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Sensitive Souls with Sensitive Scalps -- What About Hair Color?

What Color Options Are Available ?

 

A small portion of people have sensitive skin and sensitive scalps, usually displayed by reddened and flaky skin after color applications. Some have such bad reactions, in the middle of the service, they need to have the color taken off immediately even.  With there being 2 completely different sensitivities, there are 2 separate answers for this problem. Let me get the serious, more radical one out of the way first.

This one is a syndrome... when it happened to me the first time, 3 years into my Salon experience...I will never forget it. Why? It was my daughters friends > identical twins, and it happened to both of them and it had never happened to me before. I was SO freaked out, I called my mentor back at Vidal Sassoon, which was the very first time I had, since leaving - - she knew exactly what I was talking about ... but in the 2 years at Sassoon and 3 years in the Salon I had never come across it? How rare is that?? Super, she said !  Vidal was a full service working Salon, so this was hundreds of thousands of people I'd seen and/or been around over those years.

She explained it to me as this unusual lightening syndrome that affects a certain group of people ( she thought with a certain body chemistry) they have never been able to figure it out : 'who' exactly or 'why'. It simply does not happen to a large enough group for anyone to research it. The lightener (seemed to be any lighter than clients hair by a couple levels  & many but - not all  times. . . it was bleach) warms up in the first 30 minutes and the client feels the progressing warmth on their head, many times it is "first timers" - First time they have colored their hair, ever! It soon begins getting very HOT, and finally the twins screamed, I came running over to them and steam was coming out of the foils . . .I quickly yanked the foil work out... throwing it on the floor... I was so freaked out! The foils were continuing to steam and their hair and scalp was super hot . . .  it was the weirdest thing that had ever happened in a coloring application in all my days, still is. I'm hoping I find someone that this has happened to... if this is you ......will you PLEASE write a COMMENT at the bottom? So I can ask you a few questions??? Please?

The path is > take the foil work out . .shampoo immediately, put  Gleam or something similar on the scalp and never use lightener again. I've heard different stories about how sometimes it  goes away as one ages, as long as the twins were my kids friends it never went away for them.

Now for the majority of you with the normal mild-sensitive scalp, that just can't handle the color directly on your scalp in a minor way . . . the solutions are there and are not too horrible.

Sun Lights, Slices, Panels, Paint Drips, Pirouette, Veil, Weaves  etc..of color, are your best bet. It keeps the product OFF of your scalp with the color being IN THE FOILS. If you need Global Color (all-over) then a semi permanent with NO or LOW-Ammonia could be your option, by not being able to go lighter. The newest trend is many of larger companies are starting to come up with low or no ammonia hair color. What Ammonia does for hair color?  swells the cuticle, which lets the color in the hair strand to do its magic!

What I don't quite understand is this: if ammonia swells the cuticle which is necessary for the hair color to get into the hair strand...what's the difference if they just find another chemical to do the same thing? Is it just the smell you don't like? Or what?? that you don't like?? Personally I don't have anything against ammonia, I know we need it to color hair properly. 

This type of question is above my level of cosmetic chemistry knowledge, so I ask questions of colleagues. Just like you do of me. I am told there are a few other chemicals that work exactly the same as ammonia and the companies will be using those.

My recommendation on this subject, is anyone that has even the slightest sensitivities in their body you should ask for a patch test or skin test, whatever they call it in your area - when booking the appointment. If you are sensitive and have never had color at ALL, you need to do 1 of 2 things:

1. Ask whomever you made a appt.with for a 24 hour skin patch test. Making a 15 minute appt. the day before your real appt. If your skin has a pretty bad reaction - the day before even, call the Salon, ASAP.        OR
2. Color your hair at home. This way you have all the control and know exactly 'what' is going 'where'. For this type scalp and/or skin I would NEVER EVER take the risk of using boxed hair color nor should you use any type of hair color from Sally's. I would try Color Touch - a demi permanent line - which is Wella's Euro brand of hair color and more gentle than pretty much any other line I know of. It can be used with 6 Volume of 16 Volume - very low developers, yet still a 24 hour skin test is necessary.

