Most brand guides are about bottles. This one is not. Schwarzkopf Professional's colour, blonde, care and styling ranges each live on their own page now — IGORA, BLONDME, Bonacure, OSiS+ and STMNT. What is left under the plain Schwarzkopf Professional name is the part of the brand a salon touches every single colour service and almost never reads about: the brushes, bowls, scales, clips, foils, capes, back-bar chemistry and the two SKP electricals.
This guide is for the person building or restocking a colour bar. It covers what each item is actually for, which of the near-identical options to buy first, and where a cheaper alternative is genuinely fine.
How ProHair buys this range
Before anything else, the honest version. ProHair is an independent Canadian professional beauty retailer, in business since 1996. We stock Schwarzkopf Professional bought on the current Canadian Schwarzkopf professional order form, and every item ships in sealed manufacturer packaging. We are not one of the regional distributors Schwarzkopf lists on its own site — that list is CANRAD, Central Beauty, Radiant, Windsor and Chalut — and we do not claim to be. Free shipping applies on orders over $120 CAD before tax.
The five tint brushes, and which one to buy first
Schwarzkopf sells five brush shapes and they are not interchangeable. If you buy one, buy the Classic Color Brush — it is the general-purpose default for tube colour, wide enough to move but controlled enough for a parting.
- Classic Color Brush — the default. Smooth, even application across most colour work.
- Wide Application Brush — a broader head that covers large sections fast. Worth it on full-head applications and long hair, wasteful on retouches.
- Root Retouch Brush — narrow head for new growth. The one you reach for on a six-week regrowth client.
- SKP Light Angled Brush — angled bristle line for precise placement, especially at the hairline and around the ear.
- Color Brush w/ Comb — a comb spine on the handle so you section and place in one motion. Divisive: colourists either use it constantly or never.
Best first buy: Classic plus the Root Retouch Brush. That pair covers roughly everything.
Mixing: bowl, bottle, scoop, scale
The Color Bowl is a stable, flat-based mixing bowl — the flat base matters more than it sounds, because a rocking bowl is how developer ends up on a client's shoulder. The Color Application Bottle (250 ml) is for liquid formulas and toners you want to apply directly rather than brush on. The Reusable Lightener Scoop measures powder lightener consistently instead of by eye.
The Digital Scale is the quiet hero of this range. Any formula specified in grams — Essensity ratios, lightener-to-activator, or a custom blend you want to reproduce on the same client in six weeks — is a guess without one. If you want one item from this page to change your results, it is the scale, not another brush.
Balayage and freehand work
Two items pair here. The BM Paint On Lightener Brush has a soft, flexible bristle designed to feather product out rather than lay a hard line, which is what makes freehand blending look grown-in rather than striped. The Balayage Board is a lightweight backing board you paint against — it holds the section flat and stops product transferring to the hair underneath. Neither replaces foil work; they are for painted, off-scalp lightening.
Foiling, sectioning and processing
Thermal Highlighting Strips come in two lengths: 8" in a 225 pack and 12" in a 150 pack. Buy the 8" for standard highlight work and the 12" only if you regularly work long hair — the longer strips cost more per strip and fold awkwardly on short sections.
Clips come in two 10-packs and the difference is real. Grip Clips have a textured, non-slip jaw that holds through product on wet, coated or freshly lightened hair. Section Clips are a plain sectioning clip for dividing a dry head cleanly. If you only buy one pack, buy the Grip Clips — they hold in the conditions colour work actually creates.
The Needle Comb handles precision sectioning and weaving; the Jumbo Comb is a wide-tooth comb for detangling and distributing product through a full head. The SS Egg Timer is a stainless mechanical processing timer — no battery, no phone, no forgetting.
Essensity: the ammonia-free colour system
Essensity Permanent Color is Schwarzkopf's ammonia-free permanent line. It lifts and deposits like a conventional permanent tube but leaves out ammonia, silicones and artificial fragrance. That makes it the standard answer for a client whose scalp reacts to a normal tube, or who cannot tolerate the smell — pregnancy clients and fragrance-sensitive clients in particular.
The critical technical point: Essensity mixes with Essensity Oil Developer, not a standard cream oxidant. The two are formulated as a single system and the oil base is part of how the colour deposits without ammonia. Substituting a developer from another line will not give you the result on the shade chart. The developer is stocked in 1000 ml back-bar format.
Best for: sensitive-scalp clients, fragrance-averse clients, and salons that want an ammonia-free option without dropping to a demi-permanent.
Before and after the service
Four products bracket a colour service and they are the ones most often skipped:
- Skin Protect Cream (100 ml) — barrier cream along the hairline and ears before application. Prevents the stain rather than removing it.
