The Magic of Hair Color Mixology

Becoming a Crib Colorist

Mix Colorissimo w/ RenColor & why

I am very, no…. make that ---> EXTREMELY proud of so many of you that follow the KillerStrands teachings and have taken it upon yourself to learn the proper way to color hair. I hear many of you talking in “Colorist-lingo” and speaking about it correctly and in the proper format. Makes me a proud Mama Bear. There seems to be a lot of questions about the mixing of colors when using the Renbow Lines and I can fully understand that.

Why? When I was in Sassoon Academy no one ever mixed the 2 lines together. . .when I got out and was able to order the color myself for my own Clientele…I began reading the Instruction sheets, Color Charts and Inserts that come with the color, I was very thirsty for knowledge back then, much like many of you are now.

It was not until this point though, (about 3 years after I started) that I began experimenting with mixing RenColor and Colorissimo together. I mean why wouldn’t these Master Colorists {that were my Instructors} not teach me the exact ‘correct’ methods of mixing & applying this color? ? ? It took me quite a few years to finally come up with that answer. [... because they never slowed down long enough to read the Manufacturers Instructions and suggestions which is what I did - sometimes 'ego' gets in the way of learning -be careful of that one!].

I highly suggest all of you read the manufacturers instructions periodically on hair color that you are using…you never know when they have changed the instructions so check it all over periodically. So I was not taught the way to use Colorissimo and RenColor together….that was one of the most amazing discoveries of my career…I still remember the day.

RenColor comes in 30 beautiful fashion and pastel shades. To this date I have never seen one other line of permanent hair color with this range and this unusual of colors. I keep waiting for anyone to get close or to understand that as a top Colorist. THIS IS WHAT TONES WE WANT…they may seem a bit unusual to many of you. But you ask any top colorist & most will agree. The thing about Renbow and why it was not nearly as big as any of the other lines? Is because it was owned and run and a famous italian Colorist Renato Bruno. Renato came to America and ended up staying here when he brought the line over… so he has a manufacturing plant and distribution in Italy and throughout Europe and in Pennsylvania & throughout the USA. The bottle contains 2 ounces of product and must be mixed with an equal amount of hydrogen peroxide..

Rencolor provides amazing lift & lasting ability, self-stopping coloring action, no build-up of color on the ends as is so with ALL Renbow colors. RenColor is also know for its superb transparency, unsurpassed conditioning…but mostly > its known for is SHINE!

There are 4 Shade Divisions within RenColor

DUSK ……………..….in Levels 1 to 6

DAWN …………….…in Levels 6 to 10

SUNRISE …………in Levels 7 to 10

SUNSET …………. in Levels 5 to 8

…………………………………………………………………

Lets Begin with DUSK

DUSK - An intermixed base that is predominantly a deep tone. There just isn’t a lot of tones that show up in dark levels. I have watched various companies try and fail -- attempting it. A 3 BRV, pretty much looks like black if you ask me. Or a 4A, which many companies, including both WELLA & Renbow’s Colorissimo have…I have a great eye for color especially hair color but anything below a 5 or especially a 4 is pointless….its just too damn dark. .Hey, I’m all for them keeping them in their lines, I used to use them – I LOVED them & used them all…. I felt bad for the darkies….. they had no fun/no variations…just ask me -- I’ve been the same dumbass Level 8-Red my whole life. . . with a few attempts at other colors, they just look weird on me. I understand boredom in hair color like no body’s business, I’m the queen of boring hair color….its sitting right on my shoulders day in and day out!

The DUSK series has a couple super stars though. If I had to pick #1 I would say it is #3 MOKA. I will give it to the Head of Vidal Sassoons Color Department she told me that MOKA was the most gorgeous, the most rich and the most beautiful Darkest Brown on the planet….gave hair the most shine….and was just stunning. She was dead right, so remember that boys and girls.

HOW IT WORKS

Gray Hair – Achieves a translucent type of coverage, allowing a shiny transparent effect.

VIRGIN & TINTED – Supplies a sophisticated shimmer of color.

