Code Zero Vibrant Color is a permanent colour cream with ammonia and vegetal liposomes, in 100 ml tubes: 107 shades, 5 Pure Pigments and the Oxidizer developer from 0 to 40 vol. Its colour chart does more than show the strands: on the back it says how much each shade lifts and on which bases it works. This guide puts in one place what a colourist needs to plan a Vibrant service, from the official Code Zero sources.
1. Read the shade code
Every Vibrant shade has a number like 7.43. The digit before the point is the level, the digits after it are the reflect; the first digit after the point is the main reflect, and a doubled digit is a more intense reflect.
| Level | Name on the chart |
|---|---|
| 1 | Black |
| 2 | Very dark brown |
| 3 | Dark brown |
| 4 | Brown |
| 5 | Light brown |
| 6 | Dark blond |
| 7 | Blond |
| 8 | Light blond |
| 9 | Very light blond |
| 10 | Ultra light blond |
| Reflect | Effect |
|---|---|
| .0 | natural |
| .1 | ash |
| .2 | violet (irisé) |
| .3 | golden |
| .4 | copper |
| .5 | mahogany |
| .6 | red |
| .7 | tobacco |
| .8 | beige |
| .9 | blue |
Other codes: .+ marks the intense naturals (7.+), .11 the intense ashes; 90.x are the superbleaching shades, where 90 takes the place of the level; 0.22 to 0.66 are the Pure Pigments; 01 and 09 are toners; .COM19 is Agate.
2. The colour chart and its three tables
The Vibrant Color Chart shows 106 strands in 23 families: 101 shades and the 5 Pure Pigments. The six shades added to the range after it, 9.+, 10.+, 5.11, 7.11, 9.11 and 10.11, are in the Vibrant Color Chart Up6 Mini. On the back there are three tables, all transcribed on the chart page:
- Field of Application Table: for each shade, the natural bases on which it works, rated very good, good or fair. Example: 7.0 Blond is very good on base 7, good on 6 and 8, fair on 5 and 9. A base that is not listed is outside the field of the shade.
- Bleaching Power Table: how many tones each shade lifts natural hair. The darkest shades do not lift, 7.0 lifts up to 2 tones, 10.0 up to 3½-4, the superbleaching shades 4-5 and 90.82 5-6. No shade lifts hair that is already coloured.
- Color Index: a colour wheel with every shade in its sector. A reflect is toned down by the opposite sector: blue (the ashes .1) against orange, violet against yellow, green against red.
3. Choose the Oxidizer volume
Vibrant Color is mixed with Oxidizer, the Code Zero oxidising cream. The leaflet sets the use of each volume:
| Oxidizer | Use with Vibrant Color |
|---|---|
| 10 vol (3%) | darken, add a reflect or change the colour; colour bleached hair; colour without lifting |
| 20 vol (6%) | tone on tone and darker shades; cover white hair; enhance the reflect |
| 30 vol (9%) | more lift; resistant hair; warm reflects; first applications; superbleaching shades |
| 40 vol (12%) | ultra-lightening; superbleaching shades |
The 0 vol contains no hydrogen peroxide and is never used on its own with the colour: mixed with a standard volume it lowers the percentage, for example 10 vol + 0 vol in equal parts = 5 vol, for fragile hair.
4. How much to mix
| Product | Ratio | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Vibrant Color shades | 1:1 | 50 ml of cream + 50 ml of Oxidizer: one tube is enough for two services |
| Superbleaching 90.0-90.4 | 1:1.5 with 30 or 40 vol | 50 ml + 75 ml |
| Superbleaching 90.82 | 1:2 (box) | 50 ml + 100 ml |
| Vibrant + Pure Pigment | pigment up to 20% of the cream | 50 ml + 10 ml of pigment + 60 ml of Oxidizer |
Mix in a clean non-metal bowl with a plastic brush, just before use, and use the mix straight away.
5. Apply and process
- Always on dry, unwashed hair, with gloves.
- First application on natural hair: lengths and ends first, starting 2 cm from the root; after 10-15 minutes the roots, then a further 20-25 minutes.
- Retouch: 20 minutes on the regrowth, then comb the mix through all the hair for 10 minutes.
- Superbleaching shades: 45-50 minutes in total. With Pure Pigment: 35-40 minutes.
- At the end: emulsify with a little warm water for 3-4 minutes, rinse thoroughly and wash with Color Fixx pH 5.5 shampoo.
6. When a shade alone is not enough
- Superbleaching shades (90.0-90.4, 90.82): they lift natural hair and colour it in one step, from base 6-7 upwards. On coloured hair they do not lighten.
- Base too dark or already coloured: first Level Out bleaching powder, 1:2 with Oxidizer (35 g + 70 ml), checking regularly; then the shade with 10 vol, the volume the leaflet gives for bleached hair.
- A more intense reflect: Pure Pigment 0.22, 0.33, 0.44, 0.62 or 0.66 added to the shade, up to 20% of the cream. On its own a pigment has no effect.
- Toners and Agate: 01 Ash, 09 Blue and .COM19 Agate do not lift. Code Zero gives no protocol for them: each page explains how we suggest using them.
7. Expert colourist tips
- A lot of white hair on a reflect shade: the naturals are the base. With 50% white hair, half the natural X.0 and half the reflect shade of the same level, always 1:1 with Oxidizer. On resistant white hair the intense naturals (7.+) carry more pigment.
- Base one or two tones darker than the shade: 20 vol lifts one tone, 30 vol two, within the lift that the chart gives for that shade.
- Lifting two tones: the orange of the base comes through. For a neutral result add up to a quarter of the ash shade of the same level, for example 7.1 in a 7.0.
- Going darker on bleached hair: pre-pigment first with a copper golden shade one level lighter than the target (for example 8.43 before a level 7), 10 vol for 10-15 minutes, then the shade with 10 vol.
- Sensitised lengths at the retouch: for the last 10 minutes prepare a second bowl at 10 vol, or 5 vol (10 vol + 0 vol) if the ends are very porous.
- Never mix copper, golden or red shades with ash shades in the same bowl: they cancel each other out.
8. For private clients
Vibrant Color is a professional colour. To change or refresh your colour, choose the shade with your hairdresser: reading the base, the white hair and the previous colour is what makes the result match the chart.
FAQ
Does Vibrant Color contain ammonia? Yes: Ammonium Hydroxide is in its INCI.
What is the mixing ratio? 1:1 with Oxidizer for the shades; 1:1.5 with 30 or 40 vol for the superbleaching shades 90.0-90.4; 1:2 for 90.82.
Which volume covers white hair? 20 vol, as the Code Zero leaflet indicates.
How many services does a 100 ml tube give? Two: 50 ml of cream and 50 ml of Oxidizer per service.
Can a Vibrant shade lift a previous colour? No. Colour does not lift colour: on coloured hair a bleaching product is needed first.
Are all Vibrant shades in the chart? The Vibrant Color Chart shows 101 shades and the 5 Pure Pigments; 9.+, 10.+ and the .11 intense ashes are in the Up6 Mini.
Stories from salons
Stories: Manuela and the Back of the Colour Chart: a salon owner in Bern learns to read the tables on the back of the Vibrant chart and teaches the method to her apprentice.
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