Course Finder
Colour Keys 1
Once enrolled on the learning plan make sure to select your date/location for your practical 1-day course. Dates at the bottom of this page.
Course Details:
Colour Keys 1 teaches the core essential fundamentals of colouring hair and understanding how to get to a target shade.
How it works:
Supported by a series of online videos to prepare you pre course or to refresh with post course followed by a practical day at a L’Oreal Professionnel academy or hub Both the video series and practical days must be completed to achieve your Colour Keys 1 certification.
Skills Covered:
Identifying natural base
Levels of lift and undercoats
Neutralisation
How to build a case study.
Taught By:
Online: By Min Kim- Global Artist
Offline: By L'Oréal Professionnel Paris Educator
Level: Foundation For all – from new to experienced
Content types: Tutorial video & offline session
Level: Foundation For all – from new to experienced
Want to know more?
Sign up for free to unlock the full content
Sign up now and get direct access to course content.
11 Courses

Ep 10. Quiz - Colour Keys 1
E-Learning
You want to test yourself on the New Color Keys 1?
There are 6 themes that will be addressed: levels of depth, lightening process, colouring process, work cases, reflects and white hair.
You must get a total of at least 80% correct answers in order to be able to move on to the final stage in the L'Oréal Professionnel Paris Academy. You can repeat the quiz several times.
Key Learning : quiz – Colour Keys 1 – online – open questions – closed questions - levels of depth - lightening process - coloring process - work cases - reflects - white hair.

Ep 08. Colour application & diagnosis - Colour Keys 1
Video
In this episode you'll learn about the process of a hair colouring service from diagnosis, to application of regrowth and take through to perfect emulsification. Benefit from Min Kim's advice as she performs the color service in front of your eyes!
Key Learning : Style My Hair Pro – hair care routine - colour application – pro-tips – how to emulsify – Metal Detox.
This L'Oréal Professionnel Color Keys episode provides a detailed, step-by-step guide to a professional hair color application in the salon. It covers essential hair color techniques, starting with client diagnosis (assessing regrowth, white hair percentage, natural base, and desired reflect using tools like Style My Hair Pro). The course outlines a comprehensive service proposal, including product selection and client education on color application timing and at-home hair care. Key procedural steps include meticulous preparation (client, tools, product mixing with developer and colorant like INOA 6.8), the use of Metal Detox for pre-treatment, and precise sectioning and color application for regrowth. The episode demonstrates how to achieve optimal white hair coverage on the roots with INOA, and how to use L'Oréal Professionnel Dialight for a gentle color refresh and shine on the lengths and ends, particularly for colored or pre-lightened hair. It concludes with proper rinsing techniques (emulsification, Metal Detox cleansing cream) and finishing touches, emphasizing client satisfaction and leveraging social media for showcasing professional hair color results. This is a vital course for hair stylists looking to elevate their salon services and master advanced hair coloring practices.

Ep 01. Daily life colours - Colour Keys 1
Video
If we say colour spectrum, does that mean anything to you?
We start with three colours, blue, red and yellow... but with these 3 simple colours a whole world opens up to you.
Colour is an unlimited topic to play with. But it is still necessary to master these basics in order to exploit all their specificities.
In this episode, you will learn about the elements that characterise the colours such as saturation, exposition or transparency. As well as the classification of hair colour and the types of pigments found in the hair.
Key Learning : primary colours - complementary colours – saturation – exposition – transparency – colour classification - pigments in hair.
Master professional hair coloring techniques with "Color Keys 1," a comprehensive course designed to help stylists understand why hair color fades or results in unwanted warmth. Gain the expertise for perfect hair color application and develop the confidence to create signature hair colors for your clients.

Ep 02. Hair Lightening - Colour Keys 1
Video
To fully understand how colour works, you must first understand how the lightening process works. Starting from natural lightening at the beach to professional lightening in your salon.
In this episode, you will learn the elements that allow the natural lightening of your hair and how to reproduce the lightening process. Keep in mind that oxygen is the basis of everything. What is oxidation? But also understanding how undertones can affect the desired result.
Key Learning : lightening process active – accelerators – lightening - pigments in hair – undercoats – undertones.
This course delves into the science of hair lightening, explaining the natural and "provoked" processes by which hair color lightens. It highlights the crucial role of oxygen in hair coloring (from both air and hydrogen peroxide in professional products) in oxidizing natural hair pigments (blue, red, and yellow). The course emphasizes the importance of understanding hair undertones (also known as undercoats) – the warm passage colors that emerge as pigments are eliminated – for professional hair colorists to achieve desired results in balayage, highlights, and overall hair color application. Mastering hair color theory and recognizing these undertones is presented as fundamental for any skilled colorist.

