Don't Ever Try To Write a 2 - Part Series

New Basics Today - 20 Basics earlier This Week

which this stupid Windows Live Writer Program eliminated. . . . sorry . . . . This is the 2nd part of the 2 part 40 Statement POST.

I GIVE UP . . ..

Roll with Crib Colorist Artists; taking note of the next 20 Basics

1. Always - ALWAYS run a test strand. Especially when trying out any of Killer Strands Ideas. Many think if you use public hair color( Sally's Beauty & the like) and imitate my techniques, the results will come out the same - nothing could be further from the truth. When I began this blog, I was also under that false impression - so I understand you thinking so. After many complaints - which led me to testing of the products -- I myself learned the difference between the 2. The difference is remarkable, therefore any Posts I have written in the first year of this Blog - need to be amended - all those suggestions: of using certain "public brands" need to be eliminated. Until I get time to do that all of that, please NOTE this recommendation.

2. When doing a 2 process color (bleach & tone), lift 1/2 to 1 full level, lighter than your desired color to ensure desired results.

3. When you are lightening hair color, you are not actually dealing with brown, you are dealing with the underlying remaining pigment, which is usually red, orange, gold or yellow.

4. Warmth is released when you begin to lighten hair. Red and Yellow tones will dominate, because the first pigment to leave during lightening is blue.

5. Fillers used on both depositing and high lifting. I "will" be going over this in detail - soon.

6. Never use HEAT with hair color, Stylists use heat to "buy time", I cannot think of one hair color whose directions require heat.

7. When choosing your next hair color, try not to rush into things, consider your lifestyle - consider your economic status - most importantly - consider your hair type & health. If really not sure, you can always purchase a HHCC Home Hair Color Consultation, which basically costs you $15.00 for my help.

8. For the best results use premium Developer, with professional hair color comes a much higher quality developer.

9. Mix together small amounts of color at a time. Pro Hair Color has a "freshness" factor, once the developer & the tint are mixed together - the faster you get it applied, the better. Use enough product, but do not waste.

10. Re-mixing is a better course to take than mixing all at once and having to throwing away excess. Hair Color to Professionals is the number 1 expense, so learning to work thrifty with it, is advantageous to them - I would think the same would affect everyone.

11. Permanent Tint is the most effective way to color hair.

12. Neat, small accurate applications make for successful coverage and contrary to what some might think, actually take less time + allow more control.

13. Precise parting & sectioning will help, when it comes to both application and coverage, so practice - practice - practice.

14. Extra peroxide or a 2:1 ratio increases lifting ability of any volume.

15. 80% of problems in Hair Color come from misjudging the base or existing level.

16. To make a missing Level ......... mix (roughly) 2 parts of the lighter level color with 1 part of the darker level. For example, say you need a Level 7 N......... in the cupboard you have a tube of 8N and 6N. Add ..............2 parts of 8N with 1 part of 6N = the result will be a perfect 7N.

17. Foil work is an art and should be treated as such. Precision work requires practice-practice -practice.

18. Discard all mixed product not used.

19. Level 7, by the way, is the most difficult Level to get past, hence the difficulties with brassy colors.

20. There are 4 types of hair color: Temporary, Semi Permanent, Demi Permanent, Permanent Hair Color.

Killer Chemist

On Your Mark Get Set Color ! Begin Hair Color Formulating

Know why this is a good tool?

Once you realize what you have to consider to color your hair (correctly) it will prevent you from making mistakes (I hope).

Begin with answers to these questions:

1. What Level of color ARE YOU ? http://killerstrands.blogspot.com/2007/07/today.html


2. What Level of color do you DESIRE to be? http://killerstrands.blogspot.com/2007/07/today.html


3. What TONE or color do you want . . . Lordie,. . . . I forgot Tones ???! I am soooo sorry. This is so hard - every single company has different tones....but they are important. Like do you want an ASH Brown or a RED Brown > those are tones and are completely opposite colors and are very important.OK, I'll have to take one last hiccup and spend one full post on TONES /SHADES, that is the "key" to have a Chocolate Brown versus a Caramel Brown,it probably doesn't sound that different. It is. I swear. We've come this far, we must finish the race...correctly. What an Idiot. Well, now you know me...Space Case UNLIMITED. I'm sorry. Lets finish this.


4. Do you need a base ( first 1 inch of hair) Are you dealing with Grey hair (at all) how much?


5. Fine, medium or coarse hair?


6. What's the previous damage...?
7. The single most important question . . . . What type of artificial hair color do you have on your hair already? What was it and when ? Be completely honest about this answer please.
   

OK...get the answers to these down. If you aren't coloring your hair now, then make-up something you want to try in the future. Color the neighbors hair. Just play around, get familiar with 'Levels'. Be able to answer the questions easily. Tomorrow I'll zip over tones and shades. . . . so we will be complete...sort of! Thank you for hanging in there.

