Thinking about new Haircolor for the Spring?

 It's spring time, and clients are inquiring about new haircolor!  If you see a picture in the magazine that you like, then use it for color placement and styling decisions only.  You should look at a swatch book to see what haircolor choices are available.  Please remember the swatches are on "white" hair so unless you are starting out with "bleached out" hair, then a colorist will know what needs to be done to get you in the family of the color look that you are trying to achieve.  You basically have to decide if you want any reds or coppers present or purely golden yellow or blonde toned down to a light brown.

Everyone except redheads fall into the natural level chart above.  Level 1 is black and Level 10 is a blonde. So as a colorist, we have to get you from your natural level to your desired color.  Sometimes lightener or hair bleach is a must if you are a level one through level four which are all forms of jet black to darkest brown.

Many times with haircolor, it is best to work with your hair's natural color lift and just tone it.  We as colorists just need to know how visible you want the highlights to look.  Subtle? or Showstopping in a good way?

Lifting the Color of Mid-Grade Hair Extensions

The wet and wavy sample weft in the picture above is a mid-grade hair. Definitely not remy hair, but it is human hair.  Typically, you would not lift this type of hair extension.  Only the high-end virgin, unprocessed, remy hair that comes in one color is supposed to be safe to lift.  However, with the mid-grade hair being marked down to really great pricing, it may be worth purchasing and altering the color as needed.

 So I chosed the Goldwell Silk Lift High Performance Lightener - regular with ammonia.

I pre-treated the hair with the White Sands "The Fix" Porosity spray first before applying the lightener.

 I used clear cellophane foil, and it took at least 45 minutes to really start to see a lift.  I even heated the cellophane sample with the blowdryer for a few minutes to get the lightener going a little faster.

Clarifying shampoo was a definite to make sure the dark color molecules got washed away.  I like the new subtle brown color.  Higher quality hair should take less time, but you will probably accidently skip pass this brown color phase of the lift process and end up with red or orange or blonde.  I was pleased with the final color.

November 2013 Hair Confessions

My Confessions of the Month:

1) I had been totally against coloring my microlocks until this weekend when I had an "Aw-haw" moment.  As my microlocks get longer, the years of shedded hair compounding into each microlock is going to make my microlocks heavy.  By lightening/bleaching my microlocks, it will make them lighter in weight as long as I am not re-depositing "artificial" color back into it.  So permanent haircolor is not an option, but hair bleach is.  The timeframe to make this happen is probably another year out.  I want enough length that if I get breakage in my relaxed ends that I will not feel like I am going backwards.

2) I have been secretly admiring The Vitale Pro High Comfort Relaxer System.  I wished that I had tried the VitalePro relaxer before locking my hair.  I even thought about putting this relaxer around my edges to see my scalp and hair response to it, but I am too afraid that I may get chemical residue in my locks. So I will have to secretly admire everyone else who is benefiting from this relaxer system.

Accent Hair Coloring: A bold new trend

Fashion has been showcasing bold, disconnected colors. Now, the freedom of color is expanding into hair!

You will need color bowls with multiple wells to hold the different colors that you want to add. Hair must be pre-lightened or bleached prior to trying to achieve any accent haircolor.

Semi-permanent colors do not have to be mixed with an activator. Using the law of color, you can achieve secondary colors such as greens and violets or just buy them pre-mixed if you can find them.

 As far as maintenance, color treated shampoos and conditioners should be used to slow down fading.  Also, the "touch-up on the roots" may be a little hard to maintain consistency if you want to continue to keep the look for an extended period of time.

Christina Aguilera: The Blonde Look

Christina Aguilera just starred in the movie "Burlesque," and she just sung the "Star Spangled Banner" at SuperBowl 2011 Pre-show. Both performances show that she has a strong voice! (Although, she did stumble on the lyrics of the national anthem.) By the way, I thought the anthem was traditionally lip synced to avoid last minute jitters? Regardless, Christina Aguilera gave a soulful performance of the anthem and a professional delivery despite a minor imperfection in the lyrics!

Now as far as Christina's hair, I love her blonde look.

In order to achieve this look, Lightener (i.e. hair bleach) is needed if you have Black, Brown, or Reddish hair. If you have "dirty blonde" or lighter hair already, then skip the Lightener process and choose a high lift blonde permanent color. Process according to manufacturer's directions. If you still have some brassiness then tone it down with an ash/violet base semi/demi permanent color. Always shampoo and condition between color applications. Paul Mitchell has a Super Strengthener that can be used after shampooing the lightener from the hair in order to strengthen it for the semi-permanent toning color that can process on wet hair.

A Healthy hair note: In order to keep hair healthy, it is not recommended to go lighter than three to four levels from your natural level. For example: Going from black to blonde is not healthy for maintaining long lengths. Going from a brown/black into a reddish brown is reasonable to obtain and maintain length. Also, going from a light brown to blonde is reasonable to obtain and maintain healthy hair.

Haircolor results too dark?

So your haircolor results came out too dark? What happened? Here are a few possible reasons:

1)Some permanent hair color lines such as the Avlon's Moisturcolor line and the Schwarzkopf Igora10 color line (see separate article on Igora10 color) line will deposit darker if left on (processing) for too long. Between a "slow" foiling application time and the full recommended processing time -- timing can get quite long resulting in a more dark and/or intense color. Consider starting foils from the back of the head if you are worried about darker deposits. (Stylist talk here.) Remember lighteners are a totally different ballgame. Lighteners are accelerated lifting agents. Speed is important! But in regards to permanent color, a 45 minutes processing time may need to be shortened to 15 minutes if the application time took 30 minutes from the placement of the first foil or stroke. If you have resistant grey hair, then the longer the processing time; the better the coverage usually. Some professional haircolor lines such as Wella and Goldwell seem to stabilize regardless of how long the processing time.

2) Your natural haircolor plus product buildup could interfere with the haircolor lifting to the desired lightness. If your natural hair is dark, then a lightener may have to be used first then another color to get the true color that you want. A highlift permanent color can work on dark hair in lieu of lightener when desired results are in the brown family.

If you use a permanent box hair color, consider picking a color lighter than what you want. If it goes too light, it is safer to tone down the haircolor than to try to bleach out haircolor that is too dark.

I recommend mild shampoos with sulfates in them for your first shampoo after a color service just to make sure the "bad stuff" is washed out. Then go into your sulfate-free shampoo.