How To Do a Test Strand

You know that irresistible urge to slather oVertone all over your head immediately when it arrives in the post? Don’t give in. Seriously. Take a few extra minutes to try a little thing we call a strand test – it’s essential for avoiding color science mistakes, and it’s so easy you’d be crazy not to do it.

Step 1:

Start with clean, dry hair for our Coloring and Daily Conditioners. We recommend starting with wet hair for our Toning Conditioners. Make sure your hair is free of hairsprays, oils, and other products. This will make sure your hair is able to soak up as much color as possible without other products or chemicals blocking it.

Step 2:

Grab a small piece of hair from an inconspicuous area and section it off from the rest – you can use a clip or an elastic to get the rest of your hair out of the way. Remember, oVertone deposits color wherever you apply it, so make sure your test strand is safely away from the rest of your hair.

Step 3:

Apply the conditioner to your hair. Start as close to the root of your hair as you can, and pull the conditioner through the rest of the strand. This will make sure you get an even application. Make sure the hair is completely saturated and covered in conditioner.

Step 4:

Chill out for a while and get started on that house cleaning you’ve been meaning to do for weeks. We recommend waiting 3-5 minutes for Daily Conditioners, 5-10 minutes for Coloring Conditioners, and 2-3 minutes for Toning Conditioners. If you lose track of time, don’t worry – it will just give your hair more time to soak up the color and condition your strands at the same time.

Step 5:

Rinse! Don’t be afraid of hot water. If you see a little color running down the drain, don’t stress! Your hair will still have soaked up all the colorful goodness.

Step 6:

Dry your hair to see the true colors, then check to see if you’ve achieved your desired shade.

These steps will give you a good example of what it would look like if you applied oVertone to your whole head! When doing a complete application, remember: saturation is key. Make sure the conditioner is completely covering your strands so it will soak up as much color as possible.

Watch our full video here: