Hair Colour at Home in Lebanon: How to Choose a Shade and Get It Right

Salon colour is expensive to maintain, and most women in Lebanon are stretching the time between appointments. Colouring at home is not difficult — but the mistakes people make are always the same three: choosing a shade from the photo on the box, skipping the patch test, and washing wrong afterwards. Here is how to avoid all three.

1. Read the level, not the picture

Every permanent colour carries a number system. The first number is the level — how light or dark the result is, running roughly from 1 (black) to 10 (lightest blonde). The number after the dot is the tone — the direction of the colour: ash, golden, copper, mahogany, red.

The rule that saves most home jobs: permanent colour darkens easily but does not lift much. If your natural hair is a level 4 and the box shows a level 7, you will not get level 7 — you will get a muddy version of your own base. Going one to two levels lighter or darker than your natural hair is the safe range at home. Anything bigger belongs in a salon chair.

On tone: if your hair pulls orange or brassy when it lightens, choose an ash tone to counter it. If your hair looks flat and dull, a golden or mahogany tone puts warmth back.

2. Patch test and strand test — both, not one

The patch test is for your skin. Mix a small amount, apply behind the ear or inside the elbow, leave it 48 hours, and check for redness, itching or swelling before you go near your head. Do this every single time, even with a brand you have used before — sensitisation builds up over years.

The strand test is for the colour. Take a hidden section at the back, apply the mix, time it, rinse and dry. This is what tells you the real result on your hair — not the model on the box, whose hair started somewhere else entirely.

3. Apply in the right order

• Start on dry, unwashed hair. A day or two of natural oil protects the scalp. Do not condition beforehand.
• Roots first, then lengths. The scalp gives off heat, so roots process faster. Apply to regrowth, wait most of the development time, then comb the colour through the ends for the last few minutes.
• Section properly. Four sections, clipped. Missed patches happen at the back and around the ears every time.
• Respect the timer. Leaving colour on longer does not make it lighter. It only makes it drier.

4. Aftercare is where colour is actually won or lost

Colour fades from two things: hot water and friction. Rinse cool, not hot. Wait 48 hours before the first proper wash so the cuticle closes. Wash less often than you think you need to.

Coloured hair is also chemically drier, so a weekly deep treatment is not a luxury — it is what keeps the ends from snapping. A rich repair mask like the Karseell Maca Power Collagen Hair Mask is designed for exactly this job on dry and damaged hair. And if you use heat afterwards, always put a protectant between the iron and your hair — coloured hair burns faster than virgin hair.

5. Regrowth between colours

You do not need to re-colour your whole head because of two centimetres at the parting. A root touch-up spray covers regrowth in seconds and washes out at the next shampoo, which means you can push a full colour appointment out by weeks. We cover this properly in our root touch-up guide.

Common questions

Can I colour over henna?

Be careful. Metallic salts in some henna products can react badly with permanent colour. A strand test is not optional here — it is the whole safety check.

Can I colour while pregnant?

Ask your doctor. This is a medical question, not a beauty one, and the answer depends on you.

How often can I re-colour?

Roots every four to six weeks is normal. Pulling colour through the full length every time is what destroys ends — refresh the lengths only when the tone has genuinely faded.

Shop hair colour and care at Aroma Garden

Our Hair Wellness collection carries permanent hair colour by Lorvenn along with repair and styling care. For hairsprays, heat protection, root touch-up sprays and kids' formulas, see the L'Oréal Hair Care collection. Combs and brushes are in Hair Combs & Tools.

Delivery available across all Lebanese regions. Cash on delivery accepted. If a shade or size is not showing available, message us on WhatsApp at +961 76 350 668 — we can often order it in for you.

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