TOMMY–TONER, EENIE – MEENIE—MYNEE – MONOR – This Is How You Have A Blonde With Honor and a Great TONER

With Spring and the new Blonde’s being settled I realized that I must begin getting my favorite class of colors in line for you. I feel if I get them in line and give away some of my secret formula’s I will get all the Blonde’s KS has as regulars playing around with their light locks. I mean how much fun is that, to have light enough hair to play around with new Toners every other week or so. It’s one of my favorite past times with my bleach ‘n’ tones ( I”m not afraid of bleach – in fact many times its the right tool for the job “please see my recent post in Group, in which I lost my cool on…!!!!”) as well as with my high-lifts.

Back at the ole corral ( Sassoon ) we would have days of boredom and come up with the craziest of experiments – may days were drawing color names out of a hat and having to go make that toner for a blond. I mean that may sound easy, but when someone writes, “ light turqoise blue” ( which we named “St. Barts”) it really is not that easy. Especially when its a contest, and you have 20-40 eager beaver Colorist’s chomping at the bit.

First of all one must have a stable ( notice todays “cowboy” theme!! ha ha – after that dear post in the Group) of “counter” toners. Your basic toner that will knock a lot or a teeny tiny bit of brass right out of that hair strand. We would Tone everything, I know many of you go by the rule, “ if there is ‘no yellow’ we need “no toner”… That is not really the professional way of doing things.

WE ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLWAYS TONE BLONDS. Why? Because that is the professional and TOP NUMBER 1 manner in which you should send someone out into the world that has either paid for one of 2 services:

1) Bleach and Tone. This does not say, only ‘tone’ if need be…it says BLEACH and when finished with that TONE the hair - - PERIOD.

or

2) HighLift blond and Tone: same here, we ALWAYS tone. Why? Because toning is professional. Toning is the Icing on the cake. Can you imagine getting a cake with NO ICING ? ? ? ? TO us, it is the SAME --- EXACT---- DIFFERENCE. In England they always tone and would ever send a blond out of the Salon without a toner, it just is not done at the level of hair / hair color that I teach – and perform so when you go blond in my chair, you leave with your hair pH balanced – TONED- Conditioned and AWESOME. For all you Stylists out there, if you want to bring in and keep every single client that sits their pretty little butt in your chair….follow my lead. I promise you, people appreciate your passion for your work.

Yes, I do understand money constraints, but after watching people for 15 years give me that excuse and then walk in with a $400 Handbag, or their face newly frozen from BOTOX, I truly do not have much sympathy for peoples’ excuses for hair and their finances….so please don’t waste them on me.

People who are truly poor are not coloring their hair AT ALL. I find it fascinating that so many of you think I was born yesterday and you are pulling the wool over my eyes. NOPE , I’m laughing on this side when an excuse is given to me – I want you to know that. If you are involved on this site and ordering from KS, you are not that poor. You know how I know? I’ve been there. YES, I’ve had wealth and riches…..but I have also had a dirt poor and impoverished life at an older age, as well.….having both teaches you a lot about life. I never seem to do anything small. . . .its always big. I was poor in a big way. I know what you think about when money is a issue……..and it is not YOUR HAIR.

So – back to Toners….and what they are all about ? ? …there is no easier color to put on in the world. IT DOES NOT STAIN the hands, so NO GLOVES….. They are a wonderful easy-to-apply consistency, so its a joy to put on. . . . and most of the times you will get 2 applications out of 1 tube. (Long (thick) hair needs a full tube). What’s not to like about them? Only 1 thing…

THEY DON’T LAST AS LONG AS WE WISH THEY DID!

But they are working on that ( SO AM I ! !) Watch for my tips….

Now in today’s Post, I will run 2 of my to 7 lines of Toners by you.Toners that will kill any remaining brass/yellow/gold and give your hair that amazing Beige-Blond of a Reece Witherspoon – Gwen Stefani blond.

I have used all of these since Academy. My mentor taught me to make the TONER, my best friend, and I did. It has paid off well, I promise.

I’m going to start with all the Color Touch Toners ( a LOT) and the MATRIX Toners, one that I named “marilyn” a very long time ago . . . as I feel on many people it gives you the blond of Monroe. Now remember with Toners, it depends on what you are putting it on. Toners are OPAQUE. Think of a NYLON you are putting on a leg, that is toned with beige color….you can still see the leg and its color, but it now has a beige ‘cast’ to it, doesn’t it ? ? Now if you were to take that exact same leg with the same tone and apply a Black toner…..it would appear Gray-ish,wouldn’t it ? ? ? Why? Because the Leg was Beige (virtually an off-white) mixed with Black equals Gray. That is how Toners work – they are transparent/opaque. They always use either a 5-6-10 or 15 Volume Developer.

