Every blonde specialist has had the same bad afternoon. Client wants pale. Base is darker than she remembers. Your powder tops out, you're looking at a second process, and the hair is already telling you it's had enough.

Lift ceiling is the whole game. Here's where the powders actually sit.

What each brand claims

Retail prices including VAT, checked 21 August 2026.

Read the Blondor line first, because it's the one that matters. Blondor is the market-leading powder in a great many Irish salons, and Wella's own published claim for it is seven levels. Omniplex claims nine.

Then read the Blond Studio 9 line. L'Oréal also claims nine — at £72.49 for the same 500g pack. That's roughly three times the money for the same headline number.

What's doing the work

Vegetal keratin. Omniplex High Lift is built on plant-derived keratin technology, so the fibre is getting structural support during the most aggressive service you'll ever perform on it. Fast-acting, and formulated for the full range of techniques — on-scalp, foil, freehand and balayage.

There's a violet powder in the same family for anyone who wants anti-yellow control built into the lift, at up to 9 levels on Pro-Plex technology with a low ammonia content.

And it doesn't work alone. The Omniplex Scalp Protector (€9.90) goes on before you start, and the Omniplex Hair Damage Solution salon system handles the aftercare. Bond protection through the whole service, not bolted on at the bowl.

Then tone it properly

Nine levels of clean lift deserves better than whatever's left in the tube from last week.

Omniplex Blossom Glow toners — €12.00 — are zero ammonia, zero alcohols, zero direct dyes and vegan, across 12 shades from Ice Irisée through Steel, Sand and Apricot to the four deeper Deep Toners. Mixed 1:2 with 10 vol, up to 20 minutes on a visual check.

Or for speed at the basin, Cool Blonde Fluid (€21.00) neutralises gold in about ten seconds, and works on bases 8, 9 and 10.

The fair version

Nine levels is not something only FarmaVita claims — L'Oréal and Schwarzkopf both claim it too, and they're serious products. What we'd say is that Omniplex reaches the top tier of published lift claims at roughly half to a third of what those two cost.

And a caveat that every brand should print and almost none do: these are all manufacturer claims measured under favourable conditions. No brand publishes a standardised test protocol, so nine-versus-seven across brands isn't a like-for-like measurement. What you actually achieve depends on starting level, porosity, texture, developer volume, application method and processing time. Your hands matter more than the number on the tub.

Test it on a strand before you rely on it. We'd say that about anyone's powder.

Omniplex High Lift Bleaching Powder, 500g — €24.00 incl. VAT.

View the Omniplex range  |  Pre-lighteners & bleach

Salon owners — apply for a trade account for professional pricing. Blonding education and technical support available. 051 334244.