- Scalp Protect Serum (150 ml) — applied to the scalp before a lightening or colour service to reduce irritation during processing.
- Stain Remover (250 ml) — for the skin staining that gets through anyway. Faster and gentler than scrubbing.
- Hair Sealer pH-Neutralizing Treatment (750 ml) — post-service, brings the hair back down from the alkaline state a colour or lightener leaves it in. This is the step that stops colour continuing to shift after the client leaves.
When a colour has to come back out
The Bond Enforcing Color Remover Kit (10 x 30 g) is a two-part kit that lifts unwanted artificial pigment out of the hair without a bleach service. "Bond enforcing" refers to the bond-protective element that limits the structural cost of the removal.
Two things to be clear about. First, it removes artificial pigment — it will not lighten natural hair, so a client who is naturally dark will end up at their natural level, not lighter. Second, it is a salon-applied corrective, not an at-home product. It is the right tool for a colour that has gone too dark or too warm.
Salon workwear and the station
The Cut & Color Cape is full-coverage and rated for both cutting and colour, which means one cape rather than two. The Tinting Apron protects the colourist, which most kit lists forget. Backbar Pumps (white and black) fit 1 L bottles and turn a litre of shampoo into controlled dispensing rather than a poured guess. The Color Smart Box stores tubes and tools in one tray. Client Record Cards (25 pack), black pens and the Foam Mirror round out the station; branded paper retail bags (50 pack) handle the takeaway.
The two SKP electricals
The SKP ProHeat 3.0 is an 1875 W professional dryer. The SKP Pro Flat 2.0 is a 1½" flat iron supplied with silicone strips and a heat sleeve. Both are built for repeat salon use rather than occasional home styling, and both sit at professional price points to match. If you are buying a first professional tool for home use, there are cheaper routes — these are chair-side tools.
A note on Fibre Clinix
Fibre Clinix is a Schwarzkopf Professional care line and it shares the vendor, which is why some of it appears on this page. What is listed is current stock — the InfiniteBond shampoos and treatments, the Instant Infusion Concentrate, and the Fortify, Hydrate and Vibrancy Boosters. Treat availability as limited to what you can see on the page. If a Fibre Clinix item is not listed, it is not something we can bring in.
Quick decision guide
- Building a colour bar from nothing → Classic Color Brush, Color Bowl, Digital Scale, Grip Clips, Cut & Color Cape
- Doing mostly root retouches → Root Retouch Brush and SKP Light Angled Brush
- Doing mostly foils → Thermal Highlighting Strips 8", Grip Clips, Needle Comb
- Doing balayage → BM Paint On Lightener Brush and Balayage Board
- Sensitive-scalp or fragrance-averse clients → Essensity Permanent Color with Essensity Oil Developer
- Clients who stain easily → Skin Protect Cream, then Stain Remover as backup
- Colour that keeps shifting after the appointment → Hair Sealer pH-Neutralizing Treatment
- A colour that has to be taken back out → Bond Enforcing Color Remover Kit
- Restocking the back bar → Backbar Pumps, Color Smart Box, Client Record Cards, retail bags
Frequently asked questions
Why isn't IGORA or BLONDME on this page?
Each Schwarzkopf brand now has its own page — one brand, one page, even where the manufacturer is shared. IGORA covers permanent, demi and ammonia-free colour; BLONDME covers lighteners, toners and blonde care; Bonacure is the care system; OSiS+ is styling; STMNT is grooming.
Can I use Essensity with a regular developer?
No. Essensity is formulated to work with Essensity Oil Developer specifically. The oil base is part of how it deposits without ammonia, and substituting a standard cream oxidant will not reproduce the shade chart.
Are these tools only for salons?
They are built for salon use and priced accordingly, but nothing stops a confident home colourist buying a brush, bowl and scale. The one item genuinely restricted in practice is the Bond Enforcing Color Remover Kit, which needs a trained assessment of the hair before it goes on.
Is ProHair an authorized Schwarzkopf distributor?
No. Schwarzkopf Professional Canada lists its regional distributors on its own site and ProHair is not among them. We are an independent Canadian professional beauty retailer, in business since 1996, buying on the current Canadian Schwarzkopf professional order form, shipping sealed manufacturer packaging.
What does shipping cost?
Standard and expedited rates are calculated at checkout, and orders over $120 CAD before tax ship free across Canada and to the USA. Full detail is on the shipping policy page.
The bottom line
If you are equipping a colour bar: Classic Color Brush, Root Retouch Brush, Color Bowl, Digital Scale, Grip Clips, Cut & Color Cape. If you are solving a specific problem: Essensity for sensitive scalps, Hair Sealer for colour that will not settle, the Bond Enforcing Color Remover Kit for a colour that has to go. Everything on this list is on the Schwarzkopf Professional collection.