Canceling Unwanted Tones in Hair & IN CONCLUSION

I know all these color wheels and colors seem silly to most of you ...there is a purpose.

There is an EXCELLENT reason for busting out the crayons and coloring again....

Hands down .....One of the most asked questions here on Killerstrands is:

HOW DO I GET RID OF THE "_______" tones in my hair......the 2 words that go in the blank are 'Brassy' and "yellow"

Which I have answered many many times.... and promise to still answer many MORE times...

I just thought it might be good to teach you to fish rather than to fish for you.....

Using these Color wheels can help you answer that problem every single time....so many hair stylists just don't understand this simple simple technique. I am hopeful that many of you will begin tosee the light at the end of the tunnel.... let me know if you are

If you have brassy or yellow tones in the hair........where do you find the solution?

Remember . . . a complementary color or the OPPOSITE color on the wheel NEUTRALIZES the tones you find irritating. So what color complements Yellow???? ...............Purple or Violet - - - makes no diffference which name you choose whichever you prefer

Some people LOVE Gold and yellow in their hair...as far as I'm concerned its the USA and anyone can have whatever tone they want. I am just here to teach you

"HOW" to get the tone you want.....and get rid of the tones you dont want.

That way you WILL have the beautiful hair everyone desires.

CONCLUSION

The Color Wheel is simple.

Remember the primaries.

Knowing these, you can name the secondaries.

Visualise these colors arranged on a circle.

Half the circle is cool;

half is warm.

Colors opposite one another neutralize each other

Cool contrasts- out warm and vice versa

Thats all you need to know

Keep It Simple, Hair Color Rules That Are Simple As Pie

The More You Know The Less You Fear
....use that as your mantra for learning this crap
Wouldn't you LOVE to understand how to color your hair perfectly?
So if you wanted to have blonde hair one month......and brown hair with just a few blonde ribbons a couple months later, you could do it yourself
and it would look like Julia Roberts hair
NOT Britney Spears

Education - Education - Education....and its not that hard. Promise.


Hair Color = As Simple as Addition and Subtraction

The first of many important coloring facts many Cosmetologists have not learned, so puts you ahead of them

<>When you apply Color(Tint) to the hair you are ADDING Color.

Color + Color = MORE Color, so the hair has more pigment.

f the color used is addition only, the hair will often but not always be darker.

<> Deposit Only tints (Semi or Demi Permanent Color) are frequently used to change tonal value without changing the lightness or darkness of the actual color of the hair. This is about the least complicated method of tinting hair as you will not have a "LINE OF REGROWTH" ( line where the new color has changed the old color) The Demi Permanent line I use called Color Touch (by Wella's European division) is probably the single best line of hair color on the planet. If I had to pick one line to use and get rid of the other 15 lines I carry...that would be it - which would surprize many because it is not permanent. This line imparts the most incredible amount of shine and moisturizers though....so it wins hands down as the "condition" of the hair is the most important factor for me.

<> When hair is lightened (no matter how little) you are subtracting pigment (lifting its called).

many think lightening hair is deposting a blonde color to the hair, it is NOT. Which is why every person ends up with varying shades of blondes. What is actually a happening is the colors are being LIFTED out of your hair to create a lighter appearance. If this is confusing to anyone PLEASE point that out. This is a trough concept the first time around for many, I want to be sure you are getting it, especially before we go on....

<> When you use a tube of hair color (Single process hair color) that is lighter than your own virgin hair that Tube of Color is a wonderful little tube of magic...... it performs many little works of wonder when it is mixed with the developer and applied to your hair.

That color performs "2" main chemical actions on your hair at the same time, it both #1: "lifts"(lightens) hair color out of your hair and # 2 "deposits" new color onto the hair. This is the concept that many do not understand. The chemical process performed once you mix that developer with that tube of color is a 2 step affar.....called Lift and Deposit.

<> Another way of saying this: Single-process hair color uses both (-) subtraction to remove pigment and (+) addition to replace or add artificial pigment.

BROWN is the basis of all Hair Color

Complementary colors ( remember what this is- extremely important) turn a brown of some shade. When 2 complementary colors are mixed they create the presence of the 3 primaries in uneven amounts.

For example: Yellow mixed with Violet will make a pale brown....because yellow, the stronger color, will dominate the formula. Violet is made from Red & Blue

When you mix yellow with Violet, you achieve a shade of Brown.

