“Just For Men” = ‘ Just For the Trash Can’ – Replaced by a new Kit by L.A. Colorist from Killer Strands

NON-IRRITATING Kit to Cover Gray on Both: Head & Face

Recently,men have contacted me regarding covering their gray and wanting to know how to do it successfully without irritation to their skin/scalp. Its really quite simple, but with finding out what they were using yesterday in the ingredient list sent me into a mild Coronary…. it took me a day to recover and explain…please read yesterdays post, for further info.Now, with today's post, I’m addressing the issue I began to yesterday.

Personally I would stay far away from any kit that says “Just For Men” “Loving Care” & there is a 3rd one I cannot remember the name of??? - PLEASE –PLEASE get over your fear of using regular hair color. There is no “trick” to only covering the gray hairs and leaving the rest alone…..NONE –ZERO ….JUST GIVE IT UP. Its Bullshit, they are trying to trick you into thinking there is a nifty- trick to coloring only your gray hairs and THERE ISN’T ! There is no way to only color select hairs on your head short of painting each hair individually. BUT…………..that does not mean there is not a method of coloring men's hair where it looks realistic and natural. I’ve done it to hundreds of clients for 17 years – I had a huge amount of men’s color clients….I don’t know why….but I did.

PLEASE read all the POSTS and Testimonials that are everywhere on the INTERNET – all the complaints about "JUST FOR MEN" . But, anyway, finally you have your answer. I’m here to help and to be honest I’m sorry I have not addressed this sooner, I feel bad now that I have read all the problems men have been having.

Coloring Hair now-a-days is a very very simple and successful process.

Here is what it involves:

Mix 1 ounce of 1 Hair Color and 1 ounce of another Hair color into a bowl…….(into a $1.29 plastic Tint Bowl)

then add:

2 ounces of Developer…………….

then…….Stir/Mix …and Apply. …………and That’s It . . .

When you paint it on your head with a small paint brush ( pretend its a fence).

Now, there are just a couple basic supplies you will need to make this successful and you can be on your road to coloring your hair every 6-8 weeks at home. . . and it will look GGGREAT, I promise. Most of which you can get in our store:

http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/

You need:

• Tint Brush
• Tail Comb
• Tint Bowl
• Application Comb

http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/collections/tools-and-supplieshttp://

Then, all of you need to go to Home Depot and purchase a 3-Way WALL mounted extension mirror. Although I found a pretty reasonably priced one on EBAY and a few other online stores, I find men – would rather go to Home Depot.

Mount it in your Bathroom, so you can do the back of your hair YOURSELF. Take back control of your hair color, like the women are doing, please don’t think this is just happening to you…the women deal with this same crap, I promise you.

To be perfectly honest, most of you need to have this mirror anyway. I feel every single person on the planet should have one of these mirrors. I will stand in a line and glance at various peoples hair ( because that’s what I do!!!) 50% of them never even touch the back of their hair. Which is what the rest of us LOOK AT!

EVERYONE put it on your list of things to do this week….. Purchase an Extension Arm Wall Mirror – there is a well priced version on EBAY. . .

We will now have available for sale in the store, the following Kits:

• KILLER COVER GRAY – MR. Kit > In 2 Types….(1) KP – Koleston Perfect > Permanent Hair Color …….(2) CT- ColorTOUCH > Demi-Permanent Color,
• both come in 12 Colors , with us adding the 2nd color you will need + the Developer, 1 pair of Gloves, & a measuring Cup. EVERY thing you need but a "paint" {tint} brush , really.
• If you want any "red" or "reddish" tones in the hair color ...you MUST mark that at check out - that will require 1 email exchange....but that's all

http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/products/wella-koleston-perfect-permanent-color

• KILLER COVER GRAY – MRS. Kit……..in the same 2 options……this will be forth coming. There are hundreds of posts for the women, its about time I helped the guys out.

Doing my research on “Just For Men”it just broke my heart that they have absolutely NO options, but to go to a Salon. Well, at least 50% of them who want this service will NOT GO TO A SALON. . . . they can’t be bothered.

I just read 103 Testimonials (Folica.com) about the disaster that JUST FOR MEN is creating against men of all ages and hair colors…Its time I helped them out and gave them a “Killer” KIT to purchase. So it will be easy for them.

