Hola! Bonjour! To all my international redhead friends, this post is for you.
I get tons of emails and questions on how to get Strawberry Blonde hair at home, in countries that don’t sell Wella Color Charm. First of all, it’s so exciting to have so many Strawberry Blondes from all around the world here as part of this blog community!
Second, it is actually fairly easy to find a similar color match overseas. The key is knowing what to ask for, so I wanted to put together a (hopefully) clear explanation.
My Wella Color Charm Formula
My current combination of Wella Color Charm is 2 ounces of 8G “Light Golden Blonde” / 1.5 ounces of 8RG “Titian Red Blonde” / and .5 ounces of 7 G “Sunlit Blonde” with a Level 20 developer.
Color Charm is a 1:2 formula, meaning for every 1 ounce of dye you use, you use 2 ounces of developer. So if your dye was 4 ounces, you would add 8 ounces of developer to the mix, for a total of 12 ounces of formula.
I started adding the 7 G to the formula because my hair is all grey now and the 8G + 8RG on it’s own was starting to get a little peach colored. You may or may not want to add a bit of 7 G to your formula, definitely try to experiment for your best look.
If you are living in a country where you can not buy Wella Color Charm, I would ask at your beauty supply store if they carry any Wella formulas, Koleston seems to be the most mentioned line people ask me about.
That’s my first choice, my 2nd choice is L’Oreal, but I do find the L’oreal fades faster.
International Strawberry Blonde Formula
From any brand, ask the sales person to help you find:
- a Level 8 “Golden Blonde” shade, with a gold base.
- a Level 8 “Red Blonde” shade, with a red – gold, or red base.
If you are very grey or very blonde, you might want to add a bit of:
- a Level 7 “Blonde” shade, with a gold base.
*Screenshot this ^ and bring it with you to shop!
The First Time You Color
Once you have a golden blonde and red blonde shade, you can mix them with whatever level developer is recommended for you, it will most likely be a level 20.
I recommend starting out with 1 full tube of golden blonde and half a tube of reddish blonde.
The next time you color you can add more or less of the reddish blonde into the mix to suit your personal color preference. It’s easier in my opinion to add more red the second time you color vs. trying to get the red out if the color comes out too red.
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My results.
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Definitely check with a sales person who knows the color line before purchasing, but those are the substitutions I would make.
Also, Amazon has Wella Color Charm, not sure what their shipping policies are, but it’s worth checking out!
Shameless plug: I started a hair extension line that has a beautiful shade for Strawberry Blondes, matched directly off my color. I’m wearing them in the pic above. The entire line ships internationally and the website is www.girlgetglamorousHAIR.com. End of shameless plug, haha!
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More Strawberry Blonde Hair Formula Posts:
- Strawberry Blonde Hair – Part 2
- My Current (2018) Formula For Strawberry Blonde Hair
- Why I Created girlgetglamorousHAIR Clip-In Extensions
- The Best Makeup Shades For Strawberry Blondes
- Step-By-Step Guide for Strawberry Blonde Hair At Home
- My Copper Hair Formula
- My Hair Came Out Too Red – What To Do
- How To Go From Dark Blonde to Strawberry Blonde
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I really hope this helps!! If you find a great store in your city or country or online, please leave it in the comments below, I’m sure it could really help someone else out who is searching. And if you try this combo from the Koleston line from Wella, definitely please leave a comment and tell us about your result. I’m sure that would be very helpful and reassuring to other gals!
Also, where is everyone from? I’d love to know!
Social Links: Facebook | YouTube | Pinterest /| Instagram: @girlgetglamorous | Instagram {hair extensions} @girlgetglamorousHAIR
16 comments
Brilliant that’s so helpful. I’m investigating other brands as I find l’oreal fades faster and my greys frustratingly start to make an appearance!