Ep 07. Take through - Colour Keys 1
Video
Most of our existing clients come for a colour refresh service. Understanding how to apply colour to previously coloured hair is key for this service.
Key Learning : colour refresh – regrowth – lengths - Dialight – ligthening – developer – acidic pH - shine.
This L'Oréal Professionnel Color Keys episode focuses on mastering the critical "take-through" technique for professional hair colorists. It explains how to address the different needs of hair regrowth versus sensitized lengths and ends, emphasizing the importance of preventing hair over-sensitization to maintain hair shine and health. The course highlights L'Oréal Professionnel's Dialight as the ideal solution, detailing its unique properties: an acidic pH, low developer requirements, short development time, gel-cream texture, and zero lift. Dialight's ability to gently revive color radiance and deposit demi-permanent color on already colored or pre-lightened hair without further damage is thoroughly explained. This segment is crucial for colorists seeking to enhance their salon services, ensure long-lasting hair color, manage hair porosity, and build a strong, returning clientele by delivering consistently beautiful and healthy results.

Ep 09. Health & safety - Colour Keys 1
Video
Safety is serious matter. Refresh your knowledge on all these safety aspects, treat your customers and yourselves safely.
In this episode, you will learn about safety and innovation. Allergy test is very important, so you need to know when to do it and how to do it to avoid any risks.
Key Learning : safety – innovation – allergy alert test – instruction – risk - health.
This L'Oréal Professionnel Color Keys episode emphasizes the paramount importance of health and safety in professional hair coloring. It outlines crucial salon safety protocols and L'Oréal safety guidelines for all color and lightening products, stressing the need for strict adherence to ensure client and stylist well-being. Key topics covered include proper use of personal protective equipment (disposable gloves), avoiding metallic tools, following recommended development times, and safe handling of hair color oxidants. The course provides specific warnings against using 40 volume oxidant on the scalp or with heat, especially for pre-lighteners and enclosed highlighting techniques. A major focus is placed on the allergy alert test (patch test), explaining its necessity 48 hours prior to application and acknowledging that reactions can still occur. This episode is vital for all professional colorists to maintain high standards of hair color safety, ensure client safety, and uphold professionalism in their hair coloring services.

Ep 06. White hair coverage - Colour Keys 1
Video
White hair applications can be up to 70% of all salon applications. Why does it become white? This module looks at identifying the percentage of white hair on a client and how to adapt the formulation. Including how to choose your fundamental according to warm or cool shade.
Key Learning : white hair – fundamentals – warm colours – cool colours – transparency - pigments in hair.
This L'Oréal Professionnel Color Keys episode is dedicated to mastering white hair coverage and providing optimal gray hair solutions for clients. It delves into the science of melanin loss, explaining how hair changes with age (porosity, brittleness) and the importance of assessing the percentage of white hair. The course distinguishes between fundamental hair color shades (opaque, for depth) and reflects (transparent), detailing how to combine them to achieve natural, long-lasting results. It covers specific strategies for using Majirel and INOA based on the percentage of white hair, and when to incorporate golden fundamentals for warm tones or neutral fundamentals for cool shades. The episode also explores the specialized use of high-lift shades (not for coverage) and introduces the crucial "take through" technique, utilizing products like DIALIGHT to refresh lengths and ends without over-sensitizing, ensuring radiant color and healthy hair. This segment is vital for professional colorists to provide tailored hair color services and achieve perfect gray blending or full coverage for every client.

