My review on the dye of Schwarzkopf Igora Highlifts 10-21

Hello, darlings! In today’s post I do the review of Schwarzkopf Igora Highlifts 10-21 permanent colour dye (Platinum Blonde Ash Smoke). This dye is part of the Royal Highlifts collection, which is used to lighten hair intensely. I show you the before and after and the steps I follow to use it.

Other dye reviews:

I will continue to try other blonde dyes from Schwarzkopf and similar brands so you can compare.

Igora Royal by Schwarzkopf Professional

IGORA ROYAL dyes from Schwarzkopf are a type of permanent coloring that has 5 lines:

• IGORA ROYAL (the red box, this is the main line)
• IGORA ROYAL Highlifts (where the dye I am talking about today belongs)
• IGORA ROYAL Fashion Lights
• IGORA ROYAL Absolutes
• IGORA ROYAL Silver Whites

Each of these lines is used for specific coloring needs.

The IGORA ROYAL Highlifts line is used for when intense lifting is needed. For example, when we want to get a light blonde without bleaching or when we work with very dark hair, which is exactly the situation of my hair. A very dark tone that also requires intense lightening.

Where to buy Igora Royal dye from Schwarzkopf Highlifts tone 10-21.

Like other Schwarzkopf Highlifts dyes, this 10-21 is sold in hairdressing commercials or from Amazon. It is difficult to find elsewhere as it is restricted to professional hair stylists.

Sometimes they sell other shades, but not exactly the 10-21 (Platinum Blonde Ash Smoke). In any case, Amazon is the place to go if you are not a qualified hairdresser and can’t buy from salon suppliers.

Igora Royal Highlifts Color Chart by Schwarzkopf Professional

Next you have the range of Blonde colors, within the range of “Natural”. For the full color chart, visit the official Schwarzkoft website.

I don’t have any kind of business relationship with Schwarzkopf (I would like to), but I have to say that I love his colors.

They have many different colors and adapted to different hair needs. For example, for very dark hair, for mature hair, etc.

How does Igora Royal numbering work?

This dye, 10-21, follows Schawrzkopf’s three-number system. Let me explain.

The number in front of the hyphen (10-) is the base. That is, it indicates the height of the tone. In this case the number 10 indicates that it is a light blonde.

The first number behind the hyphen represents the main direction of tone (e.g. ash, gold, natural, etc.). In this case the -2 indicates that it is an ash.

The second number behind the hyphen (in this case -x1) indicates the secondary color, which in this case would be smoke.

How to apply Igora Royal from Schwarzkopf tone 10-21.

The 10-21 Igora Highlifts by Schwarzkopf I have used to touch up my dark root between the bleaching jobs I do every 3 months.

I need something that keeps the root clear between bleaching sessions. I do not bleach or do highlights every month as it would be very aggressive with my hair.

I’ll quickly tell you my color strategy so you can see how I use it.

Every month I use a light blonde dye to lighten the root. I’m trying different brands and shades but they are usually always light blonde. When I do the bleaching (highlights), I combine it with a different dye.

For years I followed the same routine in which I retouched my root every month and a half with a darker tone (8 or 9), which had less contrast with my natural color. Now when using a lighter dye I have to touch up more often (every month) because the difference is more obvious.

Instead of touching up once between bleaches (every month and a half), I now do it every month.

In this post I tell you how I do to tone up highlights, in case you want to know my complete color routine.

How to prepare the mixture for Igora Royal?

Mix 60 ml of 10-21 dye from the Igora Royal Highlifts with 60 of developer of 30 volumes. That is, we mix in equal parts in a ratio of 1 to 1.

I use 30-volume developer because my hair is very dark and I want the mixture to rise, but you could mix it with 20-volume water if you want it to be less aggressive.

Remember that, in any case, developer must be purchased separately.

As developer of 30 volumes the one I would recommend is Welloxon by Wella, but you can use the one you prefer, obviously.

In my case, with 20-30 minutes is enough, especially if you use a developer of 30 volumes. However, if you are applying over virgin hair, it might need up to 45 minutes.

Before and After Igora Royal of SchwarzkopfProfessional 10-0

In the photos you can see what is the result of applying the dye 10-21 (mixed with developer of 30 volumes). As you can see my base is dark chestnut. And the tone it reaches after half an hour of application is a medium blonde. The fact that it has the -21 undertone avoids golden or orange nuances. Which is precisely the problem I had with the 10-0 tint.

The 10-21 seems to me a perfect shade if you have dark hair as it will tone up perfectly. If you have lighter hair than me, opt better for 10-0, as perhaps this 10-21 may be too grayish.

As for the degree of liftling, as you can see the Schwarzkopf Highlifts lift very effectively. They lighten much more than other similar colours of other brands.

What I hope is that by showing you the before and after, you can get an idea of how it is used separately on a dark base.

To remind you, in these photos you see the before and after applying the 10-21 with developer of 30 volumes on the root.

My opinion on Schwarzkopf dye Igora Highlifts 10-21

I bought the 10-21 because having such dark hair, I needed something with ash hue that would avoid orange highlights.

When I tried the 10-0 of this same brand I went a little orange or copper. But as I said, I wanted to try it anyway so you could see the result. (In other posts I will show you other shades of blonde Highlifts, so you can see the differences on the same base color).

Overall, has the 10-21 solved the problem of the orange hue? Well, yes. As you know, the main problem of my hair is to lift the color if it deviates too much to the orange tone, and with this, yes I do get that.

I have dark brown hair. Be careful because if your hair is lighter it can be very gray.

And as for rinsing? Does it go up well? Well, in my opinion, Igora Royal 10-21 dye from Schwarzkopf Professional is very effective when it comes to lightening hair, just like others in the Highlifts line.

All in all, Schwarzkopf fulfills its main promise, which is to lighten hair, which is to lighten hair intensely without using bleaching.  

I hope you found this review on the dye of Schwarzkopf Igora Highlifts 10-21 useful. If you want to see more detail about my color routine, here you have a video on my Youtube channel. It is in Spanish, so please turn the subtitles on:

Lots of love,

Deliria Rose