Women, if you know of any men . . . please let them know….I really feel like I have “dropped the ball” on this one….and feel ‘just horrible’ …I truly do.

You have the choice of

1. KP – KOLESTON PERFECT – Permanent Color or
2. CT–COLOR TOUCH - Demi-Permanent Color within each Kit.

I’m trying to make it S-I-M-P-L-E

Within every Kit:

{in order to cover GRAY properly} 1/2 the Formula MUST be a “N” Series Color or a “Neutral”. If you want to know why its a very very long story, I know my men. . . they don’t care. They simply want to get the job done efficiently and correctly.

So that is how the Kits are referred to….You will ask or order a 6N – CT Killer GRAY Kit for Misters….. or a 8N – KP Killer Gray Kit for Mr. We will take care of the rest. But, you will need to take a little time and determine which color your hair is that is your own color……I highly suggest you get someone else’s help on this one little tiny matter. It is really hard to determine this on oneself…..Trust me. You will only need to do it once…..then you are home free.

It is not super critical…..within these Wella European Colors they run a full level darker than they appear or than any other American chart. The Level System is a Universal System for Hair Color … and is used worldwide in every country on the planet.

So, if you order a 6N and have not written in the check out box that you have taken the “darker factor” into account. We will send you a 7N.

I’ve been doing this a lot of years and have well over 10,000 Heads under my belt..I have had a huge male COLOR clientele as well….so tons of experience – I promise. With Gray hair; going one level lighter is also a smart idea . . .1 level darker….is NOT….It looks super weird- like shoe polish.

Whether you need a 6N-KIT in KP……or maybe a 8N Kit in CT….?all you need to do is figure out how light or dark your hair is. That is what the LEVEL SYSTEM is.

Level 1…………….is Black

Level 12…………..is Platinum/White

and here are all the colors in between:

The numbers in between are the different lightness of blonde’s to dark Browns. All you have to do is figure out how light or how dark your own ( non gray) hair is ---> simple.

A very common color is LEVEL 7, which ‘says’ its medium blonde…check that out…do you think that is medium blond or ANY blond??? I don’t , and I do this shit for a living. So once you figure out which Level of lightness or darkness you are – go to the Wella Color Page http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/products/wella

find, your Level and figure your percentage of Gray, if you have no one to help – join our group, up-load a photo of you hair in there…….and there are plenty of super qualified people to help. So many many options to solve your hair crisis….especially covering your gray. Also determine the percentage of gray to determine which color you should use. . .CT or KP. Another little tip > > > > if you want the color to fade out as you shampoo . . . then choose the CT (Demi Permanent) …..that’s another tip. If your gray is super stubborn, use the KP….another tiny tip.

I’m sure there will be questions but lets get this started and see how we do. . . remember when you make a purchase you are more than welcome to ask questions in the box at the end of check-out and they will be answered and applied to your order. For now, I personally do all the recommendations and color selections with all orders. So a nice little bonus when purchasing from Killer Strands.

The only color that won’t work this way is Red heads, which I am – so I have a special affinity for. They will need to purchase the REDHEAD Kit and you will be sent an email and we will figure it out, by you answering a couple questions…there are really only 2/3 Levels of Redheads. Be sure to purchase the REDHEAD KIT, and we will email you.

The next decision needs to be which color you want to use.

KP or CT

If you have 25% Gray as you see in this chart. . . . that is the cut-off point for going from CT {Color Touch} and bumping up to KP {Koleston Perfect} which is permanent and has the turbo booster to help cover the tougher gray. {just a play with words…}

If you want, try CT with your first order, you will see how it works and then decide whether you want to use Demi Permanent again or bump up to KP. Once you begin to use this level of color you can go between the 2 with no problem.

The only thing you cannot do is go from brown to blond. The color must be removed to do that, and that is addressed on many other posts in this BLOG. These kits are only for covering GRAY...PERIOD.

{for those who are single or simply want to gain your own control of your own hair color, and have it turn out perfectly . . . this is your answer.

WE are on the road and will continue on with this. . . so please join our group . . . ask questions in there. . .lots of qualified people and myself stops by frequently. . .