In the works are a few lower ammonia and no ammonia color lines, I have a huge battle with the words "Natural"  &  "Organic"  . . . the Lines Reps come around to different Salons in the LA area to TEST Market them... so the Stylists can try them and we can give them our feedback. I have lost that little advantage, because of not being in the Salon which makes me sad. . . . BUT. . .I get feedback from colleagues. Lately I have heard good feedback about the line PRAVANA, I've bought some of my first colors and they have crazy colors that are apparently --remarkable!  I've written about them somewhere in the Blog I'm sure.

I always have my ear to SKY & GROUND for what's HOT & NEW coming out ... there are a few organic hair color lines on the conveyor belt.

Europe/England are the place where they will come from. The German Wella plant {I think} is where the brilliant new hair colors will stem from, we shall see.

I will point out to you that Pravana which I carry in the store ( in process of displaying all of it )...has about 10 colors that are all intermixable; if you are interested in this line please email : Killerstrands@gmail.com , put "PRAVANA" in the subject line.                      

PRAVANA  BOTANICALS - HAIR COLOR

* Silk Degrees Botanical Hair Color
* The Natural Botanical hair color with Attitude!
* Plant Based – No Peroxide - No Ammonia

I have not tested them yet but  the man that started this line is a well recognized pioneer in the hair color world. The tests are forth coming, when, and, if, we get anyone interested in the line.

Killer Chemist

Don't Fear Coloring Your Hair at Home: Try the 'Online' Hair Color Consultation, Part 2

1 on 1 Hair Color Consult from LA Hair Colorist; Online

Now that you have learned what is done in the HAIR COLOR CONSULTATION HCC in the beginning stages, I'd like to tell you what happens after we have come up with your own custom hair color formula. Sometimes the process of coming up with it comes as quickly as 2-3 days... with some of my tougher cases it has taken up to 30 - 40 - even 60 days!

Depends on what the problems are, how well you follow through with your part and how much time it takes me to understand the entire picture. Its just not as easy as I thought originally, not having the advantages of VISION and TOUCH really is so important, as a Stylist you never realize it. .Once we begin the consult, you have 3 months to complete it. As I've discovered with a few of the HCC purchases - some were not able to start right away, for one reason or another - you have 6 months from the date of purchase to begin the consult, once started- 3 months to complete.
When I can put my hands through a clients hair it tells me sooooooo much, and when I can look up close at their hair it tells me even more about the (PET) Porosity, Elasticity, and Texture of ones hair. Those 3 factors are very important in calculating ones hair color formula, which is one of the bigger factors in why boxed kits don't work, they don't take that into account. Some clients hair takes hair color easily and some are very resistant to it, and that is something you can only tell from being in the same room as the client. Which is why I desperately need the particular photos I request.
Remember the only place you will find out the secret trick to successfully covering gray hair is by having a HCC, I just will not put that in the Blog, ever - its the only secret I entrust to my mentor, and do not want to publicize it as it is not my secret to tell. So for successful Gray hair coverage you will need to sign up for a HCC, not that bad for a life-long solution. I have 6 textbooks on the subject of hair and hair coloring and none of them print the proper method to covering gray which I find comical, yet sad at the same time.

Now, at this point you need to go to the Killer Color Clinic and make up your shopping list of what you would like to order. I will have given you the numbers of color or Lightener you need to complete the process, and the tubes of color come with the Developer (unlike any other source in stores or Internet) or you can purchase the entire litre if you want..
Here are the necessities for coloring your hair with Pro hair color:

• plastic or glass bowl ONLY (there is a reaction w/ metal)
• Tint brush ( the duo only costs $4.00 here)
• cape or old shirt: protect your clothing
• Color Block (product rubbed on hair line for dark hair colors to prevent staining skin)
• GLEAM:oil to apply to hair prior to coloring hair - end results? Shiny soft hair - a must.
• Combs: Regular cutting comb & Tail comb to section off partings
• Clips: to Clip away your sectioning & parting ( pro- clips really help)
• Towels: old -- to cover area where you plan to color
• Extendable Wall Mount Mirror: If you are doing your own color ( I do my own most times) Its not doable without one of these. I found one on Amazon for $20.00! They look like this, and enable you to do the back of your hair.
• Tube Squeeze Key - so you can use every last bit
• Foils - if your style needs them - the pro foils are 10 cents a piece & if your order is over $100.00 foils are free
• IN-DEPTH by Wella: applied after the color/ tint / or lightener is rinsed out.
• For every hair coloring process you ever perform on your hair, from here FROWARD. . . you must follow it with a product made by WELLA called IN DEPTH - you can get from our store or locally. It is the KEY, I feel to a lot of my success in the Salon over the years. While your hair goes through the chemical process the pH level needs to change in order for the color change to take place, in order for the shine to come, to lock the color in, and to prevent damage . . . you must return the pH level to its normal level which is what IN-DEPTH does. Absolutely necessary.
• Thriven by Killer Strands - Deep Conditioner to be applied once a week > OVER- NIGHT! , to protect color and revitalize hair.

When I pack my shipments I pack as though it was going to the moon or on a space shuttle mission. I have never had any breakage or any spillage (knock on wood) because of the way I pack and take care of my products. Its just safer, cheaper in the long run, instead of them breaking and me having to re-send them. So be assured that your orders will come clearly marked and labeled for your own safety.

Once you get your shopping list together, email it to me with your zip code for shipping & handling. I will send you an INVOICE through PAY PAL at which point you do NOT need to join Pay Pal, to pay for it . . . I don't know exactly what they do on your end, but they make it available for you to pay for it with credit cards/debit cards/or checks. I never see your information not your credit card - NOTHING - which I actually like + I think makes it safer for you. With checks, they put a solid 10 day HOLD on the sale and won't let me send it out for 10 days, FYI.

Once I am notified of your payment, your sale goes into my file for SHIPPING . . . I do not send products out daily, not until we grow more (tell your friends). The part I see and hear from you once you place the order is this.. . fear of what you are getting and knowing if you will know what to do with it all. I package everything uniquely as you will see. With all of these liquids I have not had ( knock-on-wood) one spill or leak to date. I take a lot of care and precision in my packing of the products - ALSO so you will learn from what you are getting PLUS will know ''what'' goes with "what". as you can see by these examples of real orders going out:




GLEAM. . . the small size, with treatment pump for dispensing. Makes it easy to use correct amount. 1 pump for each side of the hair > back, front & both sides, is correct amount. Applied to hair,30 minutes prior to hair color application.



Once I am notified that your Invoice is paid from PAY PAL, within 48 hours you will get a confirmation emailed to you. Along with the confirmation is a questionnaire and a list of the photos I need. I only need 5 of your hair , and then one you can find on our sister site http://www.Killerpics.blogspot.com of your "desired" hair color. So we both understand your goal. If you honestly cannot get your photos taken, you will need to learn the hair color "LEVEL SYSTEM" which is pretty simple, many of my long time readers can talk to me in hair colorist language which involves Levels and I am thrilled.

Another great idea... which a lot of people in the group have done, is to order a Wella Koleston Perfect and Color Touch Swatch Charts, for some reason you can get them on EBAY, at all times it seems. I have always had to pay for mine every time my Rep came around, which I thought was terrible marketing. They are an invaluable educational tool, they teach you Levels and Tones and once just the process of looking at the levels and Tones gets in your head so you can guesstimate very accurately. If I am not mistaken Nikki is the queen of these ( contact her if you are interested) you can get them for under $20.00 ! ! ! They cost me & other Stylists from $60.00 - $100.00 which I still find stupid.
Seems about 75% of you are interested in the whole world of hair color and more . . . where as the other 25% of you just want your formula to cover your gray and that's it. Either way is fine by me, I truly am here just to help you understand your hair.
Some people just send me info right after they pay, that doesn't work . . . . its so much easier if you just wait for the questionnaire and begin looking for someone who can take your photos...

