First-Time Ritual Guide

Before you start
  • Patch test 48 hours before every use
  • Hair clean and completely dry
  • Gloves recommended
  • Never mix with shampoo or conditioner

Two tests before you color

Applying a small amount of lightly foamed product to clean skin behind the ear
Patch test  ·  required

Run the wash below on clean, dry skin behind your ear. Rinse after 15 minutes, then watch the spot for the next 48 hours.

Required 48 hours ahead, every time you color. Not just the first time: sensitivity can develop at any point, even after years of coloring without trouble.

Itching, redness, swelling or burning?

Don’t color your hair. Email support@pearwood.com.

A small hidden section of hair lifted and separated from the rest for a strand test
Strand test  ·  optional

Want to see the color before you commit to your whole head? Run the wash below on one small hidden section.

Leave it on for the full 15 minutes, or the longer time you plan to use. Rinsed off early it won't have developed, so it won't show you the real color. Worth doing if your grey is coarse or resistant, or if your hair has been permed or straightened.

The wash

15 minutes, on dry hair.

Gloved hands rubbing the product into a light foam between the palms
1
Unlock and lather

Please remove all jewelry before use. Turn the head left to unlock. Keep pumping until both flow together. Take as much as your hair needs, then rub your palms together into a light foam.

Gloved fingertips working lather into the roots of dry hair
2
Apply and wait

Work it into dry hair. Greyest areas first, then the rest, until every section is covered. Then don’t touch it. Coarse or resistant grey can go longer, up to 45 minutes maximum.

Wash your hands, nails and hairline while you wait. Don’t spend 15 minutes with foam sitting on your skin.

Warm water running clear through wet hair at the end of the rinse
3
Rinse thoroughly

Warm water until it runs completely clear. Never hot. It strips color and dries the scalp.

Dark, glossy hair catching warm light after coloring, seen from the side and slightly behind
4
Dry and style as usual

Once the water runs clear, your regular conditioner is fine — just never mix it into the product itself. Then dry and style as you normally would.

If something looks wrong

  • Only one liquid comes out

    The two liquids aren’t the same consistency, so the first two or three pumps sometimes deliver only one side. Keep pumping onto a tissue until both come out together. One liquid alone won’t color anything.

  • The first pumps look darker than expected

    Nothing to worry about. In the dark brown shade, one of the two liquids is deeply colored to begin with. In any shade, the liquid nearest the nozzle darkens with air once the bottle is opened. Neither affects your result.

  • Color on your hands or hairline

    Wash hands, nails and hairline as soon as you’ve finished lathering, not at rinse time. Gloves are recommended because color ingredients can sensitize skin over time, but the choice is yours. If your skin tends to hold color, a thin layer of petroleum jelly along the hairline helps.

  • The color came out patchy

    Usually one of four things: the hair wasn’t completely dry, some sections weren’t covered, it was rinsed before the full 15 minutes, or it was mixed with shampoo or conditioner. Coarse or resistant grey may also need longer, up to 45 minutes.

Between sessions, use your regular shampoo. Pearwood is for coloring days only.