Hope This Helps. . . . somewhat. . . . for now. . . .more to come

Killer Chemist

I have Hair (TIA) Advertising “BLOCK”. . .

. . . heard of Writers “Block”?

Once again, in my never ending attempt to write a post educating you on the wonders of hair color . .  I get side-tracked and stumped by this one topic:

(TIA)   TRUTH-IN-ADVERTISING 

Not wanting to talk about it, as I dislike people that harp on negativity - - it just keeps getting in the way. Many times I hit “DELETE” and you all get nothing. Which is simply not fair . .  I have soooo much to say and a list a mile long of topics to write on. So for just this once and because it is the first day of the New year, I will show you what happens - - so you understand…that way I can just tell you, in the future, to see the Post from January 1 on TIA and hopefully I won’t have to talk about it much any longer.

Interspersed with this yucky topic I am going to give you some gorgeous new photos of blond styles and colors that will set the trends for the beginning of the new decade ….so its not AAAAAAAAAAALL bad !

Another slight problem is:  I can see my writing on this subject has hurt me financially in the past 2-3 months  - - I used to have big advertisers run ads on the Blog which did help me afford to keep this entity FREE to you, the reader. These advertisers have left, and I am very very sad. But if they have not come back yet, I doubt they plan on it in the future – so here goes:

I would guess most of you at one time or another came to Killer Strands for the same reason that many continue to do today and tomorrow . . . and most likely the next day - - - and that is for one of the “BIG 3” I call it.…

The BIG #3 Hair Disasters that routinely happen by the thousands – 24 hours every single day  -- 7 Days of the Week – 52 weeks of the year… Year after Year after Year…..that is one Helluva lot of people being affected by the following:

1. Unqualified Hair Stylist
2. Boxed Hair Color - disaster
3. Incorrect recommendation by S_ _ _ _‘s Beauty Supply via – unqualified Sales person

The Big 3 get in the way almost every single time I attempt to write a POST to you about so many subjects….WHY? 

Well, here was today’s predicament – I’m hoping this will clarify easily :  I wanted to write about how to put together a very simple kit for those men out there that simply wanted to color/cover gray hair, they can do it at home, at their own convenience and I was going to give a tricky little method Sassoon came up with so it looks a little more natural with a Level 8..Level 6 and a Level 5. .  Simple enough – right?

Being as I am not a writer, but a very enthusiastic hair colorist/chemist . . . I find I must get inspired by some new facts, figures or theories, formulations…. and know my subject – learn more than I already know…hopefully more recent info than what’s in my brain already. So I always do some research on whatever the topic is for the day….

Now, I attempt to research Men’s hair color that is in those ‘boxed kits’ to figure out why it looks so weird . . . then I discover that many of them use metallic salts to color the hair, their kits aren’t even advanced enough to be like the women's boxed hair color kits. Where a Tint + a Developer is used  - - mix together / apply & process –  a very simple chemical reaction that takes place in order to color hair – most of you generally understand & its been around for well over 50 years. It is not at all degrading to the hair – in fact quite the contrary.

….BUT, Metallic salts is archaic, its so old and unpredictable I truthfully thought it was a banned substance. . . . it is very similar to Henna. Henna/Metallic Salts are the 2 applications that I was sure were not used and if they were I was to stay very very far away from them – I was told this 17 years ago. What is it doing in Mens Hair Color Boxed Kits?  Also….one cannot apply regular hair color on top of them….some sort of fizzling and hissing and yucky- dangerous reactions begin to take place… and Lord knows what could or could not happen to the poor hair strands.

I will not touch a persons hair that has HENNA on it. I heard dozens of horror stories from European Hair Stylists, that pretty much scared the crap out of me. So if this is what a lot of these companies are using to color men’s hair, I just discovered why their hair looks so weird when they attempt to cover their own gray.  

