Understanding Your Grey Coverage Shampoo Formula

You're looking to create a grey coverage shampoo similar to O.K Herbal, which typically provides permanent color, and you've experimented with Semi-color, Polyconditioner Pro, Polyconditioner ECO, and Colorfoam, incorporating peroxide and adjusting the pH to around 9. You've found the results inconsistent.

Based on the ingredients you mentioned and the goal of achieving permanent grey coverage with peroxide, here's an explanation of the challenges and what's generally needed:

• Semi-Permanent vs. Permanent Dyeing: The ingredients like "Semi-color" and "Semi-Permanent Hair Colorant" found in the search are typically semi-permanent dyes. These dyes deposit color on the surface of the hair and gradually wash out. They do not require peroxide for color development. Permanent hair dyeing, like what O.K Herbal is known for, uses oxidative dyes (dye precursors and couplers) that react with an oxidizing agent (like hydrogen peroxide) in the presence of an alkalizing agent (like ammonia or ethanolamine) to create color molecules inside the hair shaft. This process provides long-lasting, permanent coverage.

• Peroxide and Semi-Permanent Dyes: Using peroxide with semi-permanent dyes is generally not recommended. Peroxide is designed to work with oxidative dyes. In fact, at a high pH like 9, peroxide can cause semi-permanent dyes to degrade, leading to inconsistent or poor color results, as you experienced.

• Formulating Permanent Dye in Shampoo: Creating a stable and effective permanent oxidative hair dye in a shampoo format is technically challenging. The surfactants in shampoo can interfere with the delicate chemical reactions required for oxidative dyeing and affect dye uptake and color stability.

• Your Current Ingredients:

  • Semi-color / Semi-Permanent Hair Colorant: These are semi-permanent dyes, not suitable for permanent coverage with peroxide.
  • Poly-Conditioner Pro / Poly-Conditioner Eco: These are conditioning agents (Polyquaternium-10 and Polyquaternium-7 respectively) that help make hair soft and smooth, especially in silicone-free formulas. They are beneficial for hair feel but do not contribute to the dyeing process itself.
  • Colorfoam: This is likely a foaming agent, but its compatibility with the dyeing chemistry is crucial. Anionic surfactants commonly used in shampoos can interfere with cationic dye intermediates.

To achieve permanent grey coverage using peroxide, you would typically need:

1. Oxidative Dye Precursors and Couplers: Specific molecules that react with peroxide to form permanent color. These are different from semi-permanent dyes.
2. Alkalizing Agent: To raise the pH and swell the hair cuticle, allowing dye molecules to penetrate.
3. Hydrogen Peroxide: The oxidizing agent.
4. A Compatible Shampoo Base: A surfactant system (often using amphoteric or non-ionic surfactants) that does not interfere with the dyeing process.
5. Stabilizers and Chelants: To control the reaction and ensure stability.

Based on the available products found, specific oxidative dye precursors suitable for formulating a permanent hair dye shampoo from scratch were not identified. However, products like Hydrogen Peroxide Gel (15%, Stabilized) are available as the oxidizing component, and ColorFix™ is mentioned as an ingredient that helps hair color stick better, which could be relevant in a coloring system.

Attempting to replicate a permanent oxidative hair dye shampoo like O.K Herbal requires a precise balance of specialized ingredients, particularly the correct oxidative dye system, which differs significantly from using semi-permanent colors with peroxide.