Colour that tells you what is in it.
Botanic Balm is an ammonia-free colour salon with a published ingredient list — every product we use is on the wall by the door, not just after you ask. A patch test comes first, every time.
How this salon runs
Four facts about the shelf and the patch test. None of them is a claim about how your own colour will turn out — nobody can promise you that.
Colouring out of the same Bulimba room.
Products on the published list, all in use.
Products on that list containing ammonia or PPD.
A patch test, free, required before every first colour.
Six things on the shelf and in the chair
Root colour
Ammonia-free, PPD-free, mixed to the printed ingredient sheet for your exact formula.
Full head colour
Two to three hours depending on lift, with a free two-week tone check.
Balayage
The technique ammonia-free does best, which is why we recommend it most.
Colour range
Forty-one products, all listed and all in use — nothing here because a rep left it.
Consultation & strand test
We test a strand and show you the real result on your hair, not a swatch book.
Refill service
Bring any bottle bought here back and we refill it from the drum at 30% off the shelf price.
Two prices most people ask about first.
$125 for a root colour, from $240 for balayage. Every price includes GST, and the ingredient sheet and a patch test are never billed separately.
Root colour
Ammonia-free, PPD-free, mixed to your exact formula, ingredient sheet included.
Balayage
The slower ammonia-free lift, with a free two-week tone check.
Four steps to a first colour
Held for every colour, every time, by everyone here.
Patch test
Forty-eight hours ahead, five minutes, free. Can be done on a walk-in.
Consultation & strand test
We test a strand and show you the real result on your hair, not a swatch book.
Colour
Two to three hours depending on lift. Tea, a book, and no rush.
Two-week check
Free, if the tone has shifted since you left the chair.
Colourists who read labels
Everyone here trained on the ammonia-free system before touching a client’s hair. All colour is mixed to the published list — nothing off it.
Juno Marsh
Mixes most of the balayage work herself.
Beatrix Coyle
Runs most of the root colour and full-head bookings.
Marcus Feld
Works primarily with balayage and colour correction.
Aya Tanaka
Usually the one running your patch test, even on a walk-in.
Asked at nearly every consultation
The honest answers, including the ones that do not always work in our favour.
Can you take me blonde?
Sometimes. Ammonia-free colour lifts two to three levels a session, so dark to platinum can take several visits — or it might not be possible. We will say so honestly at the consultation.
Does it last as long as a conventional colour?
Roughly the same, four to six weeks. It fades more gently, which most people prefer.
Can I colour while pregnant or breastfeeding?
Yes, once you have checked with your midwife or GP and had a patch test. We don’t claim any colour is safer in pregnancy than another; the decision is yours and your midwife’s.
What about grey coverage?
Yes. Very resistant greys can need a second visit, and we will tell you at the consultation if yours might.
Do you do balayage?
Yes — it suits the slower lift, so it is the technique we recommend most.
Is it more expensive?
A little more than a conventional salon. The refill scheme on your care products brings some of that back over time.
Book a patch test, then your colour
Patch tests are free and walk-in — no appointment needed. Colour appointments are booked ahead.