What is an activator?
What is an activator? The activator is also called hydrogen peroxide (oxygenated water). At WECOLOUR, we call hydrogen peroxide activator. You add the activator to the colour cream when you make the hair dye. The activator ensures that your hair absorbs the new colour. At WECOLOUR you get 6% as standard with your hair colour order. With the blonde colours, you also have the option of choosing 3%. You choose this if you want to use the hair dye as a toner. With our 11.1 only, you receive 9% as standard. And you can also choose a 12, 6 or 3% with this specific colour. But what are the actual percentages and what ratio do you need when mixing activator with your hair dye?
Percentages of activator (hydrogen peroxide)
Activator comes in different percentages (3, 6, 9 and 12%). The percentage determines what the colour cream does to your hair. Our hair colour comes with a standard 6% activator. This percentage is suitable for almost everyone. It covers grey, and you can dye your undyed hair several colour heights darker and undyed hair up to two colour heights lighter. Want to know which colour heights you can choose from? Then answer the questions about your hair in our hair colour tool. It will tell you which colour heights you can choose from.
3% activator
Activator with 3% is mainly used if you already have a very light blonde hair colour yourself, but want to go just a step lighter. If you want to go one shade lighter or darker, then this percentage will do the job just as well. Especially if you don't have grey hair yet, you can use an activator with 3%. If you would like to dye your hair darker, and you don't have grey hair yet, you can also use 3% activator. 3% is also often used after bleaching. You then use it as a toner to correct the often warm colour after bleaching.
6% activator
If you prefer to go a little lighter than one colour level or have grey hair, you need an activator with 6%. Activator with 6% is also suitable for dyeing grey hair with good coverage. If you have light-blonde hair yourself, this activator is often fine. Blonde hair tends to be more easily damaged and brittle, and since a high percentage of activator can be harmful and even cause hair breakage, we advise against using a higher percentage than 6 if you are a light blonde! Going for a darker colour? Then use a maximum activator of 6%.
9% activator
Activator as 9% lightens up to three-colour levels. You can achieve a very light blonde colour with this activator. Quite a bit of lighter, but also quite a lot of damage! Make sure not to use the 9% activator on just-washed hair. The oils and sebum present on the hair after several days of not washing your hair will protect your scalp and make it less vulnerable to irritation.
If you have very dark hair and want to dye it very light? Only then can you use the 12% activator. With this activator, you can lighten your hair by up to four colour levels. But beware: the activator is a lot more aggressive than a lower percentage. And also, if you have dark brown or black hair, you can't dye it lighter. You have to use bleach then. We recommend working with lower percentages as much as possible, and only use 12% if really necessary! If you really want to lighten your dark hair a lot, we advise you to use our bleach. WECOLOUR's bleach and highlight set is very gentle on your hair and gives a beautiful effect. Of course, also without ammonia.
What percentage of activator does WECOLOUR have?
At WECOLOUR each hair dye comes with the required 6% activator as standard. Only with very light ash blonde (11.1) you will receive 9% as standard. All blonde colours, you can choose whether you want 3% or 6% activator. And very light ash blonde (11.1) you can choose between 3, 6, 9 and 12%.
With WECOLOUR hair dye, you can only lighten your undyed hair by one to two colour levels at most. But this also depends on your current colour, check our hair colour advice tool. If you choose a colour that is too light, you won't see any results on dyed hair.
Mixing ratio colour cream and hydrogen peroxide
To develop a colour, the hair colour and activator must always be mixed. The mixing ratio is always indicated by numbers. 1:1 represents an equal amount of dye to activator and is the most common. So if you have 60 grams of hair dye, you use 60 grams of activator.
At a mixing ratio of 1:2 (usually with lightening colours, semi-colourings, rinses and toners), you use twice as much hydrogen peroxide as hair dye. At this ratio, you can lighten your hair by using more activator. For lightening colours, think of colour heights 10 (very light blonde) and 11 (very light ash blonde).
You can also use the ratio of 1:1.5, which will also lighten your hair because you use more activator.
If you mix the colour cream with activator, it is important to use it immediately. This is because the effect of the activator is limited when in contact with oxygen. With these two ingredients mixed, dye your hair. Once you have applied the hair dye, let it set for 35 minutes or 45 minutes (ash nuances), referring to the instructions for use and any specific advice given. After that, rinse out the dye until the water runs clear. Then use the included shampoo and conditioner. Of course, you can also use WECOLOUR normal-size shampoo and conditioner.
If you have dyed with the 11.1 with 9% activator, and you have an orange glow in your hair, you can try dyeing again with the 11.1 but then with 6% activator. The process of lightning is slower, so less warmth is released in your hair colour. Do let the hair dye stay in your hair twenty minutes longer (i.e. 65 minutes). Also, with porous hair, it is better to use a lower percentage and leave it in longer.
Pre-soften with activator
If you have very hard, coarse grey hair, the dye does not enter the hair as quickly, making the grey hair cover less well. By pre softening the hair with activator, you open the cuticles, so the dye can penetrate deep into the hair faster.
To achieve this, apply the pure activator to the grey hair. Use a comb to spread the activator through the relevant areas. Leave for twenty minutes. Do not rinse your hair. After this, apply the dye the usual way (i.e. colour cream mixed with the activator). Leave it in for the indicated time, or possibly ten minutes longer for even better coverage.
Tip: do you need extra activator to pre-soften your grey hair? You can order an extra bottle of activator when you order your hair dye. You will automatically come across this option in the ordering process for your new hair dye. Furthermore, you can order an extra 60 ml bottle of activator for €2.50.
The activator creates an oxidising effect, making your hair absorb the new colour. Usually, the ratio of hair dye to activator is 1:1, so the same amount of dye as activator. 3% for the same colour height, 6% up to two colour heights lighter and good grey coverage, 9% up to 3 colour heights lighter and good grey coverage. 12% up to 4 colour heights lighter. Now you know what activator is and what it does when you mix it with your hair dye. Activator is therefore another word for hydrogen peroxide.
