Celebrity Colorology:Hair Color for the Stars. Or Is It?

Remember, its a celebrity's job to work and concentrate on their looks - their skin, their body their clothes and especially their HAIR! Your job does not.

The Trick?

Taking the old color out of the hair before applying the new color and doing that . . ever so gently. Using expensive products and going to expensive Salons - it can be quite costly. Removing hair color the way celebrity's do, can start at $400 although it usually hits about $600.- $700. It can also take 2 days! So the time costs money, I'm not putting down the price , I used to do it all the time and I never ever felt overpaid, I promise you. Its a very time consuming job. I also did not get the amounts I am quoting I worked in Malibu you needed to work in town (Beverly Hills, Santa Monica or West Hollywood) to make the top dollars. I could never give up my gorgeous views for the drudgery of driving to town 2 hours {at least} both ways probably - not smart..



Let me teach you how to take the old color out of your hair, the way I do it. Its the exact way that is used on all the celebrity hair, that you see go from; black to white to black again!

I promise.

Start with the next post. . .

KC

Leave word in the Comments section

DECOLORIZATION of Previously Colored Hair : Introduction of the Shampoo Train

3 of the Best & Safest Steps to Removing Old Hair Color

This trick normally would be the one I recommend you head to a Professional for, it is about the toughest project you can take on, aside from the endless odd Color Correction procedures.
The many I performed took most of a day, are you ready for that? This is about the most expensive procedure that one can purchase in a Salon, are you ready for that? Just the first part...pre-lightening the hair can take hours, are you ready for that? This is complicated, many very talented stylists won't take it on, they send their clients to a "Color Correction Specialist" because "they can't be bothered". . . . are you ready for this ??? Truly? I want you to understand the scope. The TRUE SCOPE of it.
But, you CAN save yourself a whole helluva lot of cash in doing it at home.
I know you think you are ready, but this is the biggest headache there is...and to be perfectly honest just writing about it, has me dreading it, I have never put it in words and frankly feel like sending you all to another color correction specialist. The reason? Each one of you are a different case, there does not exist 2 identical cases, so for me to address the particulars that will suit each one of you is impossible. That's why you cannot find anything about it -- ANYWHERE....someone is a Level 5R(red)......someone is a Level 3 G(gold) with 2 other colors underneath the Level 3 ....someone is a Level 7RG (copper)with highlights......and inevitably one of you is a Level 1 the most impossible of all Levels and colors - can you see why this is as impossible as I make it sound. I can guarantee you will get discouraged at this whole procedure. I have taken a couple dozen people from Level 1 to Level 12..although they were done in 2 days not 1, to save the integrity of the hair. It can be done, but it takes a lot of dollars in products. There is nothing that can be done about that.
You want to perform miracles????
Its going to cost you and us a lot of dough and every single chemical product that is made to pull it off, correctly.
My suggestion to all of you that want to perform this miracle is to spend at least a full week (even 2 weeks) performing the SHAMPOO TRAIN (I dubbed it that years ago and it stuck -- in Malibu anyway). I've had about a half dozen Strands readers write in with how successful this has been for them.

Just know that throughout my years of Salon and Lab work I sported very cool... very progressive color ...that is one of the suggestions taught in Cosmetology 101 , I loved it and had a great time with it. I always have Level 7 Copper hair (born a natural redhead-- yuck, huh?! I discovered when I colored my hair for fun in Cosmo School long ago....color was the best thing my hair had ever seen!) I don't have gray hair, I have a full head of hair, its long and medium thick ( I developed a program that is killer as well.That will be coming up on here....as well....even sick I have the hair of a teenager! it's great!) My hair naturally was just kind of bland and not very interesting. Coloring it gave it body, shine and interest.... Never got complements on it until I colored it all these crazy combinations of reds and blondes. I colored it every 6 weeks, religiously...which sometimes involved taking a large section of hair from a very dark Level 4 or 5 Auburn to a light copper blond Level 12. I did this to my own hair for 15 years....so I could make these radical changes in my hair fairly often.
How?
Shampoo Train. I would start the Train about 10-12 days before I was going to change my color, I could only wash at night so would do it 4-5 times every night.... I have very porous hair ( fades easily) which helps. This is the most gentle form of fading the hair color and then would top it off with 1-2 applications of PHANTOM Color Corrector. This is the 2nd most gentle method of lightening hair. So if you have tinted dark hair and are anxious to be blonde please realize.....YOU HAVE A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD OF YOU.
3 PRE-TREATMENTS for DECOLORIZATION OF HAIR :

• Bleach Soap Cap ( 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon powder bleach + 10 Vol Developer) Directions are on yesterdays post.
• Shampoo Train (minimum of 1 week) (Malibu2000 - UN DO GOO Shampoo)Today's Post - below.
• Vanish Color Corrector - THE HOLY GRAIL, this is what all of you need > purchase it in our Killer Color Clinic....attached to our GOOGLE GROUP - Killerstrands

In order to begin, depending on the previously colored hair you will need to pick 1,2 or all 3 of these procedures first.

