Tov Ch Hair Color Cream Golden Brown 7.43

Product Overview

Tov Ch’s intensive colour cream is a three-part system: a protective serum applied before colouring to the damaged parts of the hair, especially the ends; the cream colourant itself, which is non-drip so it stays where you put it; and an oil booster conditioner to finish.

The shade is 7.43 Golden Brown — the numbering is the standard salon system, where 7 is the depth (medium blonde/light brown) and .43 is the tone (copper-gold).

Allergy Alert — Do the 48-Hour Test Every Time

Do this before every single application, including if you have used the same product before. Hair dye allergy can appear suddenly after years of trouble-free use, and each reaction is worse than the last.

1. Mix a pea-sized amount of the colour exactly as you would for a full application.
2. Dab it behind the ear or on the inner elbow and leave it uncovered to dry.
3. Leave it for 48 hours. Do not wash the area.
4. If there is any redness, itching, burning, swelling or a raised rash — at any point in those 48 hours — do not use the product, and do not use any other dye containing the same ingredients.

• Never use hair dye on the eyebrows or eyelashes. It can cause serious eye injury including blindness.
• Do not colour hair if the scalp is broken, sore, sunburnt or irritated.
• Wear the gloves supplied and keep the colour off the skin as far as you can.
• Work in a ventilated room and never leave colour on longer than the instructions say.
• Rinse immediately and thoroughly if the scalp starts to burn or sting during processing.
• If your face or scalp swells after colouring, or you have trouble breathing, get medical help straight away.
• Keep out of reach of children.

Important — This Shade Requires Bleaching First

The seller’s instructions include a step that deserves to be at the top rather than buried: to reach this shade, the hair is first lightened with bleach powder mixed 1:1 with developer, left about 40 minutes, and taken up to roughly level 8 before the colour goes on.

That is a separate chemical process and it carries its own risks:

• Bleach damages hair permanently. Hair that has been lifted several levels is more porous, weaker and drier, and stays that way until it grows out.
• Never bleach hair that has recently been relaxed, permed or chemically straightened. Stacking the two is the most reliable way to have hair break off.
• Keep bleach off the scalp, use gloves, and never exceed the stated time.
• Rinse immediately if the scalp burns.
• Strand test before you commit — bleach on dark Bangladeshi hair very often goes brassy orange before it goes light, and that stage looks nothing like the box.

If you have not bleached hair before, this is worth having done in a salon.

What Colour You Will Actually Get

The shade on the box is the shade the dye produces on mid-brown European hair. On dark hair — which is most hair in Bangladesh — a permanent colour deposits over what is already there rather than replacing it, so a light shade reads as a warm tint in daylight rather than the colour pictured. Reds and blondes are the ones people are most often disappointed by.

Do a strand test. Cut a small piece from underneath, where it will not show, run the full process on it, and look at the result in daylight before you commit. Ten minutes of care here prevents the outcome nobody wants.

Grey coverage is generally good with a cream colourant; the greys may take slightly warmer than the rest, which is normal.

Key Features

• Shade 7.43 Golden Brown
• Non-drip cream colourant
• Pre-colour protective serum included
• Oil booster conditioner included
• Full grey coverage

How to Use

1. Do the 48-hour allergy test. Then do a strand test.
2. Wash the hair and blow-dry it to about 80% dry.
3. If lightening is needed, mix bleach powder with developer 1:1, apply, and process to the target level. Rinse and dry.
4. Apply the protective serum to the ends and any damaged sections.
5. Mix and apply the colour cream evenly, wearing gloves.
6. Process for the time on the pack — no longer.
7. Rinse until the water runs clear, then apply the oil booster conditioner.

Aftercare

• Wait 48 hours before the first wash.
• Use cool water. Hot water opens the cuticle and lets colour out — it fades dye faster than anything else you do.
• Use a colour-safe or sulfate-free shampoo, and a weekly mask. Coloured hair is drier hair.
• Keep hair out of strong sun and chlorinated water where you can.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will it cover grey?

Cream colourants generally cover grey well. Greys can take slightly warmer than the rest of the hair, which is normal.

Can I use it over a previous dye?

Colour does not lift colour. If your hair is already darker than the target shade, this will not lighten it without the bleaching step — and stacking chemical processes needs care. Strand test first.

How should I store it?

Somewhere cool and dry, out of direct sunlight, with the cap closed. Heat and light break down oils and colour developers faster than anything else.