I’ve been getting a ton of questions on my current formula and tricks to covering greys. This has been my most requested post topic lately and I’m really happy to be able to share the info!
I filmed a whole tutorial and had this gorgeous red lipstick on in it and was all ready to rock n’ roll with that tutorial …. except, when I went to go edit it, the entire end of the video was cut off. Frustrating, but what are you going to do?
So before filming it again, I touched up my color and added my color to the bottle in a different order than how I had been. And my color came out the BEST, in my personal opinion, that it’s ever come out. I’m so glad that other video didn’t turn out right because this new one has all the info and tips for getting this exact shade.
I also included a ton of info, for all hair shades, that are my best tips for at-home color. I’ve been dyeing my hair now for 16 years, crazy!
The video is pretty detailed. I really hope it’s helpful.
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Summary | Watch the video above now and bookmark this page for the next time you color.
Tips for Great Color
1 | Best Bottle in the Biz
I’ve tried so many bottles when it’s come to color. Within one use I knew: the plastic was too hard to be able to squeeze it enough to get the color out, the nozzle was too small, or the bottle wasn’t big enough to hold all the formula.
This bottle is the best. Nothing but net, baby! (aka, it’s a slam dunk, haha!)
2 | Order Matters
Maaaaaan, oh man. I wish I had figured this out way sooner, but that’s the process of trial-and-error. Putting the red dye in first has controlled the outcome so much better!
3 | Best Brush in the Biz
A pattern has emerged. I truly thought all color accessories were created equal when I first started coloring my hair. Oh how wrong I was. This brush parts my hair in the cleanest lines, which makes sure the color is evenly placed and I don’t miss any spots. The brush helps push the color into the roots, which helps cover any greys and helps the color come out richer.
Grey Coverage:
1 | Use a Gel formula. They cover greys much better than liquids!
2 | Dip a q-tip into your developer and brush a small amount over resistant greys. Leave this on for an extra minute or two, before you add the dye to your roots. It will help those greys fade/blend more naturally.
Strawberry Blonde Formula:
My exact formula and order goes like this:
1 | Apply coconut oil to 2-3 inches on ends of hair
2 | Put on plastic gloves (if you leave the excess coconut oil on your hands, it becomes a mini deep conditioning treatment for your cuticles)
3 | Add 4-5 drops of 7G, Sunlit Blonde to applicator bottle.
4 | Fill to the 1.5 ounce line (exactly) with 8RG, Titian Red Blonde.
5 | Add 2 ounces of 8G, Golden Blonde to the bottle.
6 | Add 7 ounces of developer, Level 20, to the bottle. Wella Color Charm is a 2:1 formula, so you add twice as much developer as you did dye.
You will have 3.5 ounces of color and 7 ounces of developer in the applicator bottle, for 10.5 ounces total.
Shake it up until the formula is totally mixed. This part is really important. You don’t want any pockets of unmixed color to get onto you hair, so really shake the bottle up.
7| Apply to roots for 30 minutes and then the ends for 4-5 minutes.
Make sure to watch the video for the last point and explanation of “A.B.T.”
These are the size of the drops I use for the 7G shade:
Shop the Formula:
I get everything from Sally’s Beauty. I generally buy 2-3 boxes of each shade, just in case I need extra. Then I have it ready for next time. I’ve used dye from an open tube for up to 4-6 weeks. As I don’t use the full tube of each shade, I always store the tube for the next color, for up to 6 weeks, then after that I toss it out.
Shop the Formula
mixing bottle I like this one because it has the ounces listed on the side, just wish it were bigger!
These are my affiliate links. I do make a small commission when you use them to order, at no additional cost to you. I really appreciate when you use them when you purchase or repurchase as they help support the blog and allow me to create new posts for you!
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Inspo Pics (Pin for later!)
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More Strawberry Blonde Hair Formula Posts:
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Thank you so much for watching + being a part of the blog! I really hope this is helpful and answers a ton of questions on at home color and the strawberry blonde formula I’ve been using.
Social Links: YouTube | Instagram | Instagram {hair extensions} | Facebook | Pinterest
xoxo
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View Comments
Your hair color is just gorgeous. I have light brown but highlighted hair (and some greys) and I keep thinking about trying this combo but am unsure if it would work on my hair. Thanks so much for sharing your formula!
Hi Corinne!
I think it would, I would just transition it, using the steps in this post first, to make sure the blonde highlights don't turn pink.
Let me know if you try it!
xo Molly
Molly, I have to admit, this color is insane! Really tricky shade to pull off, even by the total pros. Kudos!