Matrix has a line called COLOR SYNC. These are the same toners I have been using for 15 years - - they just gave them a new box – a new name but thank the Lord they left the formula alone, except for adding CERAMIDES, whenever you see CERAMIDES, just know its a VERY VERY GOOD ingredient for hair.

3 MATRIX -- COLOR SYNC TONERS -- SHEER PASTELS – Demi-Permanent Toners

• SPV..SHEER PASTEL VIOLET: my number 1, if you are confused just use this one you can’t go wrong. Its Sheer/ has violet to ‘counter’ any brass/ yellow/ gold …..leaves hair well balanced.
• SPN…SHEER PASTEL NEUTRAL : Excellent neutral looking for that blonde BEIGE…so popular now.
• SPA … SHEER PASTEL ASH : Another Ash to counter those DURP’s so many of you have..
• GWEN / MARILYN … is a mixture of SPV + SPN , the ratio ? 1:1 – which means 1 oz. of SPV + 1oz of SPN : MIX = Add 2 oz. of 10 or 13 Volume

ALL 3 of these I use constantly/daily… When you are a Top Colorist, information like this (which toners I used to produce such Killer BLONDS) were kept very TIGHT LIPPED – as everyone does….its just part of the game.

I never told anyone this info. I even confused my assistants on purpose, the last thing you want to do is give 4 brand new up and coming Hair Stylists all your secrets that have taken you years to gather. Lucky all of you . . . I don’t know one Stylist of my caliber that would do this. So please, treasure the information. I am an overachiever, a passionate artist who gives this information with the hope that many of you will use it to better your hair color - - better the hair color knowledge you use at your Salon.

One of my goals way back when …..I was in Academy . . . my girlfriend and I said ( naively – VERY naively) , “hey, lets cure all the bad color/ bad hair in the USA”……. we shook on it, we were very excited about that prospect…..I recall that moment all the time while writing this BLOG. Snicker at the thought of it.

Bleach/tone

I mean I used to try to cure all the bad hair I could I was much more lenient with so many of my tricks and education once I got into the Salon world than any other Stylist.

The Salon world and the Academy world are completely DIFFERENT WORLDS! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

But to think I could actually cure all the bad color/bad hair of America myself, was just so insanely naive. Who knew I would end up ill, that I would be forced into quitting the job I had plans of going to the top in.

But, the funny part is……………………………

I would never have reached as many people as I do through this Blog, our Group ( closing in on 2000 ) and the STORE . . .working any other way. !!! FUNNY HOW LIFE GOES………

This is the way I will reach the most people and hopefully do the most good. . . and who would’ have figured that one out ! !Level 9

Back to Toners and the importance of them…. many of you slough them off, I hope to inspire some to try them, I have never tinted a blond without using a toner. I would feel like I hadn’t finished the job…I was lucky and had assistants to help and they would all fight over who got to apply the toners (!!), so that end of the procedure was covered for me. I always applied the color to my clients ( yet the Assistants would mix to my spec’s - - and then comb through – add the plastic cap and rinse after I checked it,….. right when I was forced to quit… I had finally built a well-oiled machine, it was just such a shame to losLEVEL 8

The next Set of Toners I would suggest:

Color Touch has the most TONERS for 1 Single Line:

• 8/0 N ….….. Turns out a level 7 because of the Wella chart,being a full level darker than ours
• 9/0 N ….…...A Level 8 Neutral Toner
• 10/0N ….…. Equals Level 9 Neutral always use 6 Volume
• 9/01NA….… Natural Ash = an 8
• 10/01NA ….. Natural Ash = gorgeous level 9, now with the CT Toners many times I will mix 1/2 6Volume & 1/2 13Volume which gives you about a 10 – lasts longer SPECIFY if you want….1/2 & 1/2 Volume
• 10/1A…….. Lightest Blonde Ash
• 9/16AV…….ASH VIOLET - a level 8 excellent
• 10/81PA…..Pearl Ash – again equals a level 9
• 10/6 V……..Lightest Blond/Violet – Awesome level 9
• 10/73BG…..lightest blond/brown gold – watch that gold although this is as “gold” as I recommend
• RELIGHTS
• /86 PV……..Pearl Violet – another perfect color and is MADE to be a toner….

all the colors are visible on the Wella Color Touch Page in the Store, just click on this link

:Color Touch Line of Hair Color : Killer Strands Store

I apologize to those of you that are not blonds, but truthfully we sell blonds 20 to 1 in any other colors…..its funny BLACK is the number 1 hair color in the world but you would not know it by our numbers.!

Always – always consider using a toner, no matter what your color. . .I can’t wait to teach you some of the SECRET-SPY TONERS. . . . a LA KC

Level 9/16AV

Killer

Chemist

The Bleach Boys: 8 Hair Swatches Lightened for Learning

Photographed Lab experiment on Hair swatches: in attempt to de-mystify the lightening process for those at home - contemplating the process.