Mix opposites on the color wheel always results in a BROWN-ing effect. S I M P L E

these theories work in hair color - mixing house paint - dying your clothes - painting a picture - even frosting a cake....which is why I feel these little theories are worth teaching in high school to kids.

they teach kids the difference between

a teaspoon and a Tablespoon in Home Economics in high school, what's wrong with teaching the basics of COLOR?

EVERYONE will color their hair in the future...I am sure of it.

I'm of the belief that the way hair color is going in the very near future HAIR COLOR will be so rich, so conditioning and so strengthening to the hair that it will be mandatory for a good strong head of hair. MARK MY WORDS ON THAT

If hair color is done correctly even now, (that is a big "IF"), hair will be in better condition once it is done. Mine is and all my clients are... so it is nearly there already.

I cannot say this enough >> This does NOT include the boxed Kits, those are disastrous.

All virgin hair is a shade of Brown....which contains all 3 primaries

Whether hair is dark brown,

or black ( the bluest brown; Levels 1 or 2-4)

Auburn ( the most warm brown, Levels 5-7)

or blonde ( the most yellow or lightest brown, levels 8-10)

the color is an uneven combination of the three primary colors.

Uneven amounts of yellow + red + blue = Brown

a lot of hair Stylists do not understand this.........

Equal amounts of Yellow + Red + Blue = Black/Gray/or Platinum depending on the level

KEEP IT SIMPLE RULES

1.) Lightening the hair is when pigment is subtracted.

Which creates an imbalance of the Primary Colors.

Remember the Color Swatch charts I've showed you with the LEVELS going from top to bottom and then the 'tones' running across the top. Every line of Color chooses the "tones" they think will interest Colorists so they will want to use their line of color. Remember how much 1 Salon spends on this every month ( $5,000. - $20,000. = A LOT!) Therefore, the "tones" or "Series" that are represented are represented by one letter. You learn to figure them out.

For example a few sure shots are: N = Natural A= Ash G= Gold R= Red

2.) Brown is actually an uneven mixture of 3 primaries - red, yellow & blue

3.)Very blonde hair is brown with a dominance of yellow,

Red hair is brown with a dominance of red tones

& black is the bluest brown.

When you are lightening color, you are not actually dealing with brown, you are dealing with the Underlying or DOMINANT REMAINING PIGMENT ( DRP) : which is usually red, orange, gold or yellow.

#1. Warmth is released when you begin to lighten hair.

#2. The 1st pigment to leave the hair is during lightening is BLUE....therefore leaving Red & Yellow tones ( brassy)

Because blue is the first pigment to leave the hair, you would go quickly into the red zone, which is also the most difficult zone to leave.

A Horse of a Different Color: THE LAW OF COLOR never changes

Primary Colors are colors in their purest form

They are the 3 strongest and most influential pigments! Any color on earth can be broken down to yellow, red. or blue...including your hair colors.

The more familiar you are with these basics, the more you will be able to color your own hair, successfully....besides, its fun, useful and who knows....maybe you can color your neighbors hair with your new found knowledge!



Yellow is the lightest primary and is warm in value...its the color Colorists use most..it creates the most highlighted effect & is found in blondes...

RED is the medium bright primary that reflects more light than any other color; therefore, it catches the eye first...it is also the STRONGEST of the warm Primary Colors



Secondary Colors are created when two Primaries

are mixed together, there are 2 secondary colors.

Orange is the strongest WARM secondary color and is made by mixing red & yellow together.

****Note *****
That each Primary Color on the wheel is opposite a secondary color.
These opposites are the true key to success in hair coloration

If colors are opposite each other on the color wheel, they are called COMPLIMENTARY COLORS...What does that mean?

They C O M P L I M E N T one another....
When Yellow is placed next to Purple......both colors look their most VIBRANT..
Same with orange and blue..................Red and green

However when 2 complimentary colors are mixed together they Neutralize ;

neutralizing is the key to being a fantastic colorist

The Color Wheel : It's The Law of Color!

You can enhance anyone's appearance with color.

Understanding Color Theory is as easy as knowing the simple LAW OF COLOR and relating it to addition and subtraction. Sir Issac Newton discovered these theories having NO idea they would relate to the hair color world, years later

Your first project? Color - - - the main Color Wheel --- with the six main colors on it, use different weird shapes for the colors {for fun}...the best medium? Paints. If that is not possible, use felt pens, your kids crayons....whatever. Just do it , so it gets implanted in your brain. It will help with make-up and hair color for the rest of your life.

