Salons work mainly with permanent oxidative colour in cream, because it covers grey and lasts longest. They add an ammonia-free colour for sensitive scalps and a semi-permanent direct colour for toning and fashion shades. The best professional colour covers grey completely, offers a wide shade chart and gives the same result batch after batch.
How Many Types of Hair Colour Are There?
Salons work with three colour systems, and each one solves a different service. The difference is whether the colour is fixed by oxidation inside the fibre or deposited on it without oxidation.
| System | How it works | Which service |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent oxidative | Pigment fixed with developer | Grey coverage, shade changes |
| Ammonia-free permanent | Oxidation with another alkaliser | Sensitive scalps, maintenance |
| Semi-permanent direct | No oxidation, washes out | Toning, pastels, fashion shades |
Toners are not a separate system: they are shades within a range that neutralise undertones on hair that has already been lightened.
Which Hair Colour Lasts the Longest?
Permanent oxidative colour lasts longest, because the pigment is fixed inside the fibre and does not wash out. What brings the client back to the salon is root regrowth, not the colour fading away.
Direct colour works the other way round: there is no oxidation, the colour stays on the surface and fades evenly with each wash. That is why it cannot cover grey, but it suits creative services the client wants to change often.
The ammonia-free version is still an oxidative permanent, so how long it lasts depends on the formulation, not on the absence of ammonia. We explain it in detail in what professional ammonia-free colour is and how to sell it.
What Is the Best Professional Hair Colour?
There is no single best colour for every salon, but there are five selection criteria that separate a professional brand from a generic one. Check them before changing supplier, because a colour switch means rebuilding protocols and shade charts.
| Criterion | What to check |
|---|---|
| Grey coverage | The permanent line claims full coverage |
| Shade chart | Naturals, intensifiers and toners |
| Developer | Same manufacturer, several volumes |
| Fibre protection | A technology active during oxidation |
| Consistency | In-house manufacturing, every batch checked |
The last criterion is the one salons check least and the one that costs most. A shade that comes out differently between two orders has to be corrected at the chair, and that correction is never billed.
How the Yanguas Professional Colour System Works
Yanguas Professional has made colour exclusively for the professional channel since 1994 in Tudela (Navarra), and controls the whole process, from formula to packaging, under ISO 9001 and ISO 22716. Its permanent cream colour is Attraxtion:
- Type
- Permanent cream colour
- Shades
- 122
- Grey coverage
- 100 %
- Technology
- CRS (Color Repair System)
- Actives
- Argan and macadamia oil
- Formula
- Vegan
CRS technology protects and regenerates the bonds of the fibre while the pigment penetrates during colouring. It is mixed with the brand's stabilised cream developers, from 5 to 40 volume, in 100 ml and 1000 ml sizes.
The range is completed by Free, an ammonia-free and PPD-free permanent cream with argan oil, keratin and Repair Oil + CRS technology, and Hidracolor, a vegan semi-permanent direct colour with no oxidation, no ammonia, no sulphates and no parabens.
💡 Technical tip: with Free, apply the chosen shade on its own on hair with up to 70 % grey; above that, mix half a tube of the shade with half a tube of the natural base of the same level.
All three lines, with their shade charts and technical sheets, are in the Yanguas professional colour section.
