Fudge Paintbox + Conditioner = Colour Depositing Conditioner

I tried out making my own colour depositing conditioner yesterday, using a Fudge Paintbox semi-permanent vegetable based dye, and a pot of L'Oreal conditioner mask. In a plastic dish (mine are from IKEA, years ago, I usually use them for holding nuts/sweets, or mixing other beauty concoctions), I mixed about 6 parts conditioner to 1 part dye.

I didn't want to create something with such staining power that I accidentally dyed my hairline/scalp/face pink (as I have done in the past), but wanted something strong enough that some colour would stick to my hair. I made just about enough to cover, but not completely coat, my hair, and slapped it on with my head held over the bath - upside down. This helped me to concentrate on the mid-lengths and ends, and prevented me from working the conditioner into the roots too much.

I applied to damp hair, and it was slightly difficult to spread the mixture - next time I'll try fully wet hair with the water squeezed out, so there's still some moisture to help distribute the conditioner evenly. Once applied, I put on a plastic showercap (clingfilm would do just as well), then wrapped my head in a towel and left for a good half an hour. The result was shiny, well conditioned hair with a lovely refreshed colour - there was definitely a fair bit of depositing going on, pretty much on a par with the Aveda conditioner I usually use.

I'd recommend this to anyone looking to refresh a fading hair colour - so long as you are careful with your shade choice, as the Paintbox colours are pretty loud. Also, be sure to rinse off any splatter from tiles/bath/skin, as it will still stain badly, even diluted with conditioner, as you can see from the state of the latex gloves I used while applying it!

Remember - the Fudge Paintbox colours are mixable because they are vegetable derived, ammonia and peroxide free - other colours, containing more harsh chemicals, should NOT be mixed with other things.