Home Hair Colorist - Lesson 6

PIC 20-40

HOME HAIR COLOURIST - Lesson 6

In an attempt to stay interesting and not bore you, I am going from “hair” theory back to “color” theory and back again. It’s an odd of way teaching the info but am assuming we have no closet Cosmetology students out there and it will be OK.

Remaining Pigment Contribution

Primary, secondary and tertiary colors can be found at any level of natural hair color ( See Pic 20-40) .Remaining pigment contribution is the color that will be left in the hair after the lifting process. Knowing the colors that will be present at a given level of color ensures that you will select the proper base color formulation to either neutralize or enhance the desired color.

A huge problem you will face is that most color swatch charts display color selections on “white hair” swatches, another weird move on the hair color manufacturers’ part… My complaint with Boxed Hair Color is how they do not take into count what color the hair is underneath when selling them. It matters, as much as they like to pretend it doesn’t, when new colorists ( like you) are just learning how to do this, that can really throw them off. It irks me that the damn companies cannot just make the charts right to begin with. It wouldn’t cost a penny more, but it would be correct, therefore eliminating all the improper color on women in those first few years of learning hair color and when buying hair color “kits”. Hair color is a science and does not have to be “guess work” which is what these companies make it , by supplying the wrong information. By the way, the charts are just as messed up for us in the professional lines as well, so they are not prejudice, we all get screwed up with improper color charts and information. Wella's line Color Perfect has done the most brilliant thing...The chart for this line of color displays what each of their colors would look like if applied on white hair on blonde hair and on brown hair….brilliant..!

Can’t they just spread that technology so all the companies can benefit ? Like I said..its not rocket science.The entire problem with both Boxed Kits and their charts boils down to them not taking into consideration the pigment contributed from the natural hair UNDERNEATH that will remain during the lifting cycle.

( Figure 20-40 is just a rule of thumb there is no way to make charts like this on every line for every company)

Contribution of Underlying Pigment

Decolorizing the hair’s natural melanin pigment allows the colorist to create the exact degree of contributing pigment needed for the final result. First, the hair is decolorized (bleached) to the appropriate level. Then the new color is applied to deposit the desired color. The natural pigment that remains in the hair contributes to the artificial color that is added. Lightening the hair to the correct stage is essential to a beautiful, controlled, final hair coloring result. Many times you see people walking around with just awful “yellow” hair, for a Colorist there is nothing worse to see “yellow” or “orange” that is a mistake by not leaving the lightener on the hair long enough, sometimes you have to reapply it, sometimes with very resistant hair…you may need to do it one more time the next day. The point is Stylists that leave hair this way, don't need to, it might take a while but ALL hair is fizable in my mind. My mntor taught me that as I watched her many times work for 1 or 2 full days on a tough case. She would be proud, I have spent many a long night in that same spot.

Toners are semi permanent or demi-permanent hair color that are used primarily on pre-lightened hair to achieve pale and delicate colors. They are applied to the lightest degree of contributing pigment that remains after the decolorization (bleaching) process. Toners are one of my passions…there was a time when I had hundreds of toners on hand at all times….you can perform magic with them. If you like to be blond – becoming a Picasso of Toners is a suggestion of mine you can vary the color of your hair with something as simple as a Toner application once a week & using the proper brand can also lend a tremendous amount of shine and strength to your strands. One of my favorite’s - I call boysenberry crème - it’s a very soft purple-rose-cream color….. to 1 full ounce of Ivory color Toner I add just a squeeze (½ inch) of a color called boysenberry to an ounce of color - mix & add 10 volume peroxide. Using 10 Volume Developer makes any color “Semi – permanent” ( we go into tomorrow).

TEN DEGREES OF DECOLORIZATION
See the 10 degrees of decolorization? Those are the stages the hair goes thru as it loses its color or as the color is taken out with lighteners…bleach, etc. Not all hair will go through the 10 degrees, each natural hair color starts the decolorization process at a different stage. Remember, the goal is to create the correct degree of contributing pigment as the foundation for the final hair color result . See figure 16-20

In my opinion there is only one way to lighten hair this light, safely… and that is with oil bleach. Its been around for years, the absolute best oil bleach on the market is Redken’s -- Levitation (cool name). Annie Humphries taught me that (Mother of Color)and since that day I never have used another, because it makes the most beautiful blonds on the planet – with hair so healthy and conditioned its as if it wasn’t bleach. I am making this available to Killerstrands members email me killerstrands@gmail.com or post in comments at the end of this post. Other wise there is Wella’s Wellite, the next best version, which can be found at almost every Beauty Supply on the planet.

The hair needs to be very carefully taken care of when lifting past the yellow stage to white with lightener. The extreme diffusion of color necessary to give hair a while appearance causes excessive damage to the hair strand. The result is the hair feels “mushy” and will stretch without returning to its original length. When dry, the hair is harsh and brittle usually suffers breakage and will not accept a toner correctly.

The way to that beautiful “baby blond” or “Marilyn Blond” ?...it can be carefully achieved by lightening the hair to pale yellow and then neutralizing the unwanted undertone (contributing pigment) with a toner.






Look at the 10 degrees on this chart
If hair is dark brown, you want to go blond
These are levels hair must go through in that climb
(the most common complaint I hear is "orange" hair)
Watch what happens:
the hair starts to lighten, goes from Red-brown to Red to Red/Orange to Orange !
Then it stops at the Orange stage, why?
The entire problem is the color 'choice' was the wrong one and the peroxide was the wrong one, otherwise it would have kept going and gotten lighter.
That is what you will learn when we are finished, how to avoid this.