In an attempt to de-mystify bleach and lighteners in general, I decided to take on a little project.



Projects similar to what I used to run 15-16 years ago when trying to decipher this mess myself. I had a helluva time understanding this, I swear. It was like a foreign language to me I can see after recently cracking open my notebook and reviewing some of my old notes. At least once a month from now on we will have one of these demonstrations, I am shooting for 2. I have a list already of what to tackle.



One of my goals to make the site better for you, the readers, is to save up to have a more user-friendly site made & designed. With the amount of photos I'd like to use, Blogger does not work with that in mind, so please remember that when viewing this. This site is made for "WORDS" not pics.



I will attempt to lay captions so you can understand the process and goal.



Goal:

• To show Killerstranders how bleach works on a LEVEL 7G (gold - toned). In minutes & hours.


• How Toner works

It seems many of you think that lighteners works faster than they do.

I don't mean "you" I mean many of the heads of hair walking around the planet.

Therefore I wanted to show how slow the process really takes.

Began with 8 swatches of Level 7 G hair from a 12 year old who came to donate her hair to LOCKS OF LOVE, I figured you all would be just as grateful for her contribution (not to worry: I sent in her other braid).

Unfortunately the lighting does not do the color justice, trust me this is a solid Level 7 G hair.







Here we have the beginning color and mixing up the Bleach and 40 Volume Developer.





Applying the bleach to the hair in foil





Closing up the foils to protect and conduct heat , foils are available at Sallys or you get a few with an order if you request them.

The FIRST swatch 15 minutes - will always be one of the biggest changes, then the change tapers off.



Bleach and 30 - 45 - 60 minutes the change starts to slow down, and is less apparent...although it is still working to get to the level that you need it at.

Bleach on the hair for 3 1/2 hours is where the difference is finally made visible. I would never let anyone walk out of the Salon with that either unless, they were headed toward a LEVEL 8 /9 Blond. Which would take a very powerful Toner to tone down the yellow.

NOT all hair can be ALL colors - remember that



See what the 10/89 Pearl Ash toner does to it at 3.1/2 hours? Not much! Its much more than it appears in this photo but not enough for me to be happy with.

The blank sheet of paper is the next day I decided to run the hair through bleach for 90 more minutes! So 5 hours on Level 7 hair and it honestly could have taken about another 30 minutes to reach that Gwen Stefani blond.

The swatch on the left has no toner the swatch on the right has the 10/89 Toner.

Down lower here with the 6 swatches....and taken in better light...I think you can see the gradient change even better.

That is 15 min. - 45 min - 3 1/2 hours - 5 hours & 5 hours with toner

The last 2 swatches?

Level 7hair with 5 hours and 2 complete batches of bleach and 40 volume......and TONER.

So it takes pretty much an entire day to reach this....and that is on LEVEL 7 hair which is light

Those of you with darker hair keep that in mind.

Any questions?

At the very bottom of this page ...is a SLIDE show of the experiment >with captions, to clarify - check it out

.

Toner or Tone Him; Either Way its a Kick Ass Solution, For A Way Too Common Hair Problem

Toners are a long time celebrity secret,

not the colored conditioners they try to sell you

As I wrote this I realized that I keep forgetting to point out the celebrity WHO-HA that I have been involved with. I leave myself notes to use celeb photos...and forget as well ....why? I don't like people to set unexpected & unrealistic goals, and that happens with the celebrity race. I dislike using them as a reference, think society has gotten all out of whack about them and gone apeshit crazy over the bizarre worship. Some of my best friends have been in the genre and , Holy Batshit - Batman . .they're as nutty as the rest of us.

RENCOLOR TONERS: Notice the
Coral Rose and the Petal Rose !
they are gorgeous!

I have lived and worked in that business for close to 30 years, in 2 completely different aspects, but still. I have 2 daughters, both successful, one a film Producer http://imdb.com/name/nm1362747/ at the age of 26; has produced 4 studio Feature Films and is the youngest member of the Producers Guild of America. The other a photographer, a very successful independent photographer http://www.cheyenneellis.com/ shoots a lot of celebrities and is a master of that program you've all heard of: Photo Shop. Through all of that you cannot believe the amount of hair facades & tricks I have been around, seen and invented.

All of them .

I know everyone is interested in celebrity "everything", I am just trying to point out that most of what I say comes from that world, I just neglect to point it out most of the time - I hope you will remember that. Toners are a total celebrity luxury, and they really don't need to be. Applying a toner is so simple and so easy. . . anyone can do it, they really can.

TONER: A pastel color to be used after lightening

Toners are semi permanent, demi permanent, and permanent hair color products that are used primarily on lightened(pre-lightened) hair to achieve pale and delicate colors. They are applied to the lightest degree of contributing pigment that remains after the de-colorizing process. You may hear the term "double-process" application in association with a Toner. That means the first process is the application of the lightener; the second process is the application of the toner.

