THE THRESHOLD

Alchromancy is a house of color. We compound semi-permanent color elixirs and release them in finite, numbered editions. We do not think of this as hair dye. We think of it as a working: a deliberate, considered act of transformation.

A Working is a release: a finite, numbered edition, released once and never reprinted. Each Working comes in two Editions, two ways to come in:

• The Collector Edition is the bound book artifact: the elixir, the tarot art, the ritual pages, your hand-numbered edition mark. 500 hand-numbered copies per color. Once a Collector Edition has sold through, it is not reprinted. A color may return in a later Working, with new art and its own numbering, a different book, never a second printing of this one.
• The House Edition is the standard, continuously available form of a color: the elixir in a simpler rectangular package, with a rolled instructional scroll. The accessible way in, whether you are meeting a color for the first time or renewing one you already own.

The First Working is two colors, Crow's Head and Roseblood, in both Editions.

No. Alchromancy elixirs are semi-permanent: they deposit color without lightening, and they fade gradually with each wash. The fade is part of the cycle: when a color dims, it is renewed with another House Edition of the same color.

Alchromancy’s colors are deposit-only and semi-permanent: they add, and lift nothing. No semi-permanent color lightens, and for the full result on dark hair the hair must be lightened first, which is its own work, and not part of the Rite. What each color does on each base is set out on its own page.

Our colors are not made to conceal gray; on gray hair the color is translucent and partial. The Collector Edition's pages, "Of the Vessel," speak to this.

Hair that is porous, previously lightened, or damaged takes color faster and deeper, and lets it go sooner. The result depends on the starting color, the hair’s porosity, and whether it has been colored, lightened, or chemically treated before.

Each Edition holds one bottle, 118 mL / 4 FL OZ. Short to medium hair, to the shoulder, takes one bottle. Hair past the shoulder, long, or thick takes two or more. A second bottle is a House Edition of the same color.

Shampoo without conditioning twelve hours before you begin. The color thrives best on clean, dry hair with nothing on it. The Color Rite takes you from there.

Afterward, the color’s vibrancy is determined by what you wash it with. Leave the hair unwashed for the first forty-eight hours. Then use color-safe care, without sulfates, in cool water, and wash as seldom as you can. Heat and sun draw it out.

Yes. Always perform an allergy/patch test forty-eight hours before each application, even if you have used the color before.

Place a small amount of the color behind the ear or on the inner arm. Wait forty-eight hours and observe. Repeat the test before every use. If irritation appears (itching, redness, tenderness, stinging, swelling, rash, blistering, or a burning sensation), rinse the area with cool water and do not use the product.

The Color Rite, "Of Foretelling," covers this, in the Collector Edition and on the House Edition’s scroll.

Stop at once. Rinse the affected skin, and the hair, with cool water until the water runs clear; use no shampoo and no conditioner. If symptoms persist or worsen, seek medical attention. If there is swelling of the face, eyes, lips, or throat, or any difficulty breathing, call emergency services immediately.

Then write to letters@alchromancy.com with your order number, and tell us what happened.

The elixirs are not recommended for eyebrows, eyelashes, or any use beyond the hair of the head. Do not use on irritated, sunburned, or damaged skin.

If you are pregnant or nursing, consult your doctor before use. Hair that has been relaxed, permed, or lightened in the last two weeks should be left to rest before the Rite. Keep out of reach of children.

The full ingredient list (INCI) is printed on the Collector Edition's back cover and on the scroll inside the House Edition.

The First Working opened on the equinox as a reservation. The Editions are being bound now and ship in October, in order of number, by hand. You will receive a record the day yours leaves us. Nothing is charged twice, and nothing is held back: your number is yours from the moment you reserve it.

Yes, at any time before your Edition is dispatched. Write to letters@alchromancy.com with your order number and the whole amount, shipping included, returns to your original payment. Once an Edition has left us it is a return, not a cancellation. A cancelled Collector Edition gives up its number, which may pass to another hand.

The price is shown on each Edition's own page, and nowhere before it. The work is never discounted.

Each Working's Collector Edition is finite and hand-numbered (the First Working is 500 Collector Editions per color), and once it has sold through, it is not reprinted. A Working that has closed has closed. A color may return in a later Working, as a new edition with new art and a new sequence of numbers; it is never reprinted. House Editions of the current Working remain continuously available.

Those on The Passage, our monthly letter, are told first.

Knowledge arrives first to those who seek it first.

The First Working ships within the United States, to Canada, to the United Kingdom, and across the European Union, except Greece and Spain. Shipping is $8 within the United States and $18 to Canada, flat; orders to Canada may carry duties and taxes on arrival. To the United Kingdom and the European Union, prices are shown in your own currency with VAT and duties included, paid at checkout, so nothing more is asked at your door. Shipping is $25 to the United Kingdom and $30 to the European Union, flat, VAT included, charged in your currency at the day’s exchange rate. The House Edition is sent there in threes, the colors as you choose; the Collector Edition travels alone. The Editions ship in October, in order of number, by hand, and you will receive a record with tracking the day yours leaves us.

Not yet. The First Working ships within the United States, to Canada, to the United Kingdom, and across the European Union, except Greece and Spain. When another door opens, those on The Passage are told first.

An unopened Edition may be returned within fourteen days of delivery. Write to letters@alchromancy.com with your order number; return shipping is yours, and the refund goes to the original payment, less the original shipping. An opened Edition cannot be returned: the elixir is a cosmetic, and a numbered copy, once opened, is no longer new. The work is never discounted, and it is never exchanged for a different color.

Write to letters@alchromancy.com within seven days of delivery with your order number and photographs of the damage, the packaging, and the shipping label. A damaged, incorrect, or missing Edition is replaced at no cost. Nothing needs to be sent back. A replaced Collector Edition keeps your number.

No. Alchromancy meets you where you stand. The depth is there for those who want it and is asked of no one; either Edition is complete whether you read every page or simply use the color. The door is open at every stage; how far you walk in is yours to decide.

Each color has a guided meditation timed to the length of its application, a way to spend the development time as a ritual rather than a wait. They can also be practiced on their own. They live in The Practice, free to all, and open in October with the Editions.

The tarot art of the First Working, both Crow's Head and Roseblood, is by Esther Limones, an artist based in Madrid, Spain. Each Working's art is made by a commissioned artist, credited by name; a house names its makers.

Some doors are not described. The Thirteenth House is one of them. It opens to those who hold a Collector Edition.

Write to us at letters@alchromancy.com. Letters are read by a person and answered within three working days.