I left it on around 30 minutes. With this kind of product if you leave it on longer it doesn't stay on for longer, it doesn't act quite like a hair dye. So just have it on for as long as the bottle says, but you will have to redo this every maybe 3 weeks to keep the color fresh. Luckily it also nourishes your hair, so you can do it as often as you want. Hope that helps :D