Cosmetology 101 : The Level System of Hair Color

Level and Tone are the words for the 2 most important characteristics of COLOR

In my attempt to teach the Level System of Hair Color Formulation to all you Crib Colorists out there, there is one distinction I feel I have forgotten…..or if not forgotten just have not made clear. My dream with this Hair Blog, differs from the others, as here I want to teach you the secrets that most won’t let out of the bag. Hopefully that helps all of you figure out your own hair color formula. Hundreds of you have learned how to correctly color your hair, which brings a warm glow to my heart…Hopefully this Post will be one more addition to your notebook on Color Theory and help clarify the unique and fun world of hair color formulation.

 

WELLA has been around since the 1950’s – so a lot of the companies have taken their lead as far as “tone categories”. No one has ever called a hair color conference together to come up with a worldwide – UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED – HAIR COLOR FORMULATION SYSTEM. BUT THEY NEED TO.

BELIEVE ME, if I was Healthy and could ‘light the fire’ under one of these companies  - -  I would. In this diagram it shows you  how Wella came up with the numbers of their Tonal Categories………. /3 = Gold     /34 = Gold/Red   /4 = Red   …..etc…  Here are the boxes of color – so you can see and relate the two . . .  

In all hair color theory, you must be able to tell the difference between level and tone …the 2 most important characteristics. As of today and this post, I would like everyone to begin thinking of hair color (virgin or artificial) in these 2 ways LEVEL /TONE.. See on the end of the box???

LEVEL

Level refers to the lightness or depth (darkness) of a haircolor, whether its natural of artificial. Words such as LIGHT, MEDIUM,DARK, PALEST, and very light tell you about a color’s level. Level is, very simple, how light or dark  a hair color is.

Numbers are used to indicate the LEVEL of Colors….which really is very simple system. This is a UNIVERSAL or  INTERNATIONAL, LEVEL SYSTEM:

• 10  > Lightest Blond
• 9   > Very Light Blond
• 8   > Light Blond
• 7   > Medium Blond
• 6  >  Dark Blond
• 5  >  Light Brown
• 4  >  Medium Brown
• 3  > Dark Brown
• 2  > Darkest Brown
• 1  > Black

Now that is the basic system that has been used since the very beginning…as funny and weird as it sounds….that system is the same system we use today. One of the biggest things I have been waiting for all these years……….is the announcement that there is a brand new technology for coloring hair. THAT is the one and ONLY announcement that will truly…. undoubtedly. . . .CHANGE HAIR COLORING. Everything else is just the same process only with different quality ingredients. That is not a “bad” thing though, so please don’t misunderstand me here, as I can turn out the most gorgeous hair colors with WELLA’s 2 top Lines : Color Touch (demi-permanent) and Koleston Perfect (permanent) you can’t beat those 2 lines for hair color, for shine, for vividness, for long lasting color… honestly. 

The thing is, they up date and change everything…..EVERY SINGLE THING……… You buy a phone the next week its out-of-date…..you buy a HUGE FLAT PANEL Screen TV, 2 weeks later – its features are old fashioned- if you don’t have a 3-D-TV you’re history, I’ve heard different facts from fellow (Top L.A.)Colorists. I know all the hair color manufacturers are frantically working on a new system of hair color. With NANO-TECHNOLOGY ( using teeny – tiny molecules to perform chemical procedures) on the forefront. . . I actually EXPECT Cosmetic chemists to be announcing a brand new technology for hair coloring at any moment….maybe I’m wrong. 

 

Hair-color is a Multi BILLION Dollar business, with stakes like that, I would expect every single technique in hair color to be worked on as we speak. A completely different manner for re-coloring hair, but my reservations are…….I adore the results I get now…So am basically terrified of any “new” procedure for coloring hair. The Hair Color manufacturers, mistake what consumers want in Hair color. They think we want a hair color that just sticks in the hair like cement, forever. I have spent 17 years taking Boxed hair color OUT of poor unsuspecting Clients hair. What I have discovered from that experience? Boxed hair color is the number 1 hair color sold ( which blew me away) . When I was removing the BOXED hair color from new clients ( my regulars- knew the 10,000HEADS Regimen) – to get it out was next to impossible and as the years went by, the color got harder and harder to get out.

My conclusion? These companies felt if the color STUCK on the hair better, people would like it more. That is a huge mistake (maybe they will read this!) You do not want the hair color to stick onto your hair without it fading. We need it to fade a little as the colors of today – DO.  That way they are translucent – which makes them look much more real. When the Boxed hair COLOR clients would come to me, the most common problem they ALL had? They were dull – solid – heavy, which indicated to me that the hair color was too heavy, too thick, too solid. THAT is the problem with little Cosmetic Chemists sitting in their labs coming up with Hair color formulations. They have never touched a head of hair, so it baffles me – that they are the ones formulating hair color.  

When talking in color terms to people,   from now on….use the LEVEL and the TONE……..you will blow people way at your grasp of Color Theory and all its Terms and Concepts/.

Killer Chemist