I try to explain it to newbie's in the chair using the reference to a "Nylon" on a leg. The leg is one color(white) and if you want it to look tan> you don't buy brown tights...you buy a "tan" colored nylon, opaque - sheer nylons. That is what a Toner is.... Opaque-sheer-pastel-color that slips over the hair. So you slip the nylon on the leg and poof - you have a Tan leg. Same thing with blond hair, applying the toner is exactly like the nylon, only the toner covers all the strands of your hair with the opaque-sheer- pastel color.

Why do I say "anyone can do it"? What's the difference between this color and any other? The hardest part of this process? Access to getting them!

A toner is a very light color usually a Level 10, sometimes a Level 9 or even an Level 8. So its a very light color to make it a toner, the goal is only to deposit color so one uses a 6 Volume - 10 Volume - 15 Volume - 17 Volume - are the 4 levels of Peroxide I have in my Lab for this purpose.

{ Remember like a "nylon"} . So you have a low volume peroxide and a HIGH Level of Color which makes for "NO" lifting action. Therefore the chemical reaction is very mild, no color is being lifted out of the hair....so you don't need gloves (use them anyway) , the color does not stain your hands, or the furniture!, and there is NO line of demarcation, so you can kind of slap it on {although "I" never do}, being careful to make at least 1/2" parts to apply the product. Its just not that critical - I have put them on myself {a LEVEL 8RG-red-gold} without even looking at the back, just doing it by feel. Apply it every where then comb it through.... wham bam thank you mamn.

Its even easier than applying those color conditioners, it truly is because there is NO MESS from the color pigment. ++ the biggest advantage to me is you are not screwing your hair up for your next color. Just be sure to apply the last toner application 2 weeks before your next appointment or the next time you will color your hair.

What do you need to apply toners? I use the tint brush and tint bowl method, I'm a colorist, I doubt I will ever be able to break that habit. But truthfully - for a toner - those dumbass bottles I see at the beauty supply should work just fine > If you buy Color Touch, the ratio is 1:2 which makes up 6 whole ounces of product with one tube. One tube will do 1 head of super long <> super thick hair. Everyone else may get 2 applications out of the one tube. I have re-priced the Colour Touch, as it comes with the developer, tail comb and gloves for $18.00 - so its my homemade Kit <> THE RIGHT WAY.

Toners & Uses(samples)

• Toning highlights to give warmth ( gets ride of 'gray' highlights)


• Color Touch 9/36-Light Golden Violet Blonde (sugg.)


• Tone down Brassy highlights - CT 10/01 Lightest Ash Blonde


• Platinum toned Gwen Stefani style- combined Colour Touch 10/89 + CT 10/7 Cafe Latte


• Tone blocks of platinum - silver - CT 8/81 Silver


• Molly - I used 10/6 Lightest Violet Blonde - was out of 10/89 the strongest yellow-killer


• Coral Rose - RenColor - for Fun And Fashion!

If you click on these charts these are the Color Touch Color Charts, the top 2 rows are the colors usually considered "toners".

I suggest studying these charts just spend some time looking at them, it will help the "level system" sink in. We will review them again and some additional ones, but for now try to become familiar with them.

Now to order any of the dozens of Professional toners I have - - - please join our Group . . . so you have access to our UNDERGROUND STORE .

First apply to the Group which gives you access to the Store :

http://groups.google.com/group/killerstrands?hl=en

We have lots of Goodies there . . . . for hair health and hair color. . .

GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY ! ! You have been Stefani-ized

Miss Molly You Have Been Platinum-ized

Decided to bleach the left side of the head to "Stefani-blond", leave the right side, bleached just once and not toned as most home jobs are done, so the difference was apparent. It is completely normal to have some shedding with a bleaching, do not panic

Left side was bleached twice with Wellite Oil bleach and 40 Volume ( its not a real head remember)
Prepare for the TONER portion of the process. I have NEVER bleached a head of hair and not toned it.

This shows the COLOUR TOUCH CHART

I decided to use LEVEL 10 > LIGHTEST VIOLET BLONDE ( the swatch on the top <> far LEFT) , which would have the most purple to counter the yellow left in the hair.

This being a mannequin head,

they tint it to get it the color it is, so it is not totally natural Color......although it is human hair.

Application of the Toner

This is the right side of the hair, with only ONE(1) bleaching, which of course you cannot really tell by this lighting.

Here you can tell better I think. The left has been bleached twice and toned with VIOLET BLONDE for 25 minutes. I will attempt some better photos tomorrow in the sunlight.

Can you tell ? See how nice the beautifully Toned hair is? I hope so.

Molly's beige/white Colour is seen beautifully on the left side only

Good Golly Miss Molly You Are Platinum