Name the six main colors: #1_______#2________#3________

#4________#5________#6_______ - - - apply these to your first color wheel

3 of these colors are the Primary Colors.....Name them #1________#2________#3________

3 are Secondary colors ...Name them #1________#2__________#3__________

The Understanding of Basic Color Theory is essential to analyze coloring your own hair. Stylists go to school for a year to learn the basics and they spend about 5 days on hair color in the entire year long program {except at Sassoon} . . . its ridiculous......................You will be Light Years ahead of the stylists out there understanding these concepts, so just follow me into this world of color.

Next... draw the below samples of different combinations ....

Draw the wheel that show s "WARM" and "COOL" colors

Draw the Wheel that shows PRIMARY and SECONDARY Colors

What are SECONDARY colors created from? ....thus the name "SECONDARY" ...get it?

The Color Wheel Is The Backbone Of All Hair Color

Every talented Hair Colourist fully understands the Colour Wheel...

as well as its off-shoots:

The Primary - Secondary - Tertiary color wheels which are just as important

So, Please...

I painted my color wheels...at Sassoon they make you paint them, at the time I thought it was ridiculous. It is one of the best projects one can do as a hair color teacher..... I guarantee you it will make a lot of the theory of hair color make sense to you.....which is not easy to understand.

Lets look at these projects as a stepping stone to the pot of gold: KNOWLEDGE of hair color that is not available anywhere on the planet , especially not to the public.

Lets get this education out there.........one person at a time if we have to.

Sunday will be the instruction of what Color Wheels to color and how to do them....so > Please have your full set of felt pens /crayons or Paints ( the best)...and some thick paper to color on. I know it seems lame, trust me its worth it. It just does not work the same if you just look....you must color the colors to implant the ideas in your brain.

I promise when we are done............ you will say........OH, now I get it.............everyone does

Bits & Pieces : Learn To Formulate Hair Color

Here are bits and pieces to help with Tuesday's Post and your first HAIR COLOR FORMULATION problem

Try the first Formulation quiz

You are a Level 4

and you desitre to be a Level 7

Home Hair Colorist - Lesson 4 - How In The Hell The Color Wheel Relates to Hair Color

The Color Wheel and Hair Color...
having nothing to do with those CRAZY COLORS you have seen on Hair Models.

Identifying your Natural LEVEL is the first step in understanding PROFESSIONAL HAIR COLOR for the Home Hair Colorist.
The next most valuable tool is the Color Wheel, remember the color wheel from elementary school? That probably sounds odd, let me simplify it.

Its important to have a general understanding of how colors work together, you may already know but let me review and how it relates to Hair Color. Remember I am trying to help you learn to Color your hair correctly at home and that's it! If you can understand the color wheel.... when you have colored your hair blond and it has this weird cast of green to it ??? knowing the color wheel well -will help you understand how it got there and more importantly how to get rid of it. I still to this day will glance at it - I love color, but looking at the wheel can settle many questions with hair.

The LAW OF COLOR is a system for understanding color relationships. When combining colors, you will always get the same result from the same combination. Equal parts of Red and Blue together always make violet. The Color Wheels on this page should help you understand the relationships.


PRIMARY COLORS: are pure fundamental colors that cannot be achieved from a mixture. The primary colors are blue,red and yellow. All colors are created from these colors. Colors predominantly blue are "cool" toned colors...many hair colors are referred to as Cool - Icy ...which usually means have a 'blue base' or 'blue cast' to them. Colors with a predominance of red are "warm" toned colors ... on the flip side many hair colors are also referred to as "warm" in hair color meaning they have red base.

Blue is the darkest of the primary colors and is the only cool primary color. In addition to coolness, blue also brings depth or darkness to any color to which it is added.

Red is the medium primary color. Red added to blue-based colors will cause them to appear lighter. Red added to yellow colors will cause them to become darker.

Yellow is the lightest of the primary colors. When you add yellow to other colors, the resulting color is lighter and brighter in appearance.

When all 3 colors are present in equal proportions, the resulting color is BLACK! It helps to think of hair colors in terms of their relative proportions of primary colors. NEUTRAL BROWN, for example, has the primary colors in the following proportions: blue --- B, red --- RR, yellow---YYY.

hang in there . . . don't want to put anyone to sleep..........

Secondary Colors: a color obtained by mixing equal parts of two primary colors...secondary colors are: green, orange and violet .