Ep 04. Principles of haircolour - Colour Keys 1
Video
To choose the most suitable products to achieve the desired result you need to understand how colouring process works.
In this episode, you will learn about what’s inside a colouring tube and the colouring process. You will be able to identify the most suitable colouring product to achieve the desired result. Which developer to use ? How to formulate according to target shade ? Know all about L’Oréal Professionnel Paris hair colour products: Inoa, Dialight, Diarichesse, Majirel and Majirel High-Lift.
Key Learning : colouring process - lightening process – oxidation – colour products.
This L'Oréal Professionnel Color Keys episode deep dives into the molecular hair coloring process, explaining how color precursors interact with oxidants to create permanent dyes. It details the simultaneous lightening process where oxygen oxidizes natural melanin (blue, then red, then yellow pigments) and the role of various developers (12.5, 20, 30, 40 volume) in achieving specific lift levels and color deposits. The course also covers different hair color types, including oxidative color (e.g., Majirel, INOA), tone-on-tone demi-permanent colors (alkaline like DIA RICHESSE and acidic like DIALIGHT), and super-lighteners for high-lift color. It highlights the significance of understanding hair undercoats and explains how L'Oréal Professionnel's ammonia-free INOA, with its oil-delivery system, revolutionized hair coloring. This episode is essential for professional colorists to master hair color theory, product selection, and achieving optimal results based on client needs.

Ep 03. Fundamentals, reflects & numbering - Colour Keys 1
Video
Do you know the difference between 8.3, 8.33, and 8.30?
Colour has also its own vocabulary. Let’s learn how to talk colour with L’Oréal Professionnel Paris, and understand the formulation of hair colourants according to their numbering.
In this episode, you will learn about what are fundamentals? What are reflects? How to combine and choose the right base. Understand which shade to choose and when.
Key Learning : primary colours - complementary colours – fundamentals – reflects – numbering system - pigments in hair.
This L'Oréal Professionnel Color Keys episode introduces essential hair color vocabulary, distinguishing between fundamentals (natural brown bases created from primary colors like blue, red, and yellow) and reflects (secondary colors used to add tone). It explains L'Oréal Professionnel's unique hair color numbering system, detailing how shade intensity and undertones (ash, iridescent, gold, copper, red, matte, mahogany, mocha) are represented. The course covers how cool reflects appear darker and warm reflects appear lighter, and provides detailed insights into adjusting reflect intensity (e.g., .3 vs .33 vs .30) for precise, customized hair color formulation. This segment is crucial for professional colorists to master hair color theory and achieve a wide range of salon hair color results.

Ep 05. Neutralisation - Colour Keys 1
Video
Find which colour neutralises which reflect and what are the perfect matches to create the desired reflects. Including how to differentiate between cool and warm colours.
Key Learning : neutralisation – undertones – perfect match - cool colours – warm colours – compatible reflect.
This L'Oréal Professionnel Color Keys episode focuses on mastering hair color undertones, a critical skill for professional colorists. It teaches how to neutralize unwanted warm tones like orange and yellow using complementary colors from the color wheel (blue for orange, violet for yellow, green for red) to achieve natural, brass-free results. The course also explores enhancing undercoats when a client desires a warm shade, demonstrating how specific reflects can perfectly match or further boost existing undertones (e.g., copper on orange, gold on yellow). Through practical examples and case studies involving various natural hair bases and desired shades, this episode provides hair color theory and application strategies for precise color formulation, ensuring client satisfaction and long-lasting hair color. It emphasizes the importance of client consultation and using appropriate L'Oréal Professionnel products like Majirel and Serie Expert Vitamino Color for optimal hair color preservation.

Ep 11. Practical Day Colour Keys 1 - Choose your date
Download
Ep 11. Practical Day Colour Keys 1 - Choose your date
It’s the last step of this series: the offline practice with certificate at the end!
Once enrolled on the learning plan make sure to select your date/location for your practical 1-day course. Dates at the bottom of this page.
You have watched all the episodes of the New Colour Keys 1 series and brilliantly managed to exceed the 80% correct answer rate in the quiz. Then it is time to get down to business by coming to the Academy to put what you have learned into practice!
What do I need to bring with me?
Styling brushes, plastic tail combs, plastic sectioning clips, hairdryer and any other preferred finishing tools
Taught By:
L’Oréal Professionnel Paris Education Consultant
Once you have completed Colour Keys 1 you are ready to move on to the next series with Colour Keys 2!
2025 DATES:
EDINBURGH: 10 NOVEMBER