How to mix hair color for strand test (no instructions) (lighten, blonde)

[cowbell76]

Soooo.... my big question is what ratio should I use to mix a small amount of an at-home color kit in order to do a strand test?

I have never before done a strand test (or allergy test, for that matter) in the 15 or so years that I have been coloring my hair. But, I am aware that most at-home hair color kits do give instructions for that and then refer to the strand test timing when instructing how long to keep the color on.

Now, I am considering lightening my (now all virgin naturally light brown) hair with a high-lift color kit and want to avoid disaster. I have purchased L'Oreal Preference Les Blondissimes in Extra Light Natural Blonde. Oddly, this includes no instructions for a strand test, and doesn't refer to a strand test. I figured I should mix the two components in a 1:1 ratio since despite the difference in container sizes my initial estimate of the ratio of the actual amounts included in the kit was 1:1. I did this and saturated a strand I'd cut. I wrapped it in plastic and kept it in an outer pocket to replicate the heat from my scalp. The whole process is supposed to take 45 minutes and it's now been 40 minutes. The problem... there is almost NO difference between how the strand looks now and how it looked initially.

I guess I must have used a wrong ratio... what should I have done? This is a typical at-home kit with a bottle with developer, a bottle with toner/color, and a tube of conditioner to use later on. My hair is very fine and has been described by many as dark blonde, although I consider it to be light brown. It normally lightens very easily.

EDIT: Upon looking more carefully, it's clear that ratio of 1:1 is WAY off from what it is if the whole kit is mixed. Hard to estimate what it actually should be, though.

[texan2yankee]

Those kits usually have 1-800 number on the box to ask questions. Perhaps call the hair color company and ask? That is what I would do.