Here's my tried-and-true, super simple, easy-to-remember dye ratios.

For a 16 oz. bottle, use 1 tablespoon of dye powder.

For a 4 oz. bottle, use 1 teaspoon of dye powder.

Now, I know, some of you are thinking, "but wait! Three teaspoons go into one tablespoon, and a 16 ounce bottle is four times as large as a 4 ounce bottle, so shouldn't I be using a tablespoon plus a teaspoon for the larger size??"

My simple answer has evolved over the years to be "No." Don't worry about it! Seriously! I get fantastic results even though my measurements aren't mathematically sound. You know why?

Dye is measured by weight, not volume. It's sold that way, too. You buy 2 oz. dry, or 8 oz. dry, but not by the quarter cup or half cup.

So what does that mean for us at home?

Basically, 1 tablespoon of color A is not the same as 1 tablespoon of color B, because molecularly, they're formulated differently. They'd have more or less dye in them depending on how heavy the pigments are.

Do you really want to weigh each spoonful of dye? I do not. So try out my simple ratios above and see how you go.

My further disclaimer about dye amounts: Dharma, where I buy my dyes, even has a fancy asterisk-system to denote whether you can use 1x, 2x, or 4x the amount of dye in your bottles to get a given shade. To be honest, I stopped following that system about a decade ago. It felt like I was using way too much dye for those double-asterisk colors, and I didn't see a difference when I just used 1 TBSP across the board. Some people follow those recommendations religiously, and then there's my method! I'm only offering this info to free you from being too worried about "doing it wrong." Truly, this is an art form and if you're getting results you like, don't fret about weighing dyes or quadrupling your amounts.

[Of course, if your reaction to this is a big "nuh-uh," I give you my blessing to add more dye, especially if you're nervous about darker colors not being dark enough. For me, though, 1 TBSP is plenty for a 16 ounce bottle.]