BLEACHED & Highly Tinted—Use with caution. This is the wrong palette for very light hair, I’m sure you can see why ( its way damn too dark! ha ha)

So…my favorite 2 mixtures in the DUSK series are:

#1) Colorissimo 4N – 1 oz. + RenColor #03 MOKA – 1oz.. + + 2 OZ. of 20V Developer ……………The 4N would supply the Gray coverage, or even if you didn’t have gray, this is still the most gorgeous combo.. The color were made to work together like this and when you DO use them to work this way you get the perfect color. For years companies made “Liquid” hair color the way RenColor is made, they found that Liquid hair color imparted an incredible amount of SHINE…BUT, it did not cover Gray as well. So they had to go back to the Tube –(Pigment-rich) Hair Color for that. This is why you mix the 2 together. For both tremendous Gray coverage, and shocking SHINE! Lasts longer than any other line . . . believe I have tried. Renbow is not easy to get, the company has never been into the whole “marketing and sales” like most companies. So I have tried many times to find someone else with as good of coverage/shine/ all of it.

As I have said many times. . . Renbow, USA has been bought out by Paul Mitchel in 2009 . . . . So we will see what happens in this next upcoming year.

#2) Colorissimo 5N (or 6N) – 1/2 oz. + Ren Color 06 Velvet Brown – 1 1/2 oz. ++ 2 oz. of 20V Developer

DAWN…….An intermixed based of Violet and Blue Pigments. These are some great tones for all that brass, blorange, gold and on and on that you all know too well. I know they may not look to delightful on the page, but remember, you use hair color to fight (to oppose) the unwanted tones you have in your hair. Its funny when you are at my stage, I just LOVE the oddest colors, and it wasn’t until KillerStrands until I realized how truly funny the colors I love …are. Remember Renbow is the only company I know of that uses blue/violet for their ASH’s - - the way it is meant to be. ( American companies use green/ grey…YUK!….What color does “grey get rid of?) I

I mean look at the SILVER MINK, how absolutely gorgeous it is. Plus it is a permanent hair color + MOONLIGHT is WHITE…I call it Marilyn Monroe Blonde…Even 25 Opaline is yummy. Dawn and SunRise are my favorite groups…

I started to think whether or not I had ever used one of these colors alone…I”m pretty sure I have not. Where with the DUSK group I have used all of them alone - - these tones are all a case for canceling “unwanted tones”

HOW IT WORKS

The Dawn series is especially suited for neutralizing unwanted yellow to gold or orange tones.

GRAY HAIR…..NOT recommended for Snow WHITE or pure Gray hair, but will provide a beautiful shimmering effect on salt and pepper gray hair.

Virgin and Tinted – Provides a drabbing effect on excess yellow, gold, orange tones. An excellent series to mix with Colorissimo HIGHLIFT SERIES for one process blonding.

Bleached and Highly Tinted – A wonderful –Toner series for all Blonds. Nearly every single color creates a gorgeous effect on blonds.

In order to make it easy for you, I have added 2 new Blonding Kits – incorporating this new (to you) method of using RenColor in your Highlift blonding process.

. .There are 2 new Kits – that include RenColor (MOONLIGHT) for those that love it ( the highlift Kits are our #1 selling color ) including RenColor w/ a bit of a discount.

Its called:

1) High-Lift Twin Turbo-Kit (5 pc Kit)

Colorissimo 100A + 40V Developer………….Renbow – White Genie…………Rencolor (Moonlight 27)

AND

2) High-lift Turbo Kit (4 pc. Kit)

Colorissimo 100A + 40V Developer…..RenColor (Moonlight 27)

……………………………………….

I will finish this up tomorrow or Saturday. . . . . but wanted to get it started…

Something has happened to the COMMENTs on this Blogging System….they just don’t work very well anymore and I get lots of SPAM Comments, so I have to delete over 1/2 of them. ??? If you have any questions about this … please head to the GROUP and I will try to hang out there this weekend. . . .

thanks,

Killer Chemist

“Just For Men” = ‘ Just For the Trash Can’ – Replaced by a new Kit by L.A. Colorist from Killer Strands

NON-IRRITATING Kit to Cover Gray on Both: Head & Face

Recently,men have contacted me regarding covering their gray and wanting to know how to do it successfully without irritation to their skin/scalp. Its really quite simple, but with finding out what they were using yesterday in the ingredient list sent me into a mild Coronary…. it took me a day to recover and explain…please read yesterdays post, for further info.Now, with today's post, I’m addressing the issue I began to yesterday.