One of the key points to assessing hair for hair color is knowing the porosity, elasticity and texture (PET) which is another thing hard to teach when not in the same room. Texture means wavy, straight, curly so if your hair is curly and you straighten it - you MUST tell me in the Questionnaire or at some point - that matters a lot to the formulation for me . Now with porosity (the ability of the hair to absorb moisture) another factor that for me affects the total formulation - I have asked many people how their porosity is, and they have known . Elasticity is not quite as important as the other two. Damaged hair has high porosity and is overly porous, chemical services performed on this hair type require less alkaline solutions with a lower pH, this will help additional over-processing. There are many tricks like this that can be used to help color your hair safely, so no damage occurs and the results are spectacular. These 3 issues are solved for me by the photos being taken in the manner I request. Just think it only needs to be done> > once . . then you have it take care of forever

While waiting for your products your need to be reading the posts that have to do with sectioning the hair, applying the color etc... so you will be well prepared for them when them they arrive. I have gone into these subjects over the years, and I find many of you do ot read any old posts. One of the best pieces of advice I can give? To read the entire Blog, it does not take that long and you ca skim by the posts you are not interested in. Every single person who has done that has THANKED ME, with that record, I would try it. It will fully prepare you for hair color application and then how to take care of it after you apply it (remember no shampoo for 48 hrs after application!). Here are the Posts:
http://killerstrands.blogspot.com/search/label/Color%20Retouch
http://killerstrands.blogspot.com/search/label/Crib%20Colorist%3A%20Hair%20Coloring%20As%20A%20Hobby
http://killerstrands.blogspot.com/search/label/Demo%20Hair%20Color%3A%20Step-By-Step
There are more but these are the 3 category basics, which doesn't include the ones for Blonde's. Most of you should check out the LABELS section on the right side of the Home page of the Blog, for what interests you . . . since Detour reorganized it, it has made life so easy you cannot believe it.
Once your products arrive . . . if you have a question or 2 that's fine . . just ask, if you decide you need help with the entire application the it will be another $20.00, remember you've gotten $10.00 back already with your purchase so its still a great deal I constantly have LA associates recommend I go higher, but I feel we are just fine for now. I'm happy . . .and that is all that should be important for the moment!

Consults are on hold for a month, then they will be re-instated, watch for notice.

Don't Fear Coloring Your Hair At Home -- Try the "Hair Color Consultation" with Killer Chemist

What it is - What it involves - Can I actually color my own hair?

1 on 1 HAIR COLOR CONSULTATION (HCC)

Of course you can color your hair at home, but if you are new to DIY hair color I would highly recommend beginning the process with a 1 on 1 Hair Color Consultation with 'moi' ! >> Killer Chemist (me). As a lot of you who follow KillerStrands religiously already know . . .I'm a Los Angeles/Malibu based Colorist/Stylist & Hair Connoisseur of the last 17 Years and the writer of this Hair Blog. Today is your lucky day, I have finally decided to explain and deconstruct what exactly the HCC or Hair Color Consultation is and what is involved if you purchase one. Don't tell me I do things backwards, I am well aware.....very well aware. My main problem being that I have not been involved in any online groups, nor online Blogs, nor online much of anything, until I got sick and came up with an idea of something I could do to give back, educate myself, give to others, do while I was inside laying down a lot of the time, pay - back, entertain myself . . . but mainly as you can see by my repetition . . .GIVE BACK to a whole lot of people, I don't know, but feel could benefit from my education, experience, knowledge, training, research and discoveries having to do with hair.
Lucky You