THAT IS SO ILLEGAL, and just sooooooooo WRONG. Like so much of the PUBLIC HAIR COLORING choices out there, I don’t understand why these companies get away with… Why do they get to do things that are terrible for hair, encourage hair loss and don’t even color but build up layers of metal on top of the hair strands – that’s (vaguely) how the metallic salts work to cover gray. I never wanted to fully understand it, as I said I heard it was being banned and discontinued.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS when I go to write a post, I discover some other bizarre and weird/wrong and NOT COOL discovery about public hair color that I cannot believe exists and I am so shocked and confused….I can’t really tell the story correctly without telling people this type of background. This needs to be said, so that one person brings the topic up…its not fair to men. Why don’t they get a decent hair color system? Because they are men?? I LOVE MEN . . . . they are one of the greatest joys on planet earth… It would be absolutely no fun without them…and I feel they should be taken care of at the same level as we are. There is not a woman alive that would put up with Metallic Salts covering their gray, I guarantee you. Pieces of various colors of metal close to your own color build up on the gray hair ONLY to give the illusion of the gray disappearing. It does not work and looks bizarre.  . . .

SUN-IN used to used Metallic SALTS to lighten hair which is why so many had orange hair…. it depended on your DURP as to whether SUN-IN would WORK on a certain person’s hair. I had heard someone sued and won about SUN-IN and that is what stopped the use of METTALIC Salts for hair color about 18-19 years ago… so am still stunned that Mens Hair Color is using it..

I stopped writing about them… because of all the advertisers I lost, but I can see now they don’t plan on returning. I can understand I guess. But what I can’t understand is why these companies do this. There are such easy and gorgeous colors they could put in those boxes…. I don’t understand why they put crap in them . .  and why they don’t use the good products, I guess it all boils down to “PROFITS.

So, there you have it. . .TIA or TRUTH in ADVERTISING is a huge HUGE issue to me. It gets in the way of all the Posts…So, now that you (hopefully) understand I’m hoping it will be easier for me to just plow ahead…. But I have a BLOG that I am trying to use to get my message out, for everyone to learn how to properly care for their hair and to let them know that they too can have longer shinier, thicker hair. . .  if they just follow a few rules, its truly not that hard….

I know – first hand - - -  I live it. I follow every single thing that I preach to you about.

I’ve always lived a very disciplined life, 10,000 HEADS to me is just another extension of living a healthy life I feel. I can’t participate in any of the exercises….I come from a different place - - - I would give A N Y T H I N G to be able to exercise again. So its weird to hear people complain about having to exercise …or practice YOGA to improve their hair’s health. If I could do that again, I would be a super happy person. Remember that next time you check out the local YOGA schedule…

Remember how super lucky you are that you CAN practice YOGA, and that you have the health to do it with….it truly sucks not being able to to do those things. Boy do I miss it.. . .

Happy New Year one and all

Killer Chemist

Box Hair Color Disaster = Recovery Plan

Easier Than It Sounds - Promise!

I’ve never totaled up the variety and amount of Boxed Hair Color blunders I’ve heard of….it would send me into cardiac arrest…so I just stay away from that fact, its a never-ending supply, just ask one of the many in our amazing Google Group. You will hear nightmares from so many poor unsuspecting souls, it breaks my heart to hear the stories, it really does. I know every single one of those stories could have been avoided, had I personally done their hair. I experienced a Hair color surprise yesterday in an otherwise gloomy (read:challenging) week. I popped open a new Jug of MAGMA for a longtime Level 5 client of mine. I realize I don’t spend as much time on ‘dark hair’ techniques as I do their lighter counterparts. I will be trying to rectify that flaw in the coming months, come on all you ‘dark hairs’ – speak up – I will answer most requests as far as topics to write about.

MAGMA SWATCH CHART of COLORS:

39…………………Gold Cendre Light

89+……………….Pearl Cendre Dark

07……………….. Natural Blond

This woman (lets call her Mrs. M) is one of the many that has lost her job as part of the economy problems our country has been experiencing. So it appears Mrs.M has taken to touching up her gray roots with some damn boxed hair color that I guess she thought I wouldn’t notice.!?!?!?

[ Which is why I always tell people: NOT to forget the “back” of their hair, it’s not the hair YOU see, but it is the hair everyone else see’s! Same with boxed color, you think people don’t notice – I promise you – they DO! ]

This apparently is a common practice with many people I have come to find out…. now that I deal with soooooooo many through the Trinity of Killer Strands websites. They will have their hair professionally colored 3 times a year so it is gone through thoroughly on the back - - a place very difficult to do yourself. Then on the “off” months they touch up just the crown section of the hair, depending on the hair style and length of hair. Now, to be perfectly frank the idea is not a bad one…but if you are going to be doing the base (roots) in-between, my Lordie boys and girls…use the proper product and color.