Personally I would stay far away from any kit that says “Just For Men” “Loving Care” & there is a 3rd one I cannot remember the name of??? - PLEASE –PLEASE get over your fear of using regular hair color. There is no “trick” to only covering the gray hairs and leaving the rest alone…..NONE –ZERO ….JUST GIVE IT UP. Its Bullshit, they are trying to trick you into thinking there is a nifty- trick to coloring only your gray hairs and THERE ISN’T ! There is no way to only color select hairs on your head short of painting each hair individually. BUT…………..that does not mean there is not a method of coloring men's hair where it looks realistic and natural. I’ve done it to hundreds of clients for 17 years – I had a huge amount of men’s color clients….I don’t know why….but I did.

PLEASE read all the POSTS and Testimonials that are everywhere on the INTERNET – all the complaints about "JUST FOR MEN" . But, anyway, finally you have your answer. I’m here to help and to be honest I’m sorry I have not addressed this sooner, I feel bad now that I have read all the problems men have been having.

Coloring Hair now-a-days is a very very simple and successful process.

Here is what it involves:

Mix 1 ounce of 1 Hair Color and 1 ounce of another Hair color into a bowl…….(into a $1.29 plastic Tint Bowl)

then add:

2 ounces of Developer…………….

then…….Stir/Mix …and Apply. …………and That’s It . . .

When you paint it on your head with a small paint brush ( pretend its a fence).

Now, there are just a couple basic supplies you will need to make this successful and you can be on your road to coloring your hair every 6-8 weeks at home. . . and it will look GGGREAT, I promise. Most of which you can get in our store:

http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/

You need:

• Tint Brush
• Tail Comb
• Tint Bowl
• Application Comb

http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/collections/tools-and-supplieshttp://

Then, all of you need to go to Home Depot and purchase a 3-Way WALL mounted extension mirror. Although I found a pretty reasonably priced one on EBAY and a few other online stores, I find men – would rather go to Home Depot.

Mount it in your Bathroom, so you can do the back of your hair YOURSELF. Take back control of your hair color, like the women are doing, please don’t think this is just happening to you…the women deal with this same crap, I promise you.

To be perfectly honest, most of you need to have this mirror anyway. I feel every single person on the planet should have one of these mirrors. I will stand in a line and glance at various peoples hair ( because that’s what I do!!!) 50% of them never even touch the back of their hair. Which is what the rest of us LOOK AT!

EVERYONE put it on your list of things to do this week….. Purchase an Extension Arm Wall Mirror – there is a well priced version on EBAY. . .

We will now have available for sale in the store, the following Kits:

• KILLER COVER GRAY – MR. Kit > In 2 Types….(1) KP – Koleston Perfect > Permanent Hair Color …….(2) CT- ColorTOUCH > Demi-Permanent Color,
• both come in 12 Colors , with us adding the 2nd color you will need + the Developer, 1 pair of Gloves, & a measuring Cup. EVERY thing you need but a "paint" {tint} brush , really.
• If you want any "red" or "reddish" tones in the hair color ...you MUST mark that at check out - that will require 1 email exchange....but that's all

http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/products/wella-koleston-perfect-permanent-color

• KILLER COVER GRAY – MRS. Kit……..in the same 2 options……this will be forth coming. There are hundreds of posts for the women, its about time I helped the guys out.

Doing my research on “Just For Men”it just broke my heart that they have absolutely NO options, but to go to a Salon. Well, at least 50% of them who want this service will NOT GO TO A SALON. . . . they can’t be bothered.

I just read 103 Testimonials (Folica.com) about the disaster that JUST FOR MEN is creating against men of all ages and hair colors…Its time I helped them out and gave them a “Killer” KIT to purchase. So it will be easy for them.

Women, if you know of any men . . . please let them know….I really feel like I have “dropped the ball” on this one….and feel ‘just horrible’ …I truly do.

You have the choice of

1. KP – KOLESTON PERFECT – Permanent Color or
2. CT–COLOR TOUCH - Demi-Permanent Color within each Kit.

I’m trying to make it S-I-M-P-L-E

Within every Kit:

{in order to cover GRAY properly} 1/2 the Formula MUST be a “N” Series Color or a “Neutral”. If you want to know why its a very very long story, I know my men. . . they don’t care. They simply want to get the job done efficiently and correctly.

