Direct answer: Nhat Tam Hair Salon in Hanoi works in fashion colour: vivid shades, pastels, and custom tones mixed for one client, including the bleaching those colours require. What is achievable in a single visit depends on your starting level and chemical history, not on the reference photo. Expect a strand test, a written plan, and an honest answer when a shade needs more than one session.
Most salon colour pages show a palette and leave out the part that decides everything: the lift. A soft lilac and a deep burgundy are not the same job, and neither is a pastel on dark virgin hair versus the same pastel on hair that was box-dyed black last year. This guide explains how fashion colour is actually planned, what we can do in one appointment, and where we will tell you to wait.
Quick answer: Fashion colour is a bleaching job first and a colour job second. Dark hair usually needs to reach level 9 to 10 for a true pastel, level 7 to 8 for most vivids. That may be one session or three, depending on where your hair starts and how much it can take safely.
What counts as a fashion colour
Three families, and they behave very differently:
- Vivids: saturated reds, coppers, blues, greens, purples, pinks. High pigment, strong visual impact, visible fade.
- Pastels: lilac, dusty rose, mint, peach, silver. Low pigment on a very light base; the base has to be almost white or the tone goes muddy.
- Custom shades: a tone mixed for one person rather than taken off a chart, often to sit between two families or to suit a specific skin undertone.
Yes, we bleach, and that is the part that decides everything
Bleaching is a service in its own right, not a free step before the colour. Three things set the plan.
Your starting level
Most Vietnamese and East Asian hair sits around level 2 to 4 with strong warm pigment underneath. Lifting through orange and yellow to a clean pale base takes time. European hair at level 6 to 7 reaches a pastel base far faster, which is why the same shade can be a one-visit job for one client and a three-visit plan for another.
Your chemical history
Previous box dye, black dye, henna, a perm or a keratin treatment all change what is safe. Box black in particular can take several sessions to remove evenly. Tell us everything done in the last twelve months, even if you think it has grown out. The old product is still on the mid-lengths.
How many sessions, honestly
We would rather plan two comfortable sessions than force one and damage the hair. If your hair cannot reach the required level safely today, we will say so during the consultation, show you the level it can reach, and offer a shade that works at that level now.
Vivid shades: what to expect
Vivids sit on a lifted base and are refreshed rather than permanent. They look strongest for the first two to three weeks, then soften. Reds and coppers hold longest; blues and greens shift as they fade; pinks and purples fade fastest. Plan a top-up rather than expecting the first-day colour to last three months.
Pastels: the least forgiving family
A pastel is a tint of white. If the base still carries yellow, a lilac turns grey-beige and a mint turns khaki. This is the shade family where we are most likely to recommend splitting the work across visits, not to sell another appointment, but because a rushed base ruins the tone you came for.
Custom shades mixed for one client
If you arrive with a reference that does not exist on any chart, or you want a tone matched to your skin undertone rather than a trend, that is a custom mix. For the warm, cool and neutral families behind that decision, see our guide to hair colour for your skin undertone in Hanoi.
How a custom formula is designed
We start from four facts: your current level, your underlying pigment, how much lift is safe today, and how you want it to fade. Getting those four right takes a conversation before anything is weighed out. These are the questions we ask, and they are worth asking at any salon:
- What is on your hair already? Box dye, henna, a previous bleach and any direct dye all change what a formula can do. Henna can rule out lightening altogether, which is why we ask before we quote.
- How light has your hair been before, and how did it feel afterwards? Hair that has lifted cleanly once usually behaves predictably the next time.
- What does your routine at home look like? Hot water, daily washing, swimming and heat styling pull pigment out faster than the colour fades on its own.
- What should happen when it fades? A tone can be built to drop into a wearable shade or to go flat and dull. That is a design decision rather than an accident, and it is the question most often skipped.
- When do you next need to look finished? A wedding, a shoot or a flight home in three days changes what we are willing to start today.
The strand test, and why we ask for it first
A strand test settles the argument that no photograph can settle. We lift and tone a small section, usually taken from underneath where it will not show, then watch what your hair actually does: how fast it lifts, how evenly, how much warmth is still sitting at the target level, and how the toner takes on it.
It costs a small part of the appointment and it changes the conversation from a quote into a plan. If the test reaches a clean pale base comfortably, the shade you asked for is on the table today. If it stalls at an uneven yellow, you can see that for yourself before you commit, and we can split the work across two visits rather than pushing through and damaging the hair.
