Chair-side color formulas vs pre-mixing in the back, which do you trust?

I've been doing hair for about 6 years now, mostly at a salon in Portland. The other week I had two clients back to back with similar blonde levels but totally different undertones. First one I did my usual thing, whipped up the formula on the spot at the chair, eyeballing the toner drops. Second one, I had pre-mixed a big batch in the back that morning because I was running late and thought I'd save time. The pre-mix came out okay, but the on-the-spot one matched way better. It got me thinking, do we get too reliant on pre-mixing for speed and lose the instinct part? Or is pre-mixing the only way to stay consistent when you're slammed? I'm leaning back toward always mixing at the chair now, even if it takes an extra few minutes. Anyone else ever had a bad batch from pre-mixing or the opposite, where the spontaneous mix went sideways? What's your call?

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christopher_hunt1mo ago

Wait, was the pre-mix actually the same formula you'd have used chairside, or did you just mix up a generic blonde toner hoping it'd work for whoever walked in? Because I think that's the real question here. I've seen people pre-mix a base formula and then get lazy about adjusting it once they see the actual lift, like they're scared to mess with the "batch". The spontaneous mix works because you're reacting to what's in front of you, the porosity, the banding, all that stuff. But if the pre-mix is just a starting point and you still make adjustments at the chair, then it's not really pre-mixing, is it? That's more like prepping your paints instead of mixing the whole color.