For the past few years I’ve been reviewing and exploring the ingredient lists of many professional “organic hair color” lines. I always put the term organic hair color in parentheses because, as I’ve mentioned multiple times, 100% organic hair color does not exist. So after many requests, I’ve decided to review Oway’s Hcolor line and do it a little differently than before.

Instead of just listing ingredients and giving some nuggets about performance, I wanted to do a hair color review that had more meat so-to-speak. I hope you enjoy it and let me know if I should just go back to looking at just ingredients (I cover that here too)!

When I contacted the company, they gave me this info:

Oway Hcolor is a professional ammonia-free hair color made with biodynamic, organic and fair trade ingredients.

• 89 permanent colors
• 5 tone boosters
• Made in Italy
• Certified cruelty-free by PETA.

I then had to Google what “biodynamic” means, and it’s actually quite interesting. It’s an ecological farming system that views the farm as a self-contained and self-sustaining organism. The health and well-being of the farm animals, the farmer, the farm and the Earth are all viewed as integral parts that make up the whole. Not only do they not use pesticides or chemicals, they also don’t use machinery, it’s all hand grown and picked, which they say creates “stronger, purer plants that are a step above organic.”

After learning more about this, I have to say, I am into it! Any farming that is more eco-friendly and kind to animals is a win in my moral code book.

Another ingredient type I am seeing for the first time in any professional hair color brand is Fair Trade. If you don’t know what Fair Trade means, it means that the ingredient was obtained in an ethical way. Meaning the farmers get paid fair wages and work in safe conditions.

I have to say, I am impressed at the lengths Oway has gone to create a product that is ethically sound. I love idea of what they are doing, but at the end of the day the products have to perform.

So let’s get into the full Oway Hair Color Review. I ordered a try-me kit so I got my hands on 10 colors, 3 activators and also added their ammonia-free lightener, Hbleach.

I’ll admit as a hair colorist the first thing a color line has to do is cover grey. Grey coverage clients are my bread and butter behind the chair, it’s the first thing I’ll put to the test. Here are my findings about Oway Hcolor:

1. I didn’t have to take a million steps to cover greys!
   In previous “organic hair color” lines they always stressed the importance of pre-washing or using heat. I didn’t have to do this with Oway, and my good ness what a time a money saver. Many of my clients hated processing under heat (menopause is tough) and I am glad that it is not longer a requirement.
2. It covered grey 100%!
   The Oway technical manual recommend using at least half of your formula as natural if you have resistant greys. So I used 1 part 4.0 and 1 part 4.05 equals pts with 6% activator for 40 minutes and the results were a beautiful, shiny chocolate mocha brown. What I liked most about the type of coverage I got was that it didn’t look chalky or painted on. I’ve used other non-ammonia color lines that covered grey and it looked more drab.
3. My client’s comments
   She is already accustomed to no smells or itchy scalps when she sees me, but even she remarked on how her hair looked and felt softer than ever. I also saw her 4 weeks later for a retouch and was excited to see the color had not faded off tone. A big win in the land of more natural color lines.

While I loved the results of Hcolor, I also wanted to touch on a few observations I made while testing it out.

• Use a scale!! I REPEAT, use a scale!
  My first application with Hcolor I struggled, the results just weren’t there. Then I called the support line and didn’t realize that using a scale is absolutely necessary with this color line. Once I started weighing my color an developer it all came together. They also pointed out that you would save money and get more consistent results if you weigh it. I now use a scale for any and ALL colors, not just Oway.
• All of my formulas were very spot on
  I noticed that Oway’s Hcolor is very true to swatch. I always consult the color wheel when learning a new color line, but by my 5th application, I was already jiving! In the past I have used lines where I would get unpredictable results or the swatch book was just so off I couldn’t use it beyond showing my clients some pretty colors.
• The creamy buttery consistency is nice to work with
  It’s easy to see how this color leaves the hair so nourished and soft. Not only does it spread and saturate the hair beautifully, it also goes a long way. I couldn’t believe how far one tube of color went. I didn’t have to keep packing on color like I did with previous color lines and that was also a nice time saver
• The Naturals
  It is worth mentioning that I found the naturals in levels 5 and 6 to be warmer than expected. I mentioned previously that I found the color to be true to swatch and this is true aside from a little extra warmth in those levels of the natural series. I mixed 6.1 (6 ash) and (6.0) hoping for a neutral result, but it was on the warmer side. I am limited in the colors I purchased so maybe there is a quick fix for this, but it is something I noticed.