IGORA ROYAL Absolutes for Gray Hair: When to Use It

She’s over 90% gray and she wants something specific: a cool brown, nothing warm. With IGORA ROYAL you have more than one way to cover that much gray: Absolutes, which goes in the bowl with no natural added, or a regular IGORA ROYAL shade, which on the US chart takes added natural unless it’s one of its 100% coverage shades.

If you color with Schwarzkopf, both routes cover gray, so the first thing to check is whether the tone she’s asking for, at her level, is in the Absolutes range.

Here’s what Schwarzkopf’s US wall chart and its UK shop say about the range, and how to pick a route based on the tone, the percentage of gray and the result she wants.

Absolutes in four numbers

IGORA ROYAL Absolutes is its own range within IGORA ROYAL, built to cover gray without mixing. The IGORA Color System wall chart Schwarzkopf publishes in the US gives its usage in one block:

Coverage: all Absolutes shades provide “up to 100% white hair coverage on more than 50% white hair without having to mix with a natural tone”.
Developer: “Recommended 9% (30 Vol.)”. “On more than 90% white hair use 6% (20 Vol.)”.
Mixing: 1:1, color to developer.
Development time: 30 to 45 minutes.

The same chart’s developer guide lists the 6% for “White hair coverage with IGORA ROYAL Absolutes/Natural Extra on more than 90% white hair”, so the drop to 6% isn’t unique to Absolutes. If you want to look the shades up one by one, our IGORA ROYAL Absolutes color chart lists them with their equivalents in other brands. It shows three codes the UK shop doesn’t list (7-470, 7-710 and 9-470), so confirm the code with your distributor.

Does Absolutes need natural to cover gray?

No. The US chart says it outright: it covers “without having to mix with a natural tone”. That’s where it parts ways with the partial-coverage IGORA ROYAL shades. On the same chart, when partial-coverage shades go on more than 50% white hair, you add 1 part of a Natural (-0) or Beige (-4) in a 2:1 ratio, and mix shade and natural in equal parts on thick, resistant hair. The full rule, with the gram example the chart prints, is in our guide on how to cover gray hair with IGORA ROYAL.

Adding natural to an Absolutes tube isn’t on the chart: the point of the range is that you don’t need it.

Is her tone in the Absolutes range?

Schwarzkopf Professional’s UK shop lists 27 Absolutes shades by name, and every one of them carries “Natural” in its name (the 0 in its code): 7-10 is Medium Blonde Cendré Natural, 8-01 is Light Blonde Natural Cendré, 6-80 is Dark Blonde Red Natural. Across the range, the tones run through Cendré, Beige, Gold, Chocolate, Copper and Red.

What’s missing matters just as much. In the Absolutes range listed on the UK shop, no shade carries Ash (-2), Matte (-3) or Violet (-9). For those tones you go to the main IGORA ROYAL range, after checking your chart for the tone.

What she’s asking for	Option in the Absolutes range (UK shop)	Route
Cendré	Only at levels 7 to 9 (7-10, 7-140, 8-01, 8-140, 9-140)	Absolutes on its own at those levels; for a cool brown, a regular IGORA ROYAL -1, if your chart lists one at that level (100% coverage series on the US chart)
Chocolate, gold, copper, red or beige	Yes, at some levels: chocolate 4 to 9, gold 5 to 9, copper 6 to 7, red 5 to 6, beige alone only 9-40	Absolutes on its own, no natural, if the exact code is listed
Ash (-2), matte (-3) or violet (-9)	Not listed	An IGORA ROYAL shade in that tone, if your chart lists one at that level, plus natural: 2:1 on more than 50% white hair, equal parts on thick, resistant hair (US chart)
A plain natural with no tone	No: every shade listed carries a tone (the closest, 8-01, is Natural Cendré)	IGORA ROYAL -0 or -00, which the US chart lists among its 100% coverage shades

A tone showing up in the range doesn’t mean it’s listed at every level, and the US range may not match the UK listing. Check the exact code with your distributor before you order it.

Pro tip: before you promise Absolutes to a client who’s almost fully gray, check the level as well as the tone. On the UK listing, the range has no cendré darker than level 7 and nothing darker than 4-60.