Now the way to tackle this may not be textbook, but as I have said before, there is a reason there is NO textbook on hair color. TOO MANY VARIABLES. Now with this kind of issue I have 2 problems at hand, she has 90% gray hair and that can be quite a stark difference with virtually white roots and dark brown lengths. Even though they call Level 5 (light Brown) . . . I have never quite known what they are looking at when they say that. Maybe its me, as I have a very hard time telling the difference in the colors/levels below the Level 5. They all appear to me as “dark” and “super dark”! ! j/k . . .although you have to admit the differences are not nearly as apparent as its lighter counterparts. So we must cover the gray roots and get rid of the black “banding” I call it, created from the Boxed Color. There are black stripe-like effects on her hair. Which comes from Boxed Hair Color, I have noticed most that use boxed color have banding and I’m too sure why. I’ve never seen it used, to be perfectly honest, therefore am not too sure how the banding is created. What I do know is that it is everywhere, next time you are standing in a line…check-out all the people, see if you can
“Find-the-Banding”…the newest game from HASBRO….again – j/k!

To fix both problems at once, is how I would handle this… maybe you only want to fix one at a time, totally understandable. Depends on your dexterity, right?

First I would pull the color I always use for her base and that is Renbow –

Colorissimo …… 5N

+ RenColor ………. 06 Velvet Brown

………………..…. + 20 Volume

Beginning in the front sections. . . apply Formula to front sections -- covering right up to the line of demarcation but not going past, that is one reason for banding…although when overlapping with Professional hair color that problem doesn’t happen. That is why I know its Boxed hair color by ‘sight’. Besides the “shine” Box Hair Color takes out of the hair strand is mind boggling to me…I don’t know what they put in there that accomplishes that ? ? But, it really needs to be taken out.

So with the color on the base, I decided to try a different trick to break up the banding and broke out the MAGMA. I have been hearing a lot of scuttlebutt on how good it is lately. You all know what MAGMA is right?

It is a new-ish product from WELLA ( 6-7 years old). Its a Bleach and tone product in “one”. When it came out I was super excited about it, but it wasn’t as suited toward my clientele as I would have liked. Its a product developed mainly for Hispanic/Ethnic hair with 10 Colors & really only 2 tonal categories ….. REDS & BLOND’s. There were 2 Blonds and 2 Reds I’ve liked and used…but I hear somewhere along the line it got re-formulated…Which can be a wonderful thing, or it could be a bad thing, I never feel any of these companies use “COLORISTS” enough for feedback and product development….but anyway …back to the problem at hand.

Another new development with MAGMA I had heard was that it was now formulated to be used with “lower” developers when necessary. When I first used it, they were very strict and stern in teaching the product education courses –instructing us to ONLY USE WITH 30 or 40 VOLUME. As you can see by the above chart, it now can be used all the way down to the lowest developer they make….6 Volume! So am thrilled about that…especially in light of the results I had with Mrs. M

So with the base on, I used 13 foils in the “VEIL parting” … here is a little illustration of that… When you are in the best Hair Academy in the world they do a lot of steps and projects which at the time seem totally ridiculous. This is one of the head sheets we used in hair academy, when you wanted to explain a technique you wanted to try or that you saw & wanted to change or duplicate – we were taught to explain/teach/illustrate using these HEAD sheets. At first I really thought the whole idea was foolish, now look who’s foolish . . . here I am 17 years later – using them on a daily basis – . . . . I have used them ever since !

The way the MAGMA colors are handled is way different than I’ve ever seen…but the product also is unlike any product I’ve seen as well. 2 of the Colors have “+” Plus versions of the same color.

So that # 39 is Gold Cendre Light and then # 39 + is Gold Cendre Dark

#39………..is for use on LEVEL 6 & 7 Hair

#39+ ……. for use on Levels 2-5 Hair

I mean its pretty self-explanatory…but am always told by our trusty members, “teach us as if we were Aliens from another planet”!