For those of you serious about learning and practicing home HAIR COLORING The Pro way... You will want to pick a line or two of color that you will use. There is a couple ways to go... I have been scoping out what you are able to purchase without a cosmetology license...its a whole different world. I have put the public lines of hair color thru a number of tests and I cannot find one that I would recommend - therefore I have made available to you the professional lines of hair color that will knock your socks off. Just send the store an email with ORDER in the Subject and I will get back to you Killerstrands@gmail.com.

The idea is to get AWAY from using a kit that only has ONE Volume of developer in the box. You need much more leeway in deciding which Volume of developer to use on your hair.

If a

• - - Red head
  
• - - a Blonde and a
  
• - - African American (black hair)
  

all go into a store to purchase a box of color to become a LEVEL 6 chocolate brunette - those boxed kits will lead you to believe that all 3 of you can purchase the same box to get that color. I hope you can see - simply from common sense that would not be true.
As a Top Colorist in LA I want you to know if everyone in those 3 groups - purchases that box of Color to become a Level 6 chocolate Brown.... NONE OF THEM will get the right result. Did you notice which category I left out?
Brunettes.
That is the only group that I could guess "might" get good results.

It has to do with which VOLUME of developer is IN that box.... and all the variables I have reviewed and will review with you - - of your hair . Its simple insane to think you can get the proper answers in 1 tiny box without considering all the variables to make a correct decision.

Life Is A Bleach ! Enjoying Blonds and Experiencing Lighteners

This is how you play with TONERS, my passion. The 3 gentlemen bleached to pale yellow... toned by "muting" down vivid CRAZY COLORS. Put a dollop of either mousse or hair conditioner in a bowl....pour in a little of a bright color at a time... any color PLUS the WHITE of mousse or conditioners makes for Easter Egg pastels..

All dark haired women lighten to a pale yellow level and toned.

Beige Toner

Platinum Toner

I added quite a bit to yesterdays post... be sure to review it. At this point I feel its necessary to let you see what bleach and what lighteners can do.There is a tremendous amount of animosity to the word "bleach" out there in the non-professional hair world.When I try to remember back before I knew all of this, I am sure I had the same feelings .

"Bleach" makes you think of that hideous smelling liquid you throw in with clothing + the washing machine... or the "bleach" in many of today's Cleaners...which is strong and chokes you if your sensitive in the least.

Try to dump that tendency to relate hair bleach to clothing bleach....they are so totally different...... do you know that when I hear I will be doing a bleaching for the day ( they just don't happen as often as I wish - and never have) . . . that one piece of news will turn my whole day into a joyful...skip to my Lou day . . I am on top of the world...because I know that I will be soon in my element....Turning hair from one color to the opposite is very satisfying...to ALL COLORISTS...because it is a difficult procedure and to master it and nail it every time is fulfilling and fun.

So when I hear the hesitation in the publics' voice about hair bleaching and lightening.....just know that when it is done correctly you too can look like Gwen Stefani for years & years AND YEARS . . .once you master the art of the HOME HAIR COLORIST SERIES by the killer chemist.

Learn to LOVE LIGHTENING

LOVE THE REACH FOR BLEACH

Hair Color Toys. . . I Mean Tools

You will need everything displayed on this page to do Home Hair Coloring . . .The "bottle" method does not work with the consistency of the newer hair colors..but that's OK the newer colors are thicker and heavier which translates into richer bolder colors that last longer and are much more vivid.

foil : a small roll will be $4 or $5.00,

latex gloves - you can buy them single-y from behind the counter.

pro Large Hair Clips

Tint Brush

Timer - important

Measuring Cup for Peroxide - also important

STRUCTURE & HAIR TYPE

Structure and hair type are partial determining factors in choosing which hair color to use, which will also affect the quality and ultimate success of the hair color.

Some hair color products may cause a dramatic change in the structure of the hair while others cause relatively little change. Knowing how products affect the hair will be one other feather in your cap so you can make the best choices for your own hair.

A little quick review of hair structure...the hair is composed of 3 main parts.

• CUTICLE: the outermost layer, it protects the interior cortex and contributes 20% of the overall strength


• CORTEX: the middle layer - which gives the hair its strength and elasticity. a healthy cortex lends 80% of the strength to the hair. It contains the natural pigment called MELANIN, which determines if we are blonde,brunette, or redhead.


• MEDULLA: the innermost layer. It is sometimes absent from the hair and plays a very minor role in the hair coloring process.
  
