Adore Semi-Permanent Hair Color: Usage, Ingredients, and Mixing Guide

What is Adore semi-permanent hair color?

Adore Semi-Permanent Hair Color is a deposit-only hair dye. It coats the outer layer of the hair shaft with pigment instead of chemically lifting the hair's natural color. Hair So Good stocks 17 Adore shades at $6.99 each, ranging from natural tones to vivid fashion colors.

• Type: Semi-permanent, deposit-only color
• Lift: None. Semi-permanent color cannot lighten hair.
• Best results on: Pre-lightened or naturally light hair for vivid shades; any hair for darker shades
• Shade range at Hair So Good: Naturals such as 121 Jet Black and 107 Mocha, reds such as 60 Truly Red, and vivids such as 196 Sky Blue and 193 Soft Lavender

Adore shade index at Hair So Good

Hair So Good stocks the following 17 Adore Semi-Permanent Hair Color shades. Shade numbers are printed on the bottle and are consistent across retailers.

Shade number	Shade name	Color family
10	Crystal Clear	Clear (pastel diluter)
30	Ginger	Orange
48	Honey Brown	Brown
52	French Cognac	Brown
56	Cajun Spice	See product page
60	Truly Red	Red
82	Pink Rose	Pink
85	Burgundy Bliss	Purple
90	Lavender	Purple
104	Sienna Brown	Brown
107	Mocha	Brown
121	Jet Black	Black
155	Titanium	Gray
164	Electric Lime	Green
178	Royal Navy	Navy blue
193	Soft Lavender	Purple
196	Sky Blue	Blue

Does Adore hair dye require developer?

No. Adore semi-permanent hair color does not require developer. It is applied directly from the bottle to clean hair. It does not require developer, peroxide, or any activator. Because there is no developer, semi-permanent color deposits pigment only and washes out gradually with shampooing.

• Do not mix semi-permanent color with developer. Developer dilutes the pigment and does not improve results.
• Apply to clean, product-free hair. Towel-dried or dry hair both work; many users apply to dry hair for maximum vibrancy.

How long should I process Adore hair color?

Standard processing for semi-permanent color is 15 to 30 minutes at room temperature, or per the directions printed on the bottle.

• Longer processing within the recommended window deposits more pigment and extends wear time.
• A plastic processing cap helps the pigment absorb evenly.
• Rinse with cool water until the water runs clear. Skip shampoo immediately after rinsing to preserve pigment.

How to mix Adore colors for custom shades

Adore shades of the same product line can be mixed to create custom colors. Mixing a red with an orange produces a custom copper. Example using two shades stocked at Hair So Good:

Example: Custom deep copper from 60 Truly Red + 30 Ginger

1. Pour equal parts Adore 60 Truly Red and Adore 30 Ginger into a non-metallic bowl.
2. Stir with a tint brush until the color is fully uniform.
3. Strand test on a small hidden section. Adjust the ratio: more Truly Red deepens the result, more Ginger brightens it toward orange.
4. Apply the mixture to clean hair in sections, saturating fully.
5. Process 15 to 30 minutes, then rinse with cool water until clear.

To soften any shade into a pastel or dilute its intensity, mix it with Adore 10 Crystal Clear.

Is it safe to color hair with Adore after a relaxer?

Adore Semi-Permanent Hair Color itself is peroxide-, ammonia-, and alcohol-free, which makes it gentler than a permanent, oxidative dye. That said, "gentler formula" is not the same as "safe on any timeline." Recently relaxed hair is temporarily more porous and fragile regardless of what color product is applied next, so the waiting period is really about the hair and scalp recovering from the relaxer, not about Adore specifically.

• General guidance: Wait at least one to two weeks after a relaxer, with at least one shampoo in between, before applying any additional chemical process, including semi-permanent color.
• Strong or super-strength relaxers: Wait 3 to 4 weeks to allow more complete recovery.
• Already damaged or heavily chemically treated hair: Wait 4 to 6 weeks, and consider a deep-conditioning treatment before applying color.
• Always skip it, regardless of timing, if the scalp is irritated, broken, or the hair shows visible signs of breakage. Color should never be applied to compromised hair or an unhealthy scalp.
• Strand test first. Even after the waiting period, a strand test on a small hidden section confirms the hair is ready before a full application.

This is general chemical-processing guidance, not a number specific to Adore's formula, because no single safe timeline applies to every hair type, relaxer strength, and scalp condition. When in doubt, a licensed stylist can assess the hair in person before color is applied.