See the Levels on the far left they recommend using each color on? . . you want to follow those recommendations when choosing your color.

Now to solve Mrs. M’s problem with the black banding short of having to apply a whole VANISH Kit (color remover), which was avoided and results were spectacular.

I used 89+ mixed with 1.5X – 40Volume Developer. Applied in 13 random foil SLICES in the Veil parting as stated above. A thin slice of hair is taken within each parting, place the foil down (moving quickly) brush on the mixture of 89+ being sure to brush down hard where the bands are. When necessary within the foils take (gloved) fingers coat with product and rub into the banding to really get the product into the hair….{remember this is called COLOR CORRECTION ! !} fold foil together, flip up and proceed to next .

The recommended time for MAGMA is 20-30 minutes with controlled heat…again - - I simply do NOT recommend this. I do NOT recommend speeding up processing time by using heat with peroxide. The power that is generated in the processing will have a deteriorating effect on the hair structure.

On the other hand beware of under-processing with very low volume hydrogen peroxide out of fear of a lightening product such as MAGMA - - there is no cause for fear, Wella is the KING of HAIR COLOR, when used correctly there is no better all-around hair color company. Always make sure the room you apply the Hair color in is at least 70 degrees, warmer is better…NO CHILLS.

You know what the best thrill about MAGMA was this time? They have made the #89’s Lavender based….(the Magma POWDER is the color of the base now) there is no better color for a brunette to be based in as lavender, and now the MAGMA works the way I wished it worked 8 years ago when it first came out. I have never seen a product wipe out brass as this one did. I was OVER-THE-MOON with how much and how terrific it works. What we look for is a soft lavender/rose based color as the foils are removed, and sure enough every single foil was that rosey color. I didn’t even need to rinse it out to know. . . . I had the most gorgeous color she will have ever seen, on her.

Once those foils were taken off, you must then complete the process as normal, only using MAGMA’S Neutralizer…that MUST be used after rinsing the color products out of your hair. Leaving the Neutralizer on the hair for a minimum of 15 minutes….Rinse and BOOM you are done…

The change in this product is just so rare, more rare than you even know, but I wanted you to know about it. I have since used it on a few paint drips on my hair, a few slices here or there….I LOVE IT, absolutely love it. The point of the story really was how to bounce back after a Boxed Hair Color blunder. For those of you with Black “BANDING" - -or any color ‘banding’ which develops from Boxed hair color overlapping – there multiple methods of getting rid of it. This is one - - watch for future POSTS with various other ideas & TRICKS.

Killer Chemist

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

Holy Roller Commandments of Sinfully Rich Hair Color

9 Steps to Pray About Before You Color Yo' Hair

In order to color hair so it stays nice and beautifully rich some of us have acquired tricks that we like to keep to ourselves. That way we keep a nice stream of clients filling our chairs on a regular basis. A point to remember ... the steps and ideas noted here are not taken into account when you purchase those boxed kits. So if none of them are taken into account, I simply do not understand how the manufacturers of those kits can assume the hair will be colored correctly.



They won't because there needs to be some education that people understand before they attempt to color their hair. Let me relate it to cooking once again. Lets say you have purchased a Rice-A-Roni Boxed kit in the grocery store. You take that home to make it, read the directions on the box ...follow them and have something pretty darn close to what the maker hoped you would. Otherwise, I can guarantee you would not keep continuing to purchase it...it would be history, and why? There are lots of other boxed kits of food to chose from. Now, on that box of Rice-A-Roni it tells you to measure 1 Tablespoon of this and 1/2 teaspoon of that, and to bring to boil. Where did you learn what a Tablespoon is compared to a teaspoon? Where did you learn what a "boil" is ? cooking is chemistry as well ... just like hair color. Which is precisely my point within the boundaries of hair color, certain rules, or laws, or guidelines need to be known before the task is taken on so the result is not a disaster. Nowhere does it say that on those boxes, it gives no instructions on hair type, texture, structure,prior hair color treatments, light, porosity, color saturation...none of that. Which is 'why' the results are most times atrocious. Why can't they all go to separate color and developer stations - with instruction sheets. That's all I am saying. I have never felt that the entire idea needs to be scrapped, I just think it all needs to be sold like it is in the beauty supply - separately - with a sheet of instructions. It does NOT work in a boxed kit, nor will it ever.