Love your open/close “shameless plugs.” Why not I say, it’s your blog hon! You are always a mine of super beauty information. ❤️
X
Thank you so much for putting this together! I have tried to re-create your formula with other brands and after many trials and errors I realized the level 8 just doesn’t work. It comes out darker than your color. Could it be that since you have a lot of greys your color comes out lighter?
I am now using this formula: 9.34 (very light golden copper blonde) + 9 (very light neutral blonde), so, one level lighter than your formula.
But I’ll definitely give the Koleston formula a try…..even though those shades are hard to find, again. You can find the 8.4 but not always the 8.04.
Anyways…..thank you Molly, you’re gorgeous!
I also cannot find the Wella Koleston shade 8.04 in the states? It seems this the 04 shades are limited to the European market not the USA. I could be wrong but anytime I try to order it all I get are British & French websites? It’s a shame since the 04 red shades are gorgeous.
Hi Debra!
The Koleston shades are the european formula from Wella. In the US, you can purchase Wella Color Charm. They have the same gorgeous red shades. I have formulas posted for that as well on the blog. 🙂
xo Molly
Hi from the UK.
Tried the Koleston formula 8/03 & 8/04 30ml to 15ml respectively. Was applied on to blonde hair (I usually use xp 2000 8/34). It came out more of a light golden brown. Not at all strawberry blonde or even blonde. Am debating either 30vol next time or changing mix to add much more 8/04 or maybe both. Will see how it fades with washing before making my mind up.
Love your blogs x
Hi Lucy,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
I’m sorry you didn’t get the color results you wanted however. Because you are blonde, I think next time perhaps you could do a full tube of level 9 blonde and mix that with 1/2 to 3/4 a tube of the level 8 red blonde shade. This should give you lighter/blonder results with more red tones.
Please let me know how it all works out. I hope you get the Strawberry Blonde shade you want.
xo Molly
Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to try that, I tried a mixture that turned slightly brown on me. It’s too dark and dull for me. Hopefully doing it that way will fix it 🙂
I would recomend wrlla illumina color in 9.43 it is amazingly pretty pure strawberry blonde. And you can buy it in europe for sure.
Dear Mm.
Thank you for the tip.
Which % of Welloxon do you use, and what is your natural colour?
x K
Hi from the uk. Can I just ask what ratios you would use for a root touch up?
Hi Jenny,
You could cut the formula in half for a root touch up. I generally make the whole amount of the formula, then touch up my roots, then for the last 5-10 minutes apply the remaining formula onto the rest of my hair before rinsing.
xo – Molly
Hey, GGG!
I was wanting to go this Strawberry blonde colour from medium-dark blonde hair.
Could you pretty please give advice which solfine colours I could try mix?
Here’s a colour chart from their website.
http://www.solfine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Cartella_CremaColor_ENG.jpg
Hi Molly,
Quick Q: I’m a natural copper ginger but i feel too pale. What mix would you suggest to lighten my hair up closer to yours?
Thanks, Eileen : )
I’ve had the same result with the Koleston formula on grey/blonde hair. My hair now looks mousey brown! I wonder if the european colour formulas are different? I’ve also noted on the Wella website that the Koleston range has changed and they no longer produce 8/04. So I’m going to try Loreal Majirel with the INOA colours you previously used Molly (50/50, 8.3 and 8.34). Majirel is widely available in Europe. Koleston is quite expensive in comparison.
PS Love your blog!
What is the difference between Wella Illumina 9/34 or mixing 9/03 + 9/04?
Hi Molly!
I followed your recipe for Strawberry blonde. C’est magnifique! My hair looks lovely, despite my inexperience and you have an incredible intuition as well as honed knowledge from which I am keen to learn even more.
Looking at the make up for gingers is a little intimidating – I have green eyes and all the coordination of a cross-eyed street sweeper, so I’m looking forward to following your lessons to mitigate any… unfortunate errors. Lol!
Thank you again, Molly.
You’re a gem ~
Piperjane from Edmonton Alberta
À bientôt ma nouvelle amie!