  TEXTURE

Hair texture is determined by the diameter of the individual hair strand. Large,medium, and small diameter hair strands translate into coarse, medium and fine hair textures, respectively. Melanin is distributed differently within the different textures. The melanin granules in fine hair are grouped more tightly, so the hair takes color faster and can look darker. Medium textured hair has an average response to hair color product and finally coarse-textured hair has a larger diameter and can take longer to process.

So on the RAZERBURN blog, we just got through teaching the men to determine the 'texture' of their hair - just so they would have the information and knowledge for life...and sure enough here is one other spot that just having the proper diagnosis would be of such a great advantage.

DENSITY
Another aspect that plays a role in hair coloring you must remember is density, which is the numbers of hair per square inch which can range from thick to thin. Density matters as it affects 'proper coverage'.

Porosity is the ability to absorb liquid, porous hair accepts hair color faster and permits darker color than less porous hair. There are different degrees of porosity.....

low porosity: the cuticle is tight>the hair is resistant. which means it is difficult for moisture or chemicals to penetrate & requires a longer processing time. an example of resistant hair ? Gray hair.
average porosity: cuticle is slightly raised, hair is normal and processes in average time.
high porosity: cuticle is lifted;hair is over porous and the hair takes color very quickly <> color also fades quickly

OK... that is now every little tiny bit of info that I was going to have to mention or bring up...in order to explain to explain the world of professional Hair color. Hallelujah!
Whoops it just hit me............
one more day of this.....I need to go Over lighteners.....lighteners such as BLEACH and High Lift Blondes. I love bleaches...as a colourist...I look for the tools that create the most radical change in the hair....that take the hair from black to WHITE.....or from white to black...because to accomplish that well can only be done by handful of people. Its a terrific sense of accomplishment to be the tops in your field.

So stay tuned...I may finish this off today or bounce back to Frizz-FREE FRIDAY....

Developer <> Hydrogen Peroxide It Speaks Volume's

Hydrogen Peroxide / Developers

{Let me bring the concepts down … to the planet, a lot of this may seem unnecessary and strange sounding but everything needs to be taught and understood for those of you wanting to professional hair color at home front. All of the info talked about, needs to be said ...so I can refer to it as I head deeper into teaching hair coloring at home, be patient. If you want to learn information that would cost a tremendous amount of $$ plus years of experience, just read and re-read every post. I am teaching all our secrets - I don’t know a soul that would do that.}

Getting down to the nitty-gritty > to make a batch of haircolor to put on hair, this is the picture: You have a bowl…a tint brush …on one side of the bowl is some color ….squeezed out of a tube…on the other side of the bowl…..Is the “white stuff”…..which has no smell until the 2 substances are combined…then POW- mix the 2 things together and it explodes in aroma and changes hair color .

That white stuff is the Developer …or Hydrogen Peroxide. I snicker when I hear that some new hair color is great & wonderful because it doesn’t use peroxide. To me….as a chemist….as a Colorist…the last thing on the planet I would want would be a hair color that does NOT have hydrogen peroxide in it ! Which of course depends on what you want to do ( lighten or darken). Things like “henna” were used by the Egyptians and are still available today….with absolutely NO facts or guide as to how it works or what it will turn out like. It’s all a crap shoot. When doing hair color I want the results to be “PREDICTABLE” so I can tell you and I can know in my head what it will look like when we are completed.

A developer is an oxidizing agent that, when mixed with an oxidative hair color, supplies the necessary oxygen gas to develop color molecules and create a change in hair color. Developers, also called oxidizing agents or catalysts, having a pH between 2.5 and 4.5 . Although there are a number of developers on the market, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is the one most commonly used in hair color.

VOLUME is the measure of the potential oxidation of varying strengths of hydrogen peroxide. The lower the volume, the less lift is achieved; the higher the volume, the greater the lifting action. The majority of permanent hair color products use 10 ,20,30,40 Volume hydrogen peroxide for proper color development.

WHAT'S YOUR IDEAL HIGHLIGHT HUE ?

These are merely suggestions for highlights and lowlights.... I have had this chart for over 15 years, which shows you that Hair color may seem to change dramatically to you, but in all actuality it simply goes through phases, exactly the same as "fashion" does.

A new client called the Lab today and asked if we knew anyone that does that "NEW LOOK" of bleached white-blond hair with bright pink highlights surrounding the face...sound familiar? Its been done a lot....what we have to do and as a good hair stylist we 'should' do is come up with "new' ways of presenting the same thing.
Which we do - year in and year out.

Home Hair Colorist - Lesson 6

PIC 20-40

HOME HAIR COLOURIST - Lesson 6

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

Remaining Pigment Contribution

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

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

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

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

Contribution of Underlying Pigment

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

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

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

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

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

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






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

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.............

Home Hair Colorist - Lesson 3 - Learning The "Levels" Into Your Brain

The Level System
What level are you?