You've had your eye on a shade for a while now — you save the Reels, screenshot the inspo, and then the doubt creeps in: "but will it even show up on my hair?"
If you've got naturally dark hair, this is the most common thing standing between you and your first Qwerky order. Because we'd rather give you the honest answer upfront than have you disappointed later, here's the complete breakdown — by hair level, by shade, no guesswork.
Understanding Hair Levels (and Why They Change Everything)
Hair levels run from 1 to 10. Level 1 is jet black, level 10 is platinum blonde. Semi-permanent dyes like Qwerky's work by coating the outside of the hair shaft — they deposit colour on top of what's already there, without lifting or lightening your natural base.
What this means in practice: the darker your starting point, the more your underlying hair competes with the shade you're applying. A vivid blue on level 8 hair looks completely different from the same dye on level 4 — not because the dye is weaker, but because the canvas is different. One important thing to keep in mind as you read through this: if a shade works on a darker base, it will look even better on a lighter one. The shades don't stop working as you lighten — they get better.
Black Hair (Levels 1–3): What Actually Shows Up
At jet black to very dark brown, your options are Riot, Barbie, and Gaia — and here's the important thing to know: on this hair level, these shades give you a sunlight tint. Visible outdoors in natural light, not under indoor lighting.
- Riot — a warm, dark red tint in sunlight
- Barbie — a dark red-pink tint in sunlight
- Gaia — a dark green tint in sunlight
We've seen some genuinely beautiful results with Riot on black and dark hair — the outdoor effect is that glossy, dimensional red-black you catch when the light hits just right. It's subtle, it's pretty, and it is a sunlight-only result. If you want colour that reads indoors too, lightening your hair a little first will get you there.
Blue and ash shades on black hair won't show up — more on those further down.
Dark Brown Hair (Levels 4–5): A Wider Menu
Level 4–5 is where things get more interesting. The shades that work on black hair all work here too — and look better for the slightly lighter base. On top of that, these additional shades now give you real, visible colour:
| Shade | Result on Dark Brown Hair |
|---|---|
| Hey Tiger | Warm brownish hue — adds richness and dimension |
| Iris | Deep wine red-purple — moody, visible, beautiful |
| Ocean | Dark teal-green — shows up well, especially in natural light |
| Scarlett | Very subtle warm red shift — a glow more than a colour change |
| Blackforest | Deepens to very dark brown, almost black — intense and glossy |
A note on Blackforest: it doesn't give you a visible "colour" in the conventional sense — it deepens and darkens, leaving your hair with a richer, near-black finish. If you want depth and gloss rather than a colour shift, this is your shade.
Blue and ash shades still won't show up at this level. You'll need to lighten first — which brings us to the next threshold.
Lightening to a Medium Brown (Level 6): The First Big Unlock
Lifting your hair to a medium brown — level 6 — opens up four more shades: Smoke, Teddy, Bruise, and 12AM. At this level, they do show up and deposit visible colour. Here's exactly what to expect at level 6:
- Smoke — tones your hair into an ash brown, cool and slightly muted
- Teddy — also deposits as an ash brown at this level, soft and natural-looking
- Bruise — darkens and tones the hair into a very dark grey
- 12AM — gives you a blue-black colour, deep and dimensional
These are toned, grounded results — not the full vibrancy you might have seen in our photos. Think of level 6 as the first chapter: the shades are working, the colour is there, but to get those shades at their full, most saturated payoff, you'll want to lighten one step further to level 8.
And as always — every shade that works on darker hair also works here, looking a little richer and more defined for the lighter base.
The Sweet Spot: Level 8 Hair
Level 8 — a blonde — is where Qwerky dyes perform at their absolute best. All 12 shades hit their full vibrancy at this level: proper ash grey from Smoke, true ash blue from Bruise, vivid navy from 12AM, and the full milk tea tone from Teddy. This is the level we recommend as the target if you're bleaching at home.
You don't need to go further than level 8. In fact, we'd say don't — overbleaching beyond level 8 can mean some shades, like Smoke, behave a little differently because the base is no longer the warm yellow tone the formula is calibrated for. Level 8 is the sweet spot: bright enough for full payoff, manageable at home. Our Butter Bleach is formulated to be gentler than most box bleaches — and pairing it with the Suck It Up Colour Locking Hair Mask after keeps your hair in good condition through the process.
Levels 9–10: Full Lift, With a Caveat
At platinum and near-platinum, all 12 shades are available and most perform beautifully — vivid brights, true pastels, high saturation across the board. That said, some shades like Smoke can look slightly different at levels 9–10 compared to level 8, because the very pale base shifts the result. It's not a problem, just worth knowing.
If you're bleaching at home, we recommend stopping at level 8 rather than pushing further. You'll get everything you need without the extra damage.
Here's How Every Shade Looks Across Hair Levels
Not sure where your hair sits, or what a shade will actually look like on you? This is our full colour chart — every shade, every level, no guesswork.
So — Can You Get Blue or Ash Tones Without Bleaching?
Short answer: not really, no. On unbleached dark hair, blue and ash shades won't deposit any visible colour — the dark pigment in your hair absorbs too much of the light for those tones to come through.
At level 6, you can get the beginning of those results — 12AM will give you a blue-black, and Bruise will tone into a very dark grey. They show up, but it's not the bright, vivid result you've seen in our colour swatches. For those full payoffs — proper ash blue from Bruise, full navy from 12AM, true ash grey from Smoke — level 8 is where you want to be.
If you want to stay on your natural hair for now, stick to the shades that are built for your level. Riot, Barbie, or Gaia for a sunlight tint on black hair — Hey Tiger, Iris, Ocean, Scarlett, or Blackforest for proper wearable colour on dark brown. Those shades deliver on an unbleached base and they do it well.
The most important thing is going in with the right expectations — a shade that's honest about what it does on your hair is infinitely better than one that overpromises. That's how we do things here.
Shop the full range at qwerkycolour.com — and if you're still not sure which level your hair is or where to start, drop us a DM. We've seen a lot of hair and we genuinely love helping figure this out.
Seen our Riot on dark hair results? Head to our Instagram to see what it looks like in the sun.