I don't want to go over everything I did and all the research I went through, its boring... what I want to talk about here is the HCC or hair color consultation. What it is....what it involves  . . . and should you have one or not. This is a 2 part series explaining the whole ball of wax, so relax and enjoy the read. For the first year I didn't have the Consultation, this whole BLOG has just EVOLVED into what it is now, because as I am sure most of you know. . . this is the Very FIRST Hair Blog written by a board certified Stylist, Colorist, Hair Expert in this manner. Where, for Free, you are being educated the way you want to be, without all the dumb garbage big corporations throw at you . . . telling you if you buy product "A" "B" & "C"  - " your hair will look like Sara Jessica Parkers when you are all finished ". Horse-shit to those ads and to those people....its totally ridiculous and they take you all for being idiots when I know you aren't. Sara Jessica Parker would no more go down to Wal-mart and buy a box of hair color to color her hair - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ........ than I would !

I hope you agree with my form of education,learning and theories, by the way we are growing, it seems to be working.
Finally after a year and a half, my manager - Nikki came up with the initial idea of the ONLINE Hair Color Consultation and the structure we have now. She suggested the $25.00 Fee with a portion of it being refunded with the clients first purchase, then a discount given with all future hair color purchases, for 1 year. You can either pay on the home page where there are 2 separate places where you can pay through the PAY PAL - BUY NOW Buttons, or you can email me (Killerstrands@gmail.com)  and ask for a "request for an INVOICE" for a HCC Hair Color Consult and I will send you an Invoice through PAY PAL, just like our store works. When you order from our "underground store"  you also email me a list of what you want and I send you a PAY PAL Invoice & from that you pay. Very Secure - Simple & Safe.. Within 48 hours of me receiving that payment I will send you a confirmation along with the Questionnaire and Request for Photos that I need to begin the process of your HCC Consult. The entire consultation is taken care of online .

I would like you all to know that I get hundreds of emails each day and randomly I will take a day "away" - for a break from the whole whirlwind, and when I do that - well you can imagine the
amount emails I have waiting for me - lots of people wanting directions, guidance, or answers or one thing or another having to do with hair . . . so I'm never ignoring you, I promise. I have a little bit of help with the Group, but otherwise its just little ole me . . and a whole lot of YOU!
Now with her coming up with that . . . I had to hurry up and come up with a formula for this to work for me, I have done well over 10,000 heads of hair and figured out all of their color very successfully, how would I do it without the person in the same room as I am . . . not being able to run my hands through their hair ? ?  I'm a perfectionist, how would I be sure that things were perfect?  I started with a questionnaire, with way too many questions . Its been cut down to the questions I absolutely feel will help me with your hair color formula. Then the part, many of you don't seem to like. . . the Photo Request. I just don't know how you expect me to help you with your hair color without photos I can look at and study . . . its a very important part of the Consultation for me, I know its not fun, and at times its hard to find someone to do it, but taking your own pic's does not work out ( they are way too close) One like that is OK, but the rest need to be a couple feet away.
You can take the photos wonderfully without including the face - AT ALL,  I do NOT need to see your face, ONLY HAIR! The best way of taking the photos is to pretend the camera is the hair Stylist, so the photos need to be at about 2-3 feet away FROM your hair.

You know, how your hairdresser stands behind you and rubs their fingers in through your hair, one shot needs to be the roots from about 1-2 feet away so I can hope to determine your  porosity, elasticity and texture {PET}. This is the tough one, but one that helps me so much - knowing this for me can change the entire formula - so please try to send this photo. With the Consult you can ask me as many questions as you want through the formulating process - so it works out well for many of you that have longed to ask a top HAIR SPECIALIST unique hair questions.
For the photos I need the following:

• 1 photo of the back of the hair about 5 feet away from your head
• 1 photo (2) of each side of your hair (3-4 feet away)
• 1 photo of the front with face down and covered
• 1 photo of the roots of the top of the head (as close as possible)
• 1 photo you think I need to see........and that's it

