the shampoo. Clarifying, anti-dandruff and soap-based bars are designed to strip what's on the hair, and plant colour goes with it. Hot water speeds it up further.
And the two pigments don't leave together. Henna bonds to the keratin and wears down as the hair does; indigo only sits in the outer layers, so it goes first. That is why a dark plant shade warms as it fades — ours and everyone else's.
What to do
- 1Switch to a gentle, sulfate-free shampoo and keep clarifying shampoos for the wash before colouring, not after.
- 2Avoid soap bars around pH 9–10 afterwards. They lift plant pigment quickly — which is exactly why they're useful the day you colour.
- 3Wash less often, and cooler. If your hair takes water readily, it lets colour go readily too.
- 4Refresh the roots every four to six weeks. There's no waiting period and no build-up damage — each round conditions as it colours.
Sun Blonde fades differently. Its colour is turmeric, and curcumin is not light-stable — so sunlight matters more here than shampoo does. How soon you notice depends on how much sun your hair sees.
Your shade has no henna to hold on. Indigo is held in the outer layers rather than bonded, so these shades soften sooner than henna-based ones — and tend to read warmer as they go.
Still not right?
Before a full application, test on a small hidden section and give it the full three days. Three days on a strand costs a great deal less than three days on a whole head — and it tells you exactly how your hair takes this shade.
If this was your first order and the result isn't what you expected, we'll send a different shade free or refund the colour. How the assurance works →