So that is how the Kits are referred to….You will ask or order a 6N – CT Killer GRAY Kit for Misters….. or a 8N – KP Killer Gray Kit for Mr. We will take care of the rest. But, you will need to take a little time and determine which color your hair is that is your own color……I highly suggest you get someone else’s help on this one little tiny matter. It is really hard to determine this on oneself…..Trust me. You will only need to do it once…..then you are home free.

It is not super critical…..within these Wella European Colors they run a full level darker than they appear or than any other American chart. The Level System is a Universal System for Hair Color … and is used worldwide in every country on the planet.

So, if you order a 6N and have not written in the check out box that you have taken the “darker factor” into account. We will send you a 7N.

I’ve been doing this a lot of years and have well over 10,000 Heads under my belt..I have had a huge male COLOR clientele as well….so tons of experience – I promise. With Gray hair; going one level lighter is also a smart idea . . .1 level darker….is NOT….It looks super weird- like shoe polish.

Whether you need a 6N-KIT in KP……or maybe a 8N Kit in CT….?all you need to do is figure out how light or dark your hair is. That is what the LEVEL SYSTEM is.

Level 1…………….is Black

Level 12…………..is Platinum/White

and here are all the colors in between:

The numbers in between are the different lightness of blonde’s to dark Browns. All you have to do is figure out how light or how dark your own ( non gray) hair is ---> simple.

A very common color is LEVEL 7, which ‘says’ its medium blonde…check that out…do you think that is medium blond or ANY blond??? I don’t , and I do this shit for a living. So once you figure out which Level of lightness or darkness you are – go to the Wella Color Page http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/products/wella

find, your Level and figure your percentage of Gray, if you have no one to help – join our group, up-load a photo of you hair in there…….and there are plenty of super qualified people to help. So many many options to solve your hair crisis….especially covering your gray. Also determine the percentage of gray to determine which color you should use. . .CT or KP. Another little tip > > > > if you want the color to fade out as you shampoo . . . then choose the CT (Demi Permanent) …..that’s another tip. If your gray is super stubborn, use the KP….another tiny tip.

I’m sure there will be questions but lets get this started and see how we do. . . remember when you make a purchase you are more than welcome to ask questions in the box at the end of check-out and they will be answered and applied to your order. For now, I personally do all the recommendations and color selections with all orders. So a nice little bonus when purchasing from Killer Strands.

The only color that won’t work this way is Red heads, which I am – so I have a special affinity for. They will need to purchase the REDHEAD Kit and you will be sent an email and we will figure it out, by you answering a couple questions…there are really only 2/3 Levels of Redheads. Be sure to purchase the REDHEAD KIT, and we will email you.

The next decision needs to be which color you want to use.

KP or CT

If you have 25% Gray as you see in this chart. . . . that is the cut-off point for going from CT {Color Touch} and bumping up to KP {Koleston Perfect} which is permanent and has the turbo booster to help cover the tougher gray. {just a play with words…}

If you want, try CT with your first order, you will see how it works and then decide whether you want to use Demi Permanent again or bump up to KP. Once you begin to use this level of color you can go between the 2 with no problem.

The only thing you cannot do is go from brown to blond. The color must be removed to do that, and that is addressed on many other posts in this BLOG. These kits are only for covering GRAY...PERIOD.

{for those who are single or simply want to gain your own control of your own hair color, and have it turn out perfectly . . . this is your answer.

WE are on the road and will continue on with this. . . so please join our group . . . ask questions in there. . .lots of qualified people and myself stops by frequently. . .

Hope This Helps. . . . somewhat. . . . for now. . . .more to come

Killer Chemist

I have Hair (TIA) Advertising “BLOCK”. . .

. . . heard of Writers “Block”?

Once again, in my never ending attempt to write a post educating you on the wonders of hair color . .  I get side-tracked and stumped by this one topic:

(TIA)   TRUTH-IN-ADVERTISING 

Not wanting to talk about it, as I dislike people that harp on negativity - - it just keeps getting in the way. Many times I hit “DELETE” and you all get nothing. Which is simply not fair . .  I have soooo much to say and a list a mile long of topics to write on. So for just this once and because it is the first day of the New year, I will show you what happens - - so you understand…that way I can just tell you, in the future, to see the Post from January 1 on TIA and hopefully I won’t have to talk about it much any longer.