Does Adore semi-permanent color fade evenly, or can the undertone shift?

Semi-permanent color deposits pigment on the outer hair shaft rather than altering the hair's natural pigment underneath. Because it sits on the surface, it fades gradually as pigment molecules wash out with each shampoo, rather than lightening the way permanent, oxidative color does.

• Pigments fade at different rates. A shade is typically built from more than one pigment, and those pigments don't always wash out evenly. As the faster-fading component clears first, the remaining color can look warmer, cooler, or more saturated than the original shade until it fades further.
• Porosity matters. On porous or previously lightened hair, some pigments (vivid blues, greens, and purples especially) can leave a faint pastel "ghost" of the original color rather than fading to nothing, since the deepest-penetrating pigment molecules are the slowest to release.
• Natural, unbleached dark hair shows this effect far less noticeably, since the deposited pigment is already subtle against a dark base and any shift in undertone is harder to see.
• Wash frequency and water temperature both affect fade speed: more frequent washing and hot water pull pigment out faster and more evenly; infrequent, cool-water washing preserves the color longer and slows any undertone shift.

There's no single guaranteed fade pattern for every shade and hair type, but the underlying mechanism, uneven pigment wash-out, is consistent and explains why some Adore shades appear to shift in tone as they lighten rather than simply fading to pale and disappearing.

How many washes does Adore semi-permanent color last?

There is no single manufacturer-published wash count for Adore, and the honest answer is a range rather than one hard number, because how long a deposit-only color lasts depends on the hair it is applied to, not just the dye itself.

• Typical range: Most wearers see noticeable fading somewhere between 12 and 20 shampoos, with color fully gone or reduced to a faint tint by that point.
• Porosity shortens or extends that range. Highly porous or pre-lightened hair grabs pigment fast but also releases it fast, often landing at the lower end of the range. Low-porosity or unbleached, natural hair tends to hold pigment longer, landing at the higher end.
• Wash frequency and water temperature matter as much as the count itself. Washing every day or using hot water pulls color out faster in fewer washes. Washing two to three times a week with cool water stretches the same shade toward the higher end of the range.
• Vivid shades and dark naturals behave differently. Saturated vivids (blues, greens, purples) often leave a faint pastel tone well past 20 washes rather than fading to nothing, while color on dark, unbleached hair tends to look "done" sooner simply because it is harder to see against a dark base.

If wear time matters more than exact wash count, spacing out washes and using cool water is the most reliable way to extend it, regardless of shade.

What hair level does each Adore shade need to show true?

Adore is deposit-only, so it can't lighten hair to reach a level -- the starting hair level (how light or dark the hair already is) determines how true a shade will look, not any developer or lift setting. As a general rule across the hair color industry, more saturated or lighter vivid pigments need a lighter starting level to show clearly, while natural and deep tones show well on a wider range of levels:

• Naturals and darker browns (such as 107 Mocha, 52 French Cognac): show as intended on most hair levels, including unlightened dark hair, since they're close in depth to natural hair color.
• Reds and coppers (such as 60 Truly Red, 56 Cajun Spice): show richest on medium-to-light hair (roughly level 6 and up); on dark, unlightened hair they typically read as a subtle warm tint rather than a true saturated red or copper.
• Saturated vivids (such as 196 Sky Blue, 164 Electric Lime, 178 Royal Navy): need pre-lightened hair, generally level 8 or lighter, to show as a true saturated color. On dark, unlightened hair these shades will typically be barely visible or add only a faint tonal shift.
• Pastels (such as 193 Soft Lavender, mixed with 10 Crystal Clear): need the lightest starting level, generally level 9-10 (near-white blonde), since pastel pigments are diluted and won't show over any noticeable natural depth.

These are general industry ranges, not levels published by Adore for each specific shade, since semi-permanent dye brands typically don't publish per-shade level charts the way permanent color lines do. A strand test on the actual hair being colored is the most reliable way to confirm how a shade will look before a full application, especially for anyone unsure of their exact starting level.

How to remove Adore semi-permanent dye?

Semi-permanent color fades gradually on its own, typically over a series of washes. To speed removal:

• Wash with a clarifying or detoxifying shampoo, such as Nairobi Detoxifying Shampoo, using warm water.
• Repeat washes remove more pigment each time. Follow every clarifying wash with conditioner to prevent dryness.
• Deep-condition between removal washes to maintain moisture.
• Very saturated vivid shades may leave a tint that requires professional color correction to remove completely.