Blue + Yellow = Green

Red + Yellow = Orange

Red + Blue = Violet

Tertiary Colors is an intermediate color achieved by mixing a secondary color and its neighboring primary color on the color wheel in equal amounts. Tertiary colors include blue-green, blue-violet,red-violet,red-orange,yellow-orange, and yellow-green. Natural looking hair color is made up of a combination of primary and secondary colors.

Last one! and this is the one that saves your butt every time!

my fav...

Complementary Colors are a primary and secondary colors positioned opposite each other on the color wheel. The colors of the BLOGGER website are complementary and many logos and insignias because they "pop". Complementary colors include:

blue........and orange

red..........and green

yellow ....and violet

This where they come in handy... Complementary colors NEUTRALIZE each other . When formulating hair color, you will find that it is often your goal to emphasize or distract from skin tones or eye color or to NEUTRALIZE or refine unwanted tones in the hair. Understanding complementary colors will help you choose the appropriate tones to accomplish that goal.

A very common problem, so that you can "picture" this in your mind.... which should help you understand it.

Ever seen a bleached blond who didn't leave the bleach on long enough??? and its this horrid shade of YELLOW , its a very common problem. If you take that head of hair and purchase what is called a "toner" I have always used the analogy of a "NYLON" to my clients . When you shove your arm into a pair of nylons you can still see your arm it just has a "see-thru" cast to it....? correct?? the cast is whatever color "nylon" you chose.

Same with Toners, you can "see" thru them.

So with the very YELLOW bleached blond hair....

WHICH color toner would you track down?

To NEUTRALIZE the YELLOW . . . . . .??? ? ? ?

Look at the color wheel.......................

which color NEUTRALIZES --Yellow ................follow the color wheel ............where??............opposite side.............

Violet.

Violet based Toner.

A COOL BASED VIOLET toner,will knock that yellow out of the ball park!

Fun and Games

The missing primary color in this game is what you would use to neutralize the unwanted tone.

Find the missing primary to neutralize the following:

TONE MISSING PRIMARY

Orange ?

Green ?

Violet ?

Answers tomorrow.............

Yellow Blonde vs White Blonde(Platinum) - - Colour Wheel Solves Yellow-y Blonde Hair

Notice the 2
completely
different shades
(tones) of bleached
blonde hair of
these 2 men :
Brad Pitt & a

model that looks like him






YELLOW -YELLOW -YELLOW

Probably seems strange how a colour wheel can relate to hair colour
most brilliant ideas go back to "the basics",here is nothing more basic than the Colour Wheel

• it would be the tones of hair colours that are objectionable to many
• in blondes: the yellow tone of a blond is very unappealing
• redheads: a lot of red has washed out and ORANGE / GOLD will be the objectionable shades in a tinted redhead
• objectionable Brunettes would be too "GREEN" brunette (ash)

All of it,of course, is personal preference and how style and trends have changed.
There was a time when I really did not like ASH toned colors at all. Now I choose them often, it took 13 years for me to learn to like them but the trends had changed & I had to change. A client and a stylist can have completely different ideas so I do not like to make any definitive guidelines. What I want to do is show you how to counter whatever objectionable tone you may have in your hair colour, the rule applies to all colours & tones. The most common across the board- distaste for a hair colour would be a too-yellow blond - (you almost need sunglasses for) .
As you see above in Mr. Pitt.

Now with someone of that caliber you wonder why in the world would he have this horrid shade of yellow in his bleached blonde hair??
He's an actual - true (Virgin) Dark Blonde - Level 7- NA - Neutral/Ash.
He has all the money in the world to have the best Colorist on the planet, why would he go out in public with hair like that?

I can tell you why...
These shots are from 2005 - end of the year.
Guys do NOT understand hair color, I promise you. . . .very very few, get it. The Gays are pretty good with it, its a unique concept, as I am sure you are noticing.

( The fourth step of the 10,000HEADS Program is Hair Colour and the proper use of it. Instead of just reading you the riot act about finding a great colourist (not always possible for many reasons), I decided to start explaining some of the intricacies of hair colour you might have to take into your own hands. )
Look at Pitt he couldn't even get it right.
Although if you remember for the first few years of his career he did know how to dress, he finally hired a stylist...he's looked great ever since.
The reason?.......end of 2005 is when Pitt and Aniston broke up.....she uses some of the best hair people on the planet....he lost that when he left her.
Jolie knows nothing about hair colour, although he was in between the 2 at the time trying to make sense out of his life ( bet he regrets it all now!).
I heard Jennifer said, "Tell Brad: Billy Idol called and wants his hair back..."
Billy Idol would be horrified his hair was never yellow. EVER.