Every time I look at the new ads with Eva Langoria shouting the wonders of a $8.00 boxed hair color kit and how it has done this





to her hair, I want to scream bloody murder. For the most important point there are a minimum of 4 colors in this look, so how in the bloody hell can she even claim to use one box with one color in it, is beyond me. It makes me lose total respect for the women that choose to do these commercials or ads. They could choose to do another ad, do mascara, do foundation - Hell do shampoo, but to lie about what the color is on your hair? I couldn't do it myself - and I need the money, they don't.





I have done this exact look on others, when I do a stars hair I either sign a piece of paper called a Confidentiality Agreement or I verbally agree to one. Being a 31 year member of the Screen Actors Guild makes me stick to my word so I will not give out names - as I never have. So you will never hear who, you will just have to trust that its the truth. I know my information is top notch so I have no worries, no doubts & no guilt. A million dollar movie star has never ever put an $8.00 boxed kit on their hair, their Stylist,Colorist,Lawyer, Publicist, and Agent would not allow it...let alone the star. One move like that could destroy a perfectly gorgeous star's career, seen Rene Zellwegers hair lately? Thank the Hair Gods above for gorgeous wigs.





I have 2 words I'd like to define for you... they both are difficult to understand and explain, which is why I have been avoiding them...today I begin the battle:





Porous: Describes condition of cuticle when it is raised and open, allowing moisture and liquid to absorb





Porosity: The hair's ability to absorb liquid or moisture





9 Steps to take seriously before coloring hair





1. What is Your Ethnic Group





This is a little trick learned from the Europeans I find handy . Because each type of hair responds differently to color, its important to understand the nature of the hair you have. Do you have Nordic, Celtic, Latin, Mediterranean, Asian, or African Hair. Refer to the 2 families of Hair charts below. Across the top are the LEVELS, the more you understand the Levels - the better for your success as a Home Pro Hair Colorist remember.











The number 1 color of hair in the entire world? .........BLACK





The most rare: RED





Just one more way of understanding how hair color works the best











2. Evaluate Your Hair Texture





Different weights and types of hair will respond differently when color is applied. Texture refers to the diameter of each shaft of hair, Usually categorized by fine, medium or coarse. It is essential to be familiar with how various textures of hair will react to color. Hair density differs not only from one individual to another but also from strand to strand on the same persons head - to further confuse things. It is best determined by feeling a single dry strand between the fingers if you do not know your texture - give it a try. The 3 types of hair have the following characteristics

• Very fine hair is more fragile, easier to process and more susceptible to damage than is coarse or medium hair. As a general rule fine hair will take color darker. Therefore when formulating, go one half to one level lighter will always be a good idea


• Medium hair is the most common hair texture. It is considered normal and does not pose any special problems or concerns.


• Coarse hair has the largest diameter which usually requires more processing than medium or fine and will take color lighter because of the resistance factor...formulate one half to one level darker. It is usually more difficult for lighteners, and color to penetrate.


• The most difficult? Hair with a high degree of uneven porosity (see above) needs to be formulated with a partial portion of bottled color - helps with even-ness.

3. Determine Your Hair Density





Hair density measures the number of strands of hair on the head, indicating how thick or thin the hair is. Individuals with the same hair texture can have different densities, I know - I know it all can be so damn confusing, just hang in there with me. Some individuals with fine hair texture, characterized by each hair having a small diameter, may have high density, with many individual hairs per square inch. Others with coarse hair texture, characterized by each hair having a large diameter, may have low density, with few individuals hairs per square inch.





4. Determine your Natural Level





Take a good close look to see exactly what color it is in its natural state, this will give you the information you need to plan the coloring process.





When in doubt about which exact color you are match the hair with the charts in the "N" row of the Wella Koleston Perfect chart over on the Google Group of Killerstrands (with the charts over there you own the ability to close-in on the color for precise control & decisions) http://groups.google.com/group/killerstrands?hl=en





5. Determine the Amount of Gray Hair





Since white or gray hair acts differently with hair color than pigmented hair, even a home hair colorist must first assess the amount of gray present on their noggin'.





