GDS Hair Dye Shampoo colours: Black, Brown, Dark Brown
Match the hair you have.
Not the hair you want.
Three shades, one rule that settles most of the questions we get: pick the shade closest to the hair around your grey now. If more than half of it is white, Dark Brown is the safer brown. Black lands exactly as dark as it says.
The pack you'll receive.
The front of the pack is printed in Korean. We send the Korean-market product exactly as it leaves the factory, with no re-labelling and no repacking for export. Every shade ships as the same two-part set: a 150ml colour shampoo and a 150ml developer, no PPD.
BLACK
BROWN
DARK BROWN
Black is neutral and exact. It covers cleanly and does not go warm — and it does not forgive a shade you did not want.
Dark Brown is the safer brown. If you are more than half grey, pick it over Brown; it settles without turning brassy.
Brown sits on a warm base. On a lot of white hair, or rinsed early, it reads reddish. Give it the full ten minutes and use it when your natural colour is a medium brown.
Black, Dark Brown, Brown.
Black
Neutral, cool-leaning black. Lands as dark as it says on the first wash and covers heavy white cleanly. The one to pick if your natural colour is black or the darkest brown.
150ml + 150mlDark Brown
A deep, neutral brown. The safest choice if you are unsure between the two browns, and the right one when more than half the hair you are covering is white — it settles without warmth.
150ml + 150mlBrown
A medium brown on a warm base. Reads natural on medium-brown hair with scattered grey; reads reddish when there is a lot of white under it or when rinsed early. Wants the full ten minutes.
150ml + 150mlThe swatches are the tone each shade is built around, not a promise of the exact result: the colour you get depends on how much white is underneath and how long you leave it on. how to use it step by step · the full ingredient list, graded.
Four situations, four answers.
Naturally black hair, any amount of grey
Black. Nothing else will match the rest of your hair, and it covers heavy white without going warm.
Dark brown hair, scattered grey
Dark Brown. Close to your base and forgiving. If your base is nearly black, Black also works and lands a touch deeper.
Medium or warm brown hair, under half grey
Brown. Its warm base matches yours. Leave it the full ten minutes so the grey takes the colour rather than showing through it warm.
More than half white, brown base
Dark Brown, not Brown. Light shades on mostly white hair go brassy; the deeper shade settles evenly. Plan on two or three washes for full coverage.
How each shade behaves with the clock.
Rinsed early
Short of ten minutes, Black may blend scattered grey, but both browns come out lighter and warmer than expected. Where most "it went orange" comments come from.
10 minutes
The target for every shade. Black is done; Dark Brown settles neutral; Brown lands where it should on medium-brown hair.
Heavy grey
Still ten minutes. White, wiry or resistant grey takes a second application on another day, not more time; full coverage builds over two or three.
Mixing, the wet-hair and dry-hair methods and the seven steps are in the how-to guide.
What sends people back for a second bottle in the wrong shade.
Buying the shade you want, not the one you have. The result reads dyed instead of natural. Match the hair around the grey.
Brown on mostly white hair. Goes brassy. Dark Brown is the safer call.
Rinsing a brown before ten minutes. Lighter and warmer than the swatch. Ten minutes, every time.
Expecting one wash to finish heavy grey. Colour lands on the first wash; full coverage on heavy white builds over two or three.
Judging the shade before it is dry. Wet hair reads darker. Dry it before deciding whether to go again.
Skipping the patch test when you switch shades. All three share PTD, but Black and Brown each carry a coupler the other shades do not. Test again, 48 hours, every time.
New shade, new patch test.
48 hours, every time.
No shade contains p-phenylenediamine (PPD). All three are built on toluene-2,5-diamine sulfate (PTD), a close relative that cross-reacts in people sensitised to PPD, with resorcinol and aminophenol couplers; Black adds 2,4-diaminophenoxyethanol HCl and Brown adds 4-amino-2-hydroxytoluene. A small dab behind the ear or on the inner elbow, uncovered, 48 hours. Any redness, itching or swelling means do not use it.
Quick answers.
Which GDS shade should I pick if I am 70 percent grey? +–
Dark Brown if your natural colour is brown, Black if it is black. Light shades on mostly white hair go brassy; the deeper shade settles evenly. Plan on two or three washes for full coverage on that much white.
Does GDS Brown go red or orange? +–
It can read warm when there is a lot of white hair under it or when it is rinsed early. Brown sits on a warm base by design. Give it the full ten minutes, and if you are more than half grey choose Dark Brown instead.
Can I go lighter than my natural colour with GDS? +–
No. It darkens grey and blends it into your existing shade; it is not made to lift or lighten hair.
Will GDS Black look flat or too dark? +–
It lands as a neutral black, as dark as the swatch. On naturally black hair it reads natural. On brown hair it will look darker than your lengths, which is why we say match the hair you have.
Can I switch shades between bottles? +–
Yes. The colour is permanent in the hair it has already coloured, so a new shade shows first at the roots and evens out as you keep using it. Patch test again when you switch: all three share PTD, but Black and Brown each carry a coupler the others do not.
Do the brown shades come in a different bottle? +–
No. All three shades come as the same two-part set — a 150ml colour shampoo and a 150ml developer — with the same GDS label; only the shade differs.
How long does each shade take? +–
Ten minutes for all three, after mixing Part 1 and Part 2 in your palm. Rinsing early is what usually makes the browns too light. The full method is in our how-to guide.
Three shades.
One rule: match the hair you have.
Ships from Korea within one to three business days, tracked. Patch test 48 hours before every use.