The method of fixing a too yellow blond is the best way to show you how the color wheel relates to hair colour.
In order to cancel the yellow tone in the blond one must head to the colour wheel (until you memorize it)
The opposite of yellow?
Purple/Violet or even a Blue-Violet BASED toner ...is the answer..
Here is an example and I know why it happened as well..
The purple being the opposite colour knocks out the yellow tones and returns the overall appearance to a neutral.
All Toners for Blondes have an underlying base to them, toners are a transparent colour... many times you cannot get the absolute perfect shade or tone that you desire with a one step (single process) colouring technique.
Which is why I differentiate between hair colour and "SHOW" Hair Colour.
When doing hair for Hair Shows the entire goal is to achieve the absolute most brilliant Tones / Shades & / Hues that are possible. Its a shame that not all hair is done that way.
It was one of my faults in my hair business, I would always do hair at that level which slows down the day. Time is of the essence in getting clients in and out of the Salon.


Applying a blue-violet or purple based Toner to the yellow blonde will kill the yellow and make the blond a very pleasant Platinum ( think Marilyn Monroe white-blonde) or like the gentleman model on the right at top of the page.
SEE THE DIFFERENCE THE PROPER TONER MAKES?. PItt has no toner on his bleached mess, the bleached model has a violet based Platinum Toner from Wella which was left on the hair for 25 minutes after the bleaching process.
Mixing toners produce wonderful results - having multiple dozens of brands and tones, there is nothing more fun than playing with hair colour toners on blondes, silly, huh?
I love it!
The same process works for every hair colour, they have toners in all shades and tones. The too-green (ASH) Browns...using a red brown (AUBURN) toner will warm that brown right up...and so on.
A toner has three possible names

1. Toner


2. Semi-Permanent color


3. Demi-Permanent color

They are very low volume peroxide colours ...so there is no lift (cannot go lighter). The colours end up being very transparent / washing out easily, it is especially important to use a sulfate-free shampoo.

Color Wheels for Reference

go across(opposite) for whatever colour you want to get rid of to neutralize

Color Wheel and Hair Color

Colour Wheel

Remember these from school?
Everyone must have broken out the Crayon box and colored a colour at some point in life. You may not remember, but it is a part of education in most countries, the reason ?
Every person see’s colors differently
Demonstrates no 2 colour wheels are the same; purpose of the exercise

Primary colors: Red, Yellow, blue
Secondary Colours: Green, Purple,Orange
Tertiary Colours: Red-Purple, Orange-Red,
Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Green, Blue-Green, Blue-Purple

Have you ever seen the colored shampoos/conditioners? For years they have had a product that grey hair older ladies use called “Shimmering Lights” it is a purple colored conditioner and shampoo , which takes the “yellow” out of grey, grey hair is actually hair with NO pigment in the strand and with all the lousy water, the yellowing is merely the water tingeing the grey/colorless hair, yellow. Why do you think they call them “blue hairs”?Overdoing“Shimmering Lights”!!

Permanent colours : are not the colour in the bowl they end up to be.
Semi Permanent ( no developer): This colour will look like the colour it ends up being on your hair.

ONE OF THE MORE BRILLIANT TRICKS FOR BLONDES
Another trick? With a very simple solution: make your own Toner Conditioner to use with every shampoo. At local beauty supply...

• purchase a bottle of one of many semi-permanent brilliant colors like: MANIC PANIC, CRAZY COLOURS, , purchase Purple.
• Buy your favorite daily conditioner and an empty plastic bottle or better yet a jar ( travel jar).
• Put 8 oz of your conditioner in a bowl, add about a teaspoon of the purple Crazy Colour, mix really well with a whisk and put back in the travel jar or bottle ( with funnel ). It will look like a lavender condtioner now ( it will lightly tone your hair every time you use it).

Directions for use: Shampoo hair at beginning of shower, apply conditioner letting it sit on hair for remainder of shower ( 4-8 minutes)… rinse hair as normal. Check hair in mirror, If still yellow – repeat process > add another teaspoon of purple to mixture. Continue doing this until the colour is right for your hair, going up a teaspoon at a time. If for some strange reason it is too purple…Shampoo once. Its semi-permanent and comes out very easily! Its both a matter of the right amount of purple and right amount of time you have left it on the hair, as factors that effect outcome. No reason to ‘buy’ the colored conditioners besides this will work a million times better as you have control over the amount of purple so it can be tremendously more effective .