With visits to the salon out of the question for the foreseeable future, plenty of us will be looking to at-home alternatives to keep our locks looking fresh. Yes, we might get away with wearing pyjama bottoms all day, but looking presentable from the waist up is still a concern for anyone faced with hours of back-to-back Zoom calls. Whether you need to refresh your roots, restore your colour vibrancy or try something completely different – Schwarzkopf LIVE Colour has you covered.

Offering a portfolio of permanent, semi-permanent and temporary shades, from banging brunettes to striking silver, whatever colour you feel reflects your personality and style – LIVE has a shade to match it.

So whether you’re taking the colour plunge for the first time, or you just need a helping hand, these tips from the experts at Schwarzkopf LIVE will make sure you avoid any colour conundrums.

1. For an idea of how a colour might look on you, head to livecolour.com and use the Virtual Try-On tool, Choicify. This makes it simpler to choose a hair colour that’s right for your base colour and will deliver the colour you are looking for – love!
2. An allergy test 48 hours before you colour is a must. You can also use a deep cleansing shampoo at this point – not essential, but it can help remove styling product build-up and other residues that may prevent the colour from taking as effectively to your hair!
3. If you’re colouring for the first time, a semi-permanent colour is the best way to get started. The Schwarzkopf LIVE Pretty Pastel colours (€7.59 RRP) are designed to last 8 washes, depending on your individual hair history and type.
4. Before you commit, ensure you’re happy with the colour you’ve chosen by doing a strand test. Find a section of hair roughly 1 cm wide at the back of your head and apply the colour as instructed. If you’re happy with the result, go for it!
5. Get enough product! If you have hair that’s shoulder-length or longer, then it’s worth buying two boxes at a time – you can use what’s leftover to top up your roots!
6. Dig out an old t-shirt and some skin barrier cream to use around your hairline, ears and neck – this will make cleaning up any splashes or spills much easier!
7. Make sure your root game says strong! Depending on how fast your hair grows, you’ll need to do a root regrowth application roughly once every four weeks.
8. Don’t colour too often! Refresh your roots, but only use permanent colours as often as recommended in the instruction leaflet. If you need an overall colour boost, semi-permanent colour options can be used in between permanent colourings.
9. If your hair is very dry or in poor condition, do not apply the colour to the ends of your hair until the last 5 minutes of your development time. Otherwise this could result in a more intensive or lighter colour.
10. Don’t be afraid to experiment! Perfect for anyone who wants to try a temporary colour that’ll disappear after one wash, the Precious Metals range includes four temporary shades- Starlight Silver, Golden Glimmer, Pink Shimmer and Purple Platinum. They also double as a body spray!

Step-By-Step Tips

With Schwarzkopf LIVE Colour Ambassador Lyndell Mansfield

Preparation

• Allergy Alert Test 48 hours before
• Deep cleansing shampoo 48 hours before (not essential, but can help!)
• Cover up
• Protect hands with gloves
• Apply to unwashed, dry hair
• Get your timer ready

Mixing

• Open bottle
• Pierce colour cream and squeeze the lot in to the bottle
• Replace the cap
• Shake it up like a smoothie
• Twist off tip

You’re ready to apply

FIRST TIMERS– Never coloured before

• Get a good amount of colour on your roots first. Then work it through with your fingers until hair is evenly covered.
• 30 minutes on the clock.

DONE THIS BEFORE– need to touch up your roots or blend your colour?

• Use the nozzle of the bottle to part and section the hair to get right to the roots.
• ONLY apply colour to your roots at this stage. Keep enough colour in the bottle (about a third) for your ends.
• Set Timer for 20 minutes
• ..put your gloves back on and work the remaining mixture through your hair with your fingers.
• Leave for 10 minutes.

Get it off

• Wear gloves! Rinse with warm water while giving the hairline a good scrub.
• When water runs clear, apply conditioner and leave for 2 minutes before rinsing.

And you’re done!

Model Madeleine wears LIVE Colour Dusty Silver in Permanent

Available in store in selected Dunnes Stores

• colour
• hair
• Hair care
• schwarzkopf live