What we write down so it can be repeated
The formula, the developer strength, the processing time and the toner go on your record, together with what the strand test did and which sections needed different handling. A salon that offers bespoke colour without keeping this cannot repeat its own work.
| What goes on your record | Why it matters at the next visit |
|---|---|
| Starting level and underlying pigment, noted per section | Roots, mid-lengths and ends rarely start from the same place, so one number for the whole head is not enough to mix from again. |
| Lightener, developer strength and processing time | Lets the same lift be reproduced without testing the limits of your hair a second time. |
| Toner formula and how long it was left on | The toner is what makes the shade yours. Minutes change it noticeably. |
| What the strand test showed | Tells the next colourist how your hair behaves, not just what was used. |
| What you asked the fade to do | So a refresh keeps the same intention instead of restarting the design. |
What can be repeated, and what cannot
A written formula lets the same shade be mixed again from the same starting point. What it cannot do is reproduce a tone on hair that has changed in the meantime. Six weeks of sun, new regrowth at a different level, or a wash routine that stripped the toner will all shift the result, and the formula has to be adjusted rather than simply repeated.
Treat the record as the starting point for the next appointment rather than a guarantee of an identical outcome. Expect to be asked the fade question again, because the honest answer depends on the hair in front of us on the day.
Time and price
A fashion colour appointment is long: lifting, toning and a bond treatment can run from three to six hours, and a full correction longer. Published prices for every service are on our price list; ask for a written estimate for your specific plan at the consultation, because lift required is what moves the figure, not the shade name.
Fade: the first six weeks
Expect visible change by week three and a different character of the colour by week six. Wash less often, use cool water, and avoid clarifying shampoo. A colour-depositing conditioner in your shade extends a vivid considerably. Chlorine and sea water will shift blues and greens quickly.
Looking after bleached hair at home
Bleached hair is more porous, which is what makes it take the colour and also what makes it rough if neglected. A bond or protein treatment on a regular cycle, heat protection before any hot tool, and a lower dryer temperature do more for the result than any single expensive product.
When we will say no
If the hair is already fragile, if removing a previous black dye would take it past a safe point in one sitting, or if the requested shade cannot be reached without breakage, we will decline that plan and offer an alternative. A salon that agrees to everything on the first visit is not doing you a favour.
What to bring to the consultation
A photograph of your hair in natural daylight with no filter, two or three reference images including one you do not like, and your chemical history for the last year. If you are in Hanoi for a limited number of days, say so at the start so the plan fits the time you actually have.
Booking from abroad
Send the photographs before you travel and we will tell you whether the shade is realistic in the time available, how many hours to set aside, and roughly what it will cost. English support is available on request. Mention it when you book.
Choosing a vivid shade? Compare six vivid hair colour directions, their starting bases and fade plans in Hanoi. Ask to see recent client photos at your consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a pastel colour on dark Asian hair in one visit?
Sometimes, but often not. A true pastel needs a level 9 to 10 base. From level 2 to 3 virgin hair that is a long single session at best, and with previous dye it usually needs two.
Do you do colour correction on work done elsewhere?
Yes. Bring photographs of the current result and, if you have it, the formula used. Correction is planned differently from a fresh colour and is quoted separately.
How damaging is bleaching?
Bleaching always changes the hair structure. The question is how much, and that is controlled by how much lift is attempted at once, the developer strength and the bond support used. This is why we split work across sessions rather than forcing one.
Will a vivid colour wash out completely?
It fades rather than disappearing. The lifted base underneath remains, which is why going back to a dark natural shade afterwards is its own service, not simply letting it grow out.
Can you match a colour from a photograph exactly?
We can get close, but a photograph is lit and edited and sits on someone else’s base. The strand test tells you what that shade becomes on your hair.
Do you have an English-speaking colourist?
English support is available on request. Say so when booking so it can be arranged for your appointment.
Hanoi salon: 89 Nguyen Hy Quang, O Cho Dua, Dong Da. Open daily 09:00-20:00. Prices, promotions, opening hours and policies can change; confirm current details before your visit.
Looking for the general shade guide rather than fashion colour? See hair colour ideas to try in Hanoi, the colour guide for foreign visitors, and our evidence checklist for choosing a Hanoi salon. You can also check our public work and review history on our social channels and numbers.
If the colour is part of a bigger change and you also want a new shape, read our guide to planning a bold hair transformation in Hanoi, which sets out the timings and the cases where we split the work over two visits.
Book online / Đặt lịch online
Choose your branch, service, date and time. For a fashion colour, book a consultation first so the plan and the time needed can be confirmed.