Gloved hands mixing a brown color cream with developer in a black bowl, with an empty tube, the developer bottle and a scale beside it

With Absolutes, two things go in the bowl: color and developer.

The cool case on more than 90% gray

Start with the level. In the Absolutes range listed on Schwarzkopf’s UK shop, cendré only appears from level 7 up: 7-10, 7-140, 8-01, 8-140 and 9-140. At levels 4 to 6, the shades listed are chocolate, gold, red, copper and beige chocolate. So the cool brown at the top of this article has no match in that listing.

For her, the route is the regular IGORA ROYAL range. If cool means cendré, the US chart lists the -1 series among its 100% coverage shades, so its natural rule doesn’t apply. Check that your range has a -1 at her level before you promise it. If she means a true ash (-2), matte (-3) or violet (-9), none of those is on that list. Use an IGORA ROYAL shade in that tone, after the same check, and add its natural at 2:1 on more than 50% white hair, or mix shade and natural in equal parts on thick, resistant hair.

At that much gray, the developer also depends on the route. With Absolutes, the US chart moves you to 6% on more than 90% white hair. For the regular shades, the same chart’s developer guide mentions white hair under more than one strength, so match the developer to the shade you pick and the result you’re after.

If she wants a natural

When the goal is a natural with no tone, Absolutes isn’t the route: every shade on the UK listing carries a tone. Go to the regular IGORA ROYAL range, once your chart confirms a -0 or -00 at the level she needs. The US chart lists -00 and -0 among its 100% coverage shades, alongside -1 (Cendré), -4 (Beige) and -63, which keeps them outside its natural rule. Our guide to developer volumes shows where each strength fits in gray coverage.

Colorist in black gloves brushing brown color cream onto the white roots of an older client, hair divided into sections with clips

When the gray runs root to end, work the regrowth in small sections.

Two ideas worth taking apart

“Absolutes needs a bit of natural, just in case.” It doesn’t. The US chart says it covers without mixing with a natural tone. If the shade you need isn’t listed in the Absolutes range, move to the regular IGORA ROYAL range and leave the Absolutes tube as it is.

“Cool means ash.” On IGORA ROYAL’s numbering, -1 is Cendré and -2 is Ash (why they get mixed up). The Absolutes range on the UK shop lists the first, from level 7 up, and not the second. Ask which one she means, and at what level, before you pick the tube.

FAQ

Does IGORA ROYAL Absolutes cover 100% of gray?

Up to 100%, according to Schwarzkopf’s US wall chart, on hair that’s more than 50% white, and without mixing in a natural tone.

Are there ash or violet shades in IGORA ROYAL Absolutes?

None are listed in the Absolutes range on Schwarzkopf Professional’s UK shop: no Ash (-2), Matte (-3) or Violet (-9). For those tones, the route is a regular IGORA ROYAL shade with its natural.

What developer do you use with IGORA ROYAL Absolutes?

The US chart recommends 9% (30 vol). On more than 90% white hair, it calls for 6% (20 vol).

Do you mix Absolutes with a natural shade?

No. On the US chart, adding natural is the rule for partial-coverage IGORA ROYAL shades on more than 50% white hair; Absolutes covers “without having to mix with a natural tone”.

Before any color service, run the allergy test set out in the instructions that come with the product.

The short version

Check first: whether the tone she wants, at her level, is in the Absolutes range.
It is: Absolutes on its own, no natural; 9% (30 vol), or 6% (20 vol) on more than 90% white hair.
It isn’t (ash, matte, violet): a regular IGORA ROYAL shade in that tone, if your chart lists one, plus natural.
She wants a cool brown: the Absolutes range on the UK shop has no cendré below level 7, so check your chart for a regular IGORA ROYAL -1 at her level (a 100% coverage series on the US chart).
She wants a natural with no tone: IGORA ROYAL -0 or -00 at her depth, also on that 100% coverage list.

Pick the right gray coverage route for the exact shade

Want Blendsor to tell you whether the shade she’s asking for is in the Absolutes range or needs a regular IGORA ROYAL shade, and whether that one takes natural, based on her percentage of gray and her color history?

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Which tone do clients ask for most once they’re almost fully gray?