If hair is more than 30 percent gray, choose your target level, use the "N" series on those charts again and now add the tonal group to the assessment. I have not gone into this to the depth I need to yet, but its coming... you will need to use the "N" series to implant the base in that colorless (gray) hair and the tonal choice will give it the warmth or coolness desired. If needed some haircolor from the "Beige/Brown series will also increase coverage of gray. A 20 Volume amount of hydrogen peroxide is always recommended for deposit in this area.





Gray hair can turn orange if the lightener used is not processed long enough.





If you are 80 to 100% gray, a haircolor within the blonde range is generally more flattering that a darker shade. Gray hair has many tricks and complications and deserves a post of its own and its on its way.





6. Have any Previous Hair Color Treatments





Whether or not you have previous color on your hair or not is the single most neglected and misunderstood step. I have the hardest time with getting through to people about this. This is another point that the boxed kits should point out immediately which they do not, the reason they don't? No one would purchase the stuff if it said that, there are figures like 85% of the country is now coloring their hair, so with a figure like that why wouldn't they WANT to put that on the Kit?





Be honest ... with you, with your hair, so many people put color on their hair and then think a stylist won't see it or can tell. Nothing is farther from the truth and nothing could be worse for the outcome of your hair. It affects the outcome - be real , be honest - all color on that hair counts unless its been cut off .





In my opinion hair color must be removed at all times if you are going lighter. Removed, not bleached. There is one and only one color remover I would recommend - it is a professional level color remover and a patented formula from Germany that at one time was known as MODULAT. I still call it that. I guess there are some other knock-offs out there, that claim to do the same thing - who knew?? !! I'm finding out things even I didn't know with the life of this site. For color removing services in Malibu the prices started at $250. for 1 treatment, usually 2-3 are needed, the price of the product from Killerstrands is $33.00 and does not take a rocket scientist to operate. If you have interest in the item please send an email with "product order" in the subject header to Killerstrands@gmail.com .





7. What Is The Result You Want?





Seem silly? You will not believe the amount of people that do not clarify this to themselves before heading to the Beauty Supply. Look through magazines, tear out pages of looks, comb through my sites...even though its been too much for me to do both...I still have an entire blog of photos only...and continue to get emails from people thanking me because they are current hot photos of hair, so look there ...its hooked up so you can download a very clear photo to your own computer. http://www.killerpics.blogspot.com/ . Print the photo out and think about the colors - look and style. Ask others for opinions and try not to make rash decisions. There is something about chicks and hair color and doing it - - - "NOW"- - I have newly discovered thru this site. Come on team lets try to put some proper preparation into this, its a pretty substantial change you are trying to make, I really don't recommend just stop-drop and rolling! Lets plan - prepare and execute, OK?











What is the exact color you want to achieve and how will you get there? Are you prepared for the maintenance work, which is one thing very few of you ever consider. How much maintenance and re-touching will this new color require? Can you handle it? Have you ever used foils? Ever used semi permanent Pink? Consider all the angles and cover what you need to know - prior to D-day or C-day I mean (color)!





8. The importance of the Right Light





Metamerism, which refers to the reflective property of objects as subjective to the type and power of light source, also effects the coloring of hair. How the room is lit where you make your decisions can make a huge difference in the way the color looks on your head and needs to be carefully planned and accounted for.





Do not look at your hair under fluorescent lights when dealing with hair color, it will just not be a happy ending. If you must get a lamp and purchase some incandescent lights with the whitest bulb possible to use just to determine and work with your hair coloring projects, you will thank me in the end. The most highly recommended lights are the halogen white lights, a bit pricier but the oooohooo color is slam-damit-right.





9. Plan for color Saturation





Dyes are different arrangements of molecular structures and tend to modify the light rays that fall on them. This phenomenon is known as color saturation.





It needs to be understood that the intermediate content in a tube or bottle is obviously dependent on the amount of depositing and saturation of color to achieve. The lighter the color level, the less intermediate it will contain. The darker the level, the more the content as you can see by the chart.

5 Hair Cuts : Can You Put The Name To The Cut ?

The Fringe, The Crop, the Mane, the Shag, and the Bob

the next 5 are on their way...