Wella Hair Color at Home, Plus the Glosses and Color-Safe Shampoos to Keep It Fresh

Wella Hair Color at Home, Plus the Glosses and Color-Safe Shampoos to Keep It Fresh

Wella hair color began with a man who made wig tulle in 1880. Here are the Wella Color Charm shades, toner and gloss, the glosses that refresh color between appointments and the shampoos that protect it.

Wella's own timeline starts with wig tulle, not color. The company says Franz Ströher founded his business in 1880 in Rothenkirchen, Germany, making hair tulle, the base for wigs, and drew on what he had learned in Paris and the lace-makers' training in the Vogtland. The Wella name came later. Wella Professionals says the Ströher family filed it in 1924, and that it means wave. The brand moved from wigs to waves to color, and in 1988 Wella Professionals launched Color Touch, which it calls its first demi-permanent color.

That background makes wella hair color feel less like a trend and more like a craft that got handed down. Wella Color Charm is the at-home side of it.

The first row is the whole kit. Permanent Liquid Hair Color comes here in 4N Medium Brown and 8N Light Blonde, and the brand says its Liquifuse Technology saturates each strand for gray coverage. Permanent Cream in 5N Light Brown adds BondGuard technology and lipids, according to Wella. Demi Permanent in 3N Medium Neutral Brown is sold as a gloss to refresh and tone, Permanent Liquid Hair Toner in T14 Pale Ash Blonde is for neutralizing brass, and Powder Lightener is dust free with up to 7 levels of lift. Cream Developer in 20 volume is the standard lift, and ShineLuxe Hair Gloss in Winter Frost is a vegan, ammonia-free top coat.

One tip before anything else: Wella says to do a skin allergy test 48 hours before every application.

Big numbers collage titled WELLA HAIR COLOR, six products numbered one to six with each product set beside its number: Wella, Wella Professionals, Pureology and Kérastase
Wella Hair Color

Wella Color Charm and Wella color care

Glosses and color refreshers between colorings

Color fades before you are ready to redo it, and a gloss is the quiet fix. This row is about shine, tone and a little temporary color.

Wella Professionals Color Fresh Mask in Pearl Blonde is a color-depositing gloss treatment, silicone free and made with avocado oil. Moroccanoil Color Depositing Mask in Platinum is a temporary color mask that you leave on for five to seven minutes. Pureology Color Fanatic Top Coat + Tone Hair Gloss in Purple/Violet neutralizes brassy, yellow or orange tones, and the brand's formula includes oat milk and camellia oil.

For shine without a color change, OUAI Hair Gloss is an in-shower treatment with hyaluronic acid and rice water that you rinse after five minutes. dae Stargloss is a prewash treatment for unwashed dry hair with prickly pear seed oil, and Kérastase Chroma Absolu High Shine Gloss Treatment is a rinse-out salon gloss. amika Flash Instant Shine Gloss Mask works in 60 seconds, and Rahua Color Full Glossing Oil Mist is an oil you spritz once or twice on mid-lengths and ends.

Pairing tip: a violet gloss on a blonde or brassy brown, a clear shine treatment on everything else.

What I would skip: a depositing mask on hair you just toned. Give the toner a few washes before you add more pigment.

Glosses and color refreshers

Color-safe shampoos and a conditioner

New color is the moment to change your shampoo. These are the ones I would line up by the shower for it.

Wella Professionals ColorMotion+ Color Protection Shampoo says it helps lock in color and adds antioxidants, with up to 8 weeks of color protection according to the brand. Kérastase Chroma Absolu Shampoo is sulfate free and made for color-treated hair that is fine to medium. L'Oréal Professionnel Vitamino Color Spectrum is sold as a color-protecting shampoo for shine, and Davines MINU is a shampoo for colored hair with green coffee extract. Paul Mitchell Shampoo One is an everyday shampoo for fine to medium and color-treated hair.

Kenra Professional Color Protecting Shampoo smells of pink pineapple, tangerine and light vanilla. JVN Revive Repairing Shampoo is for bleach, color, heat or texture-treated hair and is made with ceramides. Crown Affair The Hydrating Conditioner is the one conditioner here, made with coconut oil and a tsubaki and meadowfoam seed complex for color-treated hair.

Pairing tip: shampoo with a color-safe formula, then use a hydrating conditioner only on the lengths.

What I would skip: a deep-cleansing shampoo in the first week after coloring. Save it for when the color has settled.

Color-safe shampoos and conditioners

Testing, timing and keeping the color

Begin with the allergy test. Wella says to perform the skin allergy test 48 hours before every application, with a small amount of the mixture on the inside of the elbow left alone for 48 hours. If there is a rash, redness, burning or itching, Wella says you may be allergic and must not use the product.

Then read the instructions for your exact box, because the timing depends on the formula. Do a strand test, wear the gloves, and keep the color out of your eyes.

After that it is maintenance. Use a color-safe shampoo, a gloss every few weeks and a toner only when brass shows up. Good color at home is mostly patience, and these are the products that help the result last between colorings.

Bond repair, masks and heat shields for color I want to keep

Once you have colored at home with Wella hair color, the next job is keeping that color looking fresh. I start with masks. K18's Leave-In Molecular Repair Mask targets damage from bleach, color and heat, Olaplex No.3PLUS is a three-minute pre-shampoo mask, and OUAI's Bond Repair Balm works in as little as three minutes. Kérastase Blond Absolu uses hyaluronic acid for lightened blonde hair, and Oribe Gold Lust Masque uses watermelon, lychee and edelweiss flower extracts.

Heat protection is the quiet part of color care. Oribe Gold Lust Dry Heat Protection Spray, K18 HeatBounce and Pureology Color Fanatic all protect up to 450 degrees. Olaplex No. 7 is a weightless oil with the same ceiling, and Moroccanoil Perfect Defense is a weightless dry spray. For humidity, COLOR WOW Dream Coat blocks frizz and Virtue's Un-Frizz Cream locks out humidity.

If your color has gone a little brassy, dae Violet Hour and Moroccanoil's Blonde Perfecting purple shampoo are made to counteract it, and JVN Revive adds shine in 60 seconds in the shower.

What I would skip: a bond mask and a purple shampoo in the same wash. Do one, then the other next time.

Bond repair, masks and heat protection for color