The Blacklight Mix - Intermixing got your head in a spin?!

Hey Gorgies!

I’m back and mixing it up with Oligo’s Blacklight Lightening System…I always get asked, why and how do we intermix lighteners, and what are the benefits??? Let me explain…

If you’ve never intermixed lighteners before, it can be a lot to get your head around at the start…but trust me when I say, it’s an absolute game changer when it comes to lifting the hair and the world is your oyster!!

Let’s get into it…

So where do we even start?! What do we have to choose from?

With 4 intermixable lighteners, sometimes it can be a minefield of what combo to choose, whether to intermix or not and how the levels and mixing ratios may change.

Oligo Blacklight offers a variety of dust-free lighteners that can be used alone or intermixed:

Extra Blonde:

The fastest, high-performance lightener that lifts up to 9 levels, suitable for achieving very light blonde results. 

Cool Toned:

Contains violet & blue pigments & dyes and offers a cool-toned lift, up to 8 levels. Ideal for clients who want to avoid brassy tones. 

Cream Lightener:

A gentle lightening cream containing Olive and Jojoba oil, which is ideal for sensitive scalps or fragile hair. 

Clay Lightener:

A versatile lightener formulated with Kaolin clay to encapsulate the hair. Popular for free-hand techniques like balayage. 

But why would we intermix?

Oligo Blacklight lighteners are intermixable to achieve specific lightening effects and desired results. This allows us, as stylists, to customise the lift and toning process, as well as creating lightening formulas for various hair types, conditions and goals.

It also gives us the power to adjust the speed of our lifting and overall outcome to achieve the desired result we’re after.

The benefits…

Intermixing gives us customised results, increased control and can enhance our techniques and application…what’s not to love?!

A handy tip that I always remember: the power is in your powder! So, a 1:1 mix ratio will be more powerful than a 1:2!

What about mixing ratios???

When using Oligo’s Extra Blonde, Cool Toned Blonde & Clay Lightener (consider them a dynamic trio), any % of intermixing will work.

When it comes to the Cream Lightener, the only thing you need to remember is that it’s the softest, slowest lightener and offers the least level of lift so it will moisturise the hair with the Olive and Jojoba oil, but slow down your lifting, depending on how much you use in your formula (we're not saying this is a bad thing!)

Top Tips when it comes to intermixing:

• Use the 70/30 rule if in doubt (70% of your preferred lightener + 30% of your second choice)

• When intermixing Blacklight Lighteners, follow the mixing ratio for the desired result of the product you are using the most of.

• Intermixing = the majority of your formula will determine the levels of lift

• When intermixing 50% + 50%, mix at a 1:1 ratio.

• Process for 45 minutes

• Never use heat

• Always use the Blacklight SMART Developers

Intermixing Oligo Blacklight lighteners, like Cool Toned Blonde and Extra Blonde, can alter the overall lift level and the speed of the process, but it's not about directly adding lift levels in a mathematical way. 

Instead, it's about combining the strengths of different lighteners to achieve a desired outcome.

For example, mixing Cool Toned with Extra Blonde could create a faster lift with more even tone correction.

Come back for part 2, where we’re giving our fave intermixing examples and even more benefits so that you can try them in the salon!

Lots of Love from

The Education Team at Oligo Pro UK x