There is no magic, you must get the color out of your hair first

There is no schedule or any rules set in stone. Depends on how many layers of colors you have on your hair....and the most difficult are going to be the ones that have used boxed hair color kits, for some reason those need a stick of dynamite to get them out. I don't know why. That is why I feel there is something strange in them.

All the professional lines of color come out of the hair nicely the cheap ones are stuck in there with something weird. I wish I knew. There is no such thing as permanent hair color.....they all fade... and especially with the SLS shampoos everyone has been using. If you are going to go thru this process make it worth it and get the proper shampoo for your hair afterwards, please.

SHAMPOO TRAIN
Used to fade artificial hair color in preparation for new color or lightening.
Tools

• 2 bottles - Clarifying Shampoo ( #1- Malibu 2000 UN DO GOO or Well Water Action(depends on length/thickness hair)
• Wella In Depth Treatment pH Balancer - through the Killer Color Clinic
• 10 Plastic Caps - package of 100 =
• THRIVEN Hair Conditioner
• Timer

Kitchen Or Bathroom sink
Side of sink: Towel, Shampoo. In Depth Treatment, Conditioner
INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Wet Hair & lather...this is different than shampooing, in shampooing you should be scrubbing the scalp....in the Train you're scrubbing the hair strands themselves. Picture in your mind the color molecules locked inside the cuticle of the hair strands.( clarifying shampoo on strands is trying to pull the minerals and gunk off of hair ) once you begin this process the shampoo will pull the minerals and gunk off in the first shampoo....so I have found in repeated shampoos it begins working on taking out the color !! with the very gentle citric acids (you know from the citrus of oranges,grapefruit,lemons, & pineapples)...a very cool and effective method.
2. Praying for Clarity.....while lathered take different sections of the hair working on the darker sections the most between your two hands in the praying position, rub back and forth quickly and with pressure....for as long as you can handle it....moving around the head....keep the lather up > keep the speed pray rubbing up for 5 minutes minimum.
3. After you've run your arms into the ground, make sure there is plenty of lather on the hair, put the Plastic cap on...if you have a blow dryer, lift an edge and shoot the hot air in on the shampooed strands for just 10-15 seconds is all..leave it that way > set timer for 10-15 minutes.
4. Rinse with tepid water, rinse 1 minute longer than you think (no one rinses long enough when shampooing) if you are stopping here for the time being...apply IN-DEPTH & Conditioner in the normal fashion.
5. If you are ready to proceed with 2-3-4-5 shampoos, no need for IN-DEPTH at this point. What you must do is let hair rest minimum of 30 minutes before next shampoo. You must do at least 4 per day. . 6-7 and above is best. Most effective schedule: 2 in the Morning / 1 @ Lunch / 3 in Evening.
6. Depends on the layers of color you each have, its impossible for me to tell you how many days to do this...If you plan on getting a couple boxes of VANISH, if you don't.....there are just so many variables in this. Are you going to begin with a Soap Cap and then proceed to this. Are you going to do all 3? It's totally up to you, your pocketbook, your timeframe, PLEASE keep the condition of your hair at the top of the list. I do.
7. Doing this for a minimum of one week is advised, after that will be your decision depending on the other factors.
8. I have put together a Color Remover Kit that includes

• 1 Box of VANISH ( 2 applications)
• 1 Sponge for application
• 2 plastic Caps
• UN DOO GOO Shampoo - 3 applications
• 10 Volume - Small bottle
• My Personal Instructions on VANISH application - Tricks of my trade for getting color OUT

I have finally explained the SHAMPOO TRAIN. As I said, you must take the 3 Decolorization Techniques and figure out which you will use...I would suggest using 2. Of course, I would suggest the shampoo Train and then VANISH - 2 applications. If you have Level 1 or 2 you are going to need all 3 and 2 boxes of VANISH. Vanish is the one and only product that will work .

The absolute easiest, best and most gentle on the hair is the VANISH Color Corrector. There are 2 applications per box and it costs $30.00, if you've followed the teachings here I will be glad to let you order it from me, I can tell if you've been reading it or not.