Thank you, Cath! I appreciate that! I still don't feel like it's perfect, but I do plan on trying little tweaks every time until I can get it perfect.
xo Molly
How would you tweak the application for virgin hair? I colored for 30 years before letting it go natural.
For virgin hair, you can apply the formula all at once, all over your hair, not just to the roots first. Then leave on for 30 minutes or 40 minutes if you have grey hair.
xo Molly
Molly, thanks so much for posting this!! I absolutely LOVE this color and I have been using the old formula you posted a while back. I can't wait to try the new one. I used to use the dreaded box dye before I found your videos and I could never get the red color I wanted...it was always too dark or too red! I even tried going to many different salons and it always came out completely different from what I wanted. Now I get the strawberry blonde shade I have always wanted! I also appreciate the detailed steps and instructions! I need them! It's good to know I can save the unused tubes of color. I didn't know if you could save them, so I have been throwing them out. Thanks! :-)
Hi Molly -
I LOVE your hair & blog. I so greatly appreciate you and everything you have shared with us!
I believe in another one of your articles, I saw that an opened tube of Wella Gel only lasts a month long. So, I guess my question is to just confirm that... How will the opened tube last before it expires and I shouldn't use it on my hair anymore? I color every 3 weeks, and do the 5-6 drops you prescribe above. Sounds like you have to purchase a new tube every other time you color for just the couple drops?
Thanks so much! :-)
Samantha
Help! I used 8rg + 8g because 7g was sold out. And as (I now see) you mentioned in some other posts, this can result in peachy hair! It didn't help that there was a very little bit of blue staining.
My hair was ombred, so it's this perfect ginger on the top, and this sort of rose gold color on the bottom.. I wish it looked great, but It looks really weird.
Would you add a color similar to 7g over top of the peachy bits?
Any help would be super appreciated!
I would actually love to see how your hair turned out! Do you have a pic? Also, what color was your hair before coloring it? Thanks!
I tried this color combo lastnight and love it! Strawberry Blonde is my natural hair color and I've been wanting to go back to it! I had the ombré wth blonde! This color matches my roots perfectly! Thank you so much for sharing! They told sell my color in a box!
Hi Molly - I wanted to share my experience. I dyed my hair last night following your directions above. I forgot to take a "before" picture. Shame on me! My roots had grown out about 5" and my natural hair is a dirty blonde with a few greys around my temple and side part. The rest of my hair was previously dyed a strawberry blonde/copper which i had gotten dyed at a salon back in March.
So to start: I applied some developer on those greys a few minutes before applying the dye. I then started to apply dye around my face and side part. Then I applied dye to the rest of my head until saturated. I waited 30 minutes then rinsed out, shampooed and conditioned.
Final result: Lighter roots around scalp and a slighter darker ends, think ombre-ish. Which I totally don't mind! The ends turned out darker where my previously dye hair was but at least it's all somewhat the same color.
I did take some "after" pics if you're interested to see.
I'm going to wait and see how my hair turns out after a few washes to decide if I'll tweak the formula any for next time.
Thank you for posting your journey and your directions. They helped immensely.
Rose
Help, how can I cover my strawberry roots without using hair dye? I am going through fertility treatments and we have to avoid chemicals. Right now I use 100% of the 8RG Tahitian Red but the finished product looks very much like Molly's hair. Bright strawberry red/blonde, my natural color is dark blonde. I tried the Madison Reed Auburn root touch up powder but it was too dark. Wondering if there is an eyeshadow out there that would work?
Hi Melissa,
I wish you the best of luck with your fertility treatments! I think you might do well with some of the strawberry blonde root cover up powders and sprays that I've tried. Both of these cover roots without using ammonia, etc. I have not tried the Madison Reed, so I'm not sure how the colors compare, but I've been really happy with both of these!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weBNWx7-hm4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_35N5sdCbI
http://girlgetglamorous.com/rootflage-root-touch-powder-review-demo-light-auburn/
I hope this helps!
xo - Molly
Perfect, I just bought the Rootflage on Amazon! There isn't a Light Auburn color anymore so I bought the "Strawberry Blonde." Hopefully that's a good color match!
Ahhhh! I finally got it right!! I've tried your formula before and it came out way too red, then way too peachy pink but this time I followed this order exactly and my 5 inch gone out roots came out the most perfect strawberry blonde! The rest of my hair was a slight pink color and I could see the band of color, yuck, so I mixed up another batch in your exact order but used 7 drops of 7g this time instead of 4 drops to try and get the bottom half to match the roots and it worked perfectly! Thank you so much! I'm so freaking happy to have FINALLY found a shade of red that looks good on me!