Remember to take them in the shade - in day time - not bright sun or it flubs it up, you will need a buddy to take them properly (sorry). The better your photos, the more accurate my help can be. Please don't let this be the point that keeps you from taking this adventure. Have your Mother - your brother - your roommate... do it, doesn't everyone have a digital camera anymore.... if you don't have one QVC has GREAT deals on them.  Once you have those taken you must upload and send them to me along with your answers to the questionnaire.
At this point it takes me a day or so to analyze the info . . . think about it and respond with any questions I have about what you have sent me . . . before I can give you any sort of answer. Many times it will be either a few "back and forth's . . . or a LOT "back and forths"... either way it all gets solved.
Meanwhile if you have not done this yet, you need to join our Killer Strands Google Group. I'm always surprised at the amount of people that don't know that Google even has Groups, well they do. They are not the flashiest thing, and at first I almost left them a million times because they are a bear to navigate at first... but I felt if I left it would be too hard to get everyone to follow, so  I stuck it out and stayed. Here is the link (be sure to answer the 3 questions):
http://groups.google.com/group/killerstrands?hl=en
This will take you to our Killer Color Clinic Store AND our Group, so its a 2 for 1 Whammy! Its just very unconventional. . .  most people have their store out in the public's eye. . .  while mine is a "secret store''..... James Bond is my brother. . . . . . . . j/k!
Become familiar with all the hair color lines we carry . . . Wella being the biggest both Koleston Perfect and Color Touch. Then Framesi, Renbow's 3 lines of Colorissimo, RenColor, & Wash N Tone .... the bleaches,  just all the products. Because first off we are going to need to be talking about these hair colors for your hair color formula and it would be good if you had an idea of what colors were available for you .
Check out everything available to you, there is a lot.
Killer Strands or actually I should say myself makes up 3 of my own products that have done very well and I have many testimonials to prove it... I made these products because AGAIN . .  I could not find what I needed!
1) our BEST SELLER : THRIVEN and the info to the Secret Supplement. A deep conditioner that you sleep overnight in. Comes with the 10,000HEADS Hair Strength System and I would gamble to say most everyone is on this product, well maybe a lot of people are. . .
2) GLEAM : 2nd Best Seller: a DRY OIL, that is not greasy, is actually dry. It is made up of 2 foreign and rare oils Abyssinian Oil + Argan Oil. Plus 2 other Unique Oils: Rosehips Seed oil + Jojoba oil + Vitamin E + Amber Resin Essential Oil....= the most wonderfully exquisite oil you can use for many purposes for both hair and skin. This began with the trick of applying it to your hair, then applying the hair color on top of it. So when  the cuticle is opened to let the hair color go in the GLEAM OIL goes in at the same time...resulting in the most wonderful rich and shiny hair color. It simply . . . ROCKS! You can apply on your skin, on wrinkles, on your pulse points.
3) FLUFF : Shea Butter + Mango Butter + Macadamia Nut Oil + Babbasu Oil+ Avocado Oil + Lemon/Ginger/Sage essential Oil.  How yummy does that sound, everything is natural ( really natural) it all can be eaten, that's how safe it is. This is for Dry, damaged ends of hair, also for fly-a-ways. When my hair is in braids I will dip the ends of my hair in FLUFF and rub in for the day. Also for the driest skin area's you have - elbows, heels, etc. This is for the DRIEST of DRY skin or hair - it is extremely rich.
This is Day 1 of the Hair Color Consult Post . .  a 2 Day Process, so stand by I had the hardest time writing this one, I'll try to be quicker with its successor!
Thanks,
Killer Chemist

Highlights Are History.....Winslett Shows Spectacularly How To Escape The Old,Tired Technique

Here is an excellent example of how to beat the same old highlight look, 

yet still have a  modern - bright and sunny look.

Now, if you notice the Colorist took a fairly large panel at the front fringe area  and did back to back SLICES . . .  using 2 colors I'm guessing, alternating foils with high lift  blond & bleach.
Then did what we used to call PEEK A BOO Ribbons in the back under neath - - -  using foils  to create the look with bleach . 

This is just one of many creative looks that I hope many of you will consider when  getting ready to revamp and update  your Hair.