VANISH Color Corrector truly reverses the molecular action of the color molecules and they come out without the use of any developer or bleach so it is super gentle on the hair. Super.
How light do you get it? The million dollar question....You want to get as close to your virgin hair color as possible.
Vanish does not work on natural hair - - bleach does.
So when you get close to your own hair color with the bleach soap cap it will lighten it - VANISH won't.

You want to get as much of that artificial color out as possible, yet -- preserving the condition of your hair. If the condition starts to feel "spongy" "not right" or "rough & stringy"....and especially if you start to have hair shedding or hair fall...be ready as this will happen when going through these steps (the most radical of hair coloring procedures). A small amount is normal, if it starts to be a large amount .......rinse whatever it is .... > OFF - IMMEDIATELY. Rinse,shampoo and condition immediately. Re-assess when dry. Don't panic over this warning, I just need to throw it out there, I feel better if I know I have covered everything.
For Decolorization of previously colored Hair you now have the 3 PRE-steps. Me, I would use 2 boxes of Vanish and be done with it, I understand you need other options. In the Salon someone comes in and wants it done, you have no chance to ask them to do the Shampoo Train, although with a couple people I offered them the option of that or 8-10 hours in the Salon and better conditioned hair, they took the shampoo & we did it 10 days later. You cannot just plaster the bleach on and hope it will take the color out, if you do the hair will come off your head with the color. You must perform at least 1 of the 3 Pre-Treatments, preferably 2.

There is no reason to put the directions to VANISH on here, you only need them if you purchase the product....and you can only purchase it if you have a Cosmetology License. [I have not even seen it on EBAY!] So you have the 3 PRE steps now and then you would move to the previously posted Lightening of Virgin Hair with just a couple warning steps and a couple small tricks which will tie it all together.
Questions Kids?

Killer Chemists > Most Common Question For August.

Below is a wonderful email from a Killerstrands reader, this seems to be a very common problem this month. At the end of every month I want to pick out an email that represents the most common inquiry to me for the month, in hopes of helping others out there, too timid to ask and answer it for you all in a post. I got Melissa's approval first to publish her email, so I thank her for giving us the peek into her hair world.

Please, I adore your questions and look forward to answering them. So ask away.

Here is melissa's Email...

I would estimate I had at least another 20 emails to me very very close to the same problem.... Melissa summarized it the best..

Aug 31 (3 days ago)

Killer CHEMIST,

i just found your blog, and i have to say i have learned a lot. i wish i found this earlier.
i need some help with a problem i have with my hair.

i asked my stylist to make my hair color a nice medium warm brown.
I have naturally black hair but has been highlighted, and then changed to a dark brown.

My hair looked brown when she was done, and i liked it. but when i got home it looked more of a dark plum red tint.
which i hate! i was pissed. in the light you could see this dark reddish purple tint to it. and even in pictures it looked like that.
so i panicked and bought a toner (demi-permanent), Loreal Gems. That made my hair black with a dark reddish tint! Yuck.

So i go to her to fix it. She doesn't lift my hair at all???? I thought that was weird.
Instead she said she put in more of an ash color in the mixture she made......It definitely got most of the red out but not all, there is still a slight red tint in the light, but its still black. Now in the light it will look brownish/reddish depending on the angle of the light.

Ugh! i don't know what to do. i want to be able to do this myself and i am worried about damaging my hair, meanwhile paranoid of hair loss.
i just want a nice medium but warm brown. is that so difficult. oh she said i would have to bleach my hair to get this color, which after reading you blogs, it sounds like she is right. she said my hair since i'm asian (technically only half, and I don't have typical asian hair) will always pull red.

i know when she did my highlights i got a nice brown. i don't know what i should do.




There is a whole art in the Hair Colour World called Color Correction. This would be a person that spends the majority of their time fixing others hair color mistakes. I did this throughout my career because I was trained by a Colour Correction Specialist, she was the top in the field in the United States and she continues to be. I was very lucky to have that training because there is no where to 'read' about it, one has to be trained or find someone that will let you intern/mentor underneath them... it is the only way. Most with the knowledge do not like to give it up they want it elite & private.

The very first point about this email that needs to be made.............
This is a HAIR COLOR Rule that is the most important one you will ever learn. Almost everyone that reads and comments on this blog....does not seem to understand what it means. I am upset that I have not explained it correctly & that no one understands what I mean.
Here it is:

Colour does not lift color.
Tint does not Lift Tint.
Dye does not lift Dye..............................all 3 of these statements mean exactly the same thing.
Its just what you are calling the hair color product. I prefer Tint.

