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.

OXIDATION , Hydrogen Peroxide & everything White

Oxidation: 1.The reaction of dye intermediates found in hair coloring developers with hydrogen peroxide 2. The interaction of hydrogen peroxide on the natural pigment.

Deposit: describes the color product in terms of its ability to add color pigment to the hair. Color added equals DEPOSIT.

Lift: The lightening action of a hair color or lightening product on the hair's natural pigment

Hydrogen Peroxide: An Oxidizing chemical made up of 2 parts hydrogen & 2 parts oxygen (H2O2) used to aid the processing of permanent hair color and lighteners. Also referred to as a developer by Stylists/Colorists; available in liquid or cream.


Now we move to the Hydrogen Peroxide ,the "white creme" in the other bottle! Within the BOXED KITS OF COLOR (I'm on the war path against) there are 2 items enclosed, one is a bottle of color the other a bottle of peroxide.

The percentage of LIFT in any color is directly related to its AMMONIA content. At times you will hear Color lines boasting of "no ammonia" which would only be in color the manufacturer does not 'want' to lift... for exam: in many of the "men's" color lines promising to cover grey and not change anything else. The only disadvantage to ammonia in hair color: if you are allergic to it, which is rare, but does happen, it is necessary for light blonding.

The percentage of dye content in the bottle is also known as pigment weight. The more dye molecules in the bottle, the more depositing capabilities the color has. The action of depositing dye or color molecules into the cortex of the hair shaft is partly triggered by OXIDATION, which is achieved by adding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to the color.


The dye molecule in any permanent color is too large to penetrate the cuticle of the hair shaft without first altering its structure with hydrogen peroxide. Since without hydrogen peroxide the dye will only stain the cuticle layer,understanding what happens when you add hydrogen peroxide to color is essential. That is also where the difference between Permanent,Semi-permanent, and Temporary color rests.

After the Hydrogen peroxide is added to the color, it begins to oxidize,or lose an oxygen molecule. This creates heat in and on the hair shaft, which expands the cuticle layer so that the color or dye molecules can penetrate.

Once the hydrogen peroxide is completely oxidized, it turns into water (H2O), and its chemical action stops. The color molecules return to their original structure and become part of the structure of the cortex. The cuticle closes, trapping the dye or color molecules inside. the color process is complete.

Don't let me lose you here, this may seem boring/confusing>or BOTH!! but... it will all make sense and come FULL CIRCLE here real soon, promise.
If it doesn't, then ask me questions LOTS of them, I want you to get it...I truly do, because if you do... then you will have knowledge that some of the top Colorists in the country possess & that is what ROCKS about the INTERNET, that high dollar information like that can be had for FREE ;-)...hee hee hee!

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. Here at Killerstrands we offer an amazing Oil Bleach Kit, check it out on our website!

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?

HOME HAIR COLORIST > Lesson 2

Understanding the LEVEL SYSTEM of HAIR COLOR

Everyone MUST understand a few of the basic rules of Hair Color, they are not difficult, they are easy. I want you to understand them so a much larger percentage of women will be able to color their hair at home and it will come out correctly. There are just too many people having their hair

CHART 02-01

destroyed by BOXED HAIR COLOR KITS...they should be destroyed and the process I am teaching should be made mandatory . It involves more flexibility, so you are not given a set bottle of hair color with a set bottle of peroxide ( that come in those damn Kits) for everyone.

LEVEL is the unit of measurement used to identify the lightness or darkness of a color; it is sometimes referred to as value or depth. Colorists use the LEVEL SYSTEM to analyze the lightness or darkness of a hair color (See chart 02-01).

Hair color levels are arranged on a scale of 1 to 12, with 1 being the darkest and 12 being the lightest ( not too long ago it was 1-10 ;some new HIGH LIFT Blonde's added 2 more light levels). The names for the natural hair color levels may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but they each use this chart as the base.

What I want you to learn here is simple....try to get very comfortable with these Levels and especially:

KNOW YOUR OWN VIRGIN (without color or anything on it) LEVEL OF HAIR COLOR

that is an important piece of info and will be important for the rest of your life(even though it will change as you turn grey!)

Please figure that out right now and email to me ______________.

If you are a redhead (as am I) its a tiny bit more complicated, you still use the same chart to figure it out, you would just draw your finger across the chart to the different "hues" it goes from Gold/Red to Red to Red/Gold to Red/Violet and keeps going as well.

For example:

KILLER CHEMIST > NATURAL LEVEL COLOR: I am a Level 8/RG

which means my roots or virgin hair is a LEVEL 8 Red/Gold (or Light Copper). Knowing that piece of info helps me be able to figure out more accurately what to use to color my hair with hair color.

You will impress the Hell out of your Hair stylist as well, if you go into your next appointment spouting off the "levels" - they will be very impressed. I have run into many a Hair Stylist that still have not memorized them (but they should).

Using and knowing this chart really well, is what you need to learn in order for you to become a good HOME HAIR COLORIST.

I'm going to plaster this onto your brain this week. .. by showing you many different ways to memorize and relate it to your hair...

So get ready!