If you put Tint or color or Dye....whatever you want to call it...on your hair.... once......like she did...she had brown colour put on her hair....
once you put that color on your hair.....you are basically screwed..... once it is on your hair, it is chemically impossible to take another color and put it on top....and have that color on top work....they do NOT WORK ON TOP OF EACH OTHER, that has not been figured out yet...
Once dark brown is put on hair.....the only way out of it is to wash it out or use a very expensive very long process called MODULAT a German color remover.

Modulat is how the Celebs all change hair color so much and their hair is still on their head. It does removes the color/tint/or dye....safely - it does not destroy the hair.... but it takes an entire day and can cost $200-$500. in the Salon.

Now we are right back to where we started......

Colour does not "Lift" Colour. ( lift means 'lighten') Can you grasp that statement? I think if you do it will help you all in so many ways...

So for Melissa and the many others that wrote to me with this problem.. ....I am making available the MODULAT to any readers of Killer strands that want to do the procedure to themselves. The product ( 2 applications normally) costs $23 and is not difficult to apply I've helped a couple people with it :very successfully. That is one option.

The other is to start right away with the shampoo train.
I have quite a few people in this stage right now. This is what we use in the hair color world with hair models.....If you shampoo the hell out of hair, with a CLARIFYING shampoo....
the color begins to come out....you loosen the color molecules and begin to fade the hair color...exactly what we want.
It goes like this.....
The best shampoo is Malibu 2000 UN DO GOO.....if you can't get that....buy a crappie CLARIFYING shampoo
....leave shampoo ON THE HAIR for 5-10 minutes ( longer the better) rinse...........wait min. 30 minutes & repeat..... Do this 4-5-6 times - EVERY day!!
That will lighten that black....which is what you want.

just give me the word and I will send you some Modulat!

First you have to work at getting that black and all those colors out of it......start that shampoo train up....so many people have tremendous success with this.....trust me. It's the beginning you need.
.....

Top 10 Tricks to Changing Hair Color Frequently

Top 10 Tricks to Changing Hair Color

Often & Safely...Often & Safely

• Put the "Health" of your hair number #1


• NEVER - EVER use a Boxed Hair Color Kit again


• Apply "After-Color" treatment for pH Level, following every single color service


• Follow directions on individual hair manufacturers color tubes-precisely-they're all different. Purchase the best hair color brand you can afford, if you can afford it..acquire Professional Color like: Euro-Wella, Framesi, Schwartzkopf, E-bay has everything, it makes a huge difference...huge.


• Deep (overnight) condition once/week every week for the rest of your life


• Use SchwarzKopf's Modulat ; now its called PHANTOM Color Corrector as one & only Color Remover that not only works, but does not damage hair when finished, which allows the changing to continue. This is a huge secret I have let out of the bag, use it!


• Never change entire hair color more than once in 30 days.( Pro's can do it, you cannot- if there is some unforseen reason this comes up - you must contact me - I will be here to help )


• Plan Ahead: if dark and going blond, begin the 'shampoo train' (shampooing 4-5-6 times:use lousy shampoo: in one evening: using start/stop method)-remember shampoo is most gentle method for removing hair color>yes it removes 'permanent')


• When using Lighteners (bleach) use Oil Bleach absolutely as often as possible (changing more frequently & safely > will be your reward!)


• Plan Ahead (yes, i know its twice) doing radical hair color changes can be fun and possible if you just remember to keep in mind that you have to do something next, which is what many people forget, including hair stylists. Treat your hair kindly, if you do, it will reward you by letting you change the colors as often, as wild or as timid as you want.

I WILL NEVER-EVER USE BOXED HAIR COLOR KITS

I WILL NEVER -EVER USE BOXED HAIR COLOR KITS

I WILL NEVER -EVER USE BOXED HAIR COLOR KITS

I WILL LEARN HOW TO USE THE LEVEL SYSTEM

I WILL LEARN HOW TO USE THE LEVEL SYSTEM

I WILL LEARN HOW TO USE THE LEVEL SYSTEM

any answer I need, i can ask the killer chemist - ANY>WHAT-SO-EVER

any answer I need, I can ask the killer chemist - ANY >WHAT-SO-EVER

any answer I need I can ask the killer chemist - ANY > WHAT-SO-EVER

I encourage "comments" so everyone can learn... if you're a lurker ...

...don't feel comfortable...

...my private email: Killerstrands@gmail.com