Interspersed with this yucky topic I am going to give you some gorgeous new photos of blond styles and colors that will set the trends for the beginning of the new decade ….so its not AAAAAAAAAAALL bad !

Another slight problem is:  I can see my writing on this subject has hurt me financially in the past 2-3 months  - - I used to have big advertisers run ads on the Blog which did help me afford to keep this entity FREE to you, the reader. These advertisers have left, and I am very very sad. But if they have not come back yet, I doubt they plan on it in the future – so here goes:

I would guess most of you at one time or another came to Killer Strands for the same reason that many continue to do today and tomorrow . . . and most likely the next day - - - and that is for one of the “BIG 3” I call it.…

The BIG #3 Hair Disasters that routinely happen by the thousands – 24 hours every single day  -- 7 Days of the Week – 52 weeks of the year… Year after Year after Year…..that is one Helluva lot of people being affected by the following:

1. Unqualified Hair Stylist
2. Boxed Hair Color - disaster
3. Incorrect recommendation by S_ _ _ _‘s Beauty Supply via – unqualified Sales person

The Big 3 get in the way almost every single time I attempt to write a POST to you about so many subjects….WHY? 

Well, here was today’s predicament – I’m hoping this will clarify easily :  I wanted to write about how to put together a very simple kit for those men out there that simply wanted to color/cover gray hair, they can do it at home, at their own convenience and I was going to give a tricky little method Sassoon came up with so it looks a little more natural with a Level 8..Level 6 and a Level 5. .  Simple enough – right?

Being as I am not a writer, but a very enthusiastic hair colorist/chemist . . . I find I must get inspired by some new facts, figures or theories, formulations…. and know my subject – learn more than I already know…hopefully more recent info than what’s in my brain already. So I always do some research on whatever the topic is for the day….

Now, I attempt to research Men’s hair color that is in those ‘boxed kits’ to figure out why it looks so weird . . . then I discover that many of them use metallic salts to color the hair, their kits aren’t even advanced enough to be like the women's boxed hair color kits. Where a Tint + a Developer is used  - - mix together / apply & process –  a very simple chemical reaction that takes place in order to color hair – most of you generally understand & its been around for well over 50 years. It is not at all degrading to the hair – in fact quite the contrary.

….BUT, Metallic salts is archaic, its so old and unpredictable I truthfully thought it was a banned substance. . . . it is very similar to Henna. Henna/Metallic Salts are the 2 applications that I was sure were not used and if they were I was to stay very very far away from them – I was told this 17 years ago. What is it doing in Mens Hair Color Boxed Kits?  Also….one cannot apply regular hair color on top of them….some sort of fizzling and hissing and yucky- dangerous reactions begin to take place… and Lord knows what could or could not happen to the poor hair strands.

I will not touch a persons hair that has HENNA on it. I heard dozens of horror stories from European Hair Stylists, that pretty much scared the crap out of me. So if this is what a lot of these companies are using to color men’s hair, I just discovered why their hair looks so weird when they attempt to cover their own gray.  

THAT IS SO ILLEGAL, and just sooooooooo WRONG. Like so much of the PUBLIC HAIR COLORING choices out there, I don’t understand why these companies get away with… Why do they get to do things that are terrible for hair, encourage hair loss and don’t even color but build up layers of metal on top of the hair strands – that’s (vaguely) how the metallic salts work to cover gray. I never wanted to fully understand it, as I said I heard it was being banned and discontinued.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS when I go to write a post, I discover some other bizarre and weird/wrong and NOT COOL discovery about public hair color that I cannot believe exists and I am so shocked and confused….I can’t really tell the story correctly without telling people this type of background. This needs to be said, so that one person brings the topic up…its not fair to men. Why don’t they get a decent hair color system? Because they are men?? I LOVE MEN . . . . they are one of the greatest joys on planet earth… It would be absolutely no fun without them…and I feel they should be taken care of at the same level as we are. There is not a woman alive that would put up with Metallic Salts covering their gray, I guarantee you. Pieces of various colors of metal close to your own color build up on the gray hair ONLY to give the illusion of the gray disappearing. It does not work and looks bizarre.  . . .

SUN-IN used to used Metallic SALTS to lighten hair which is why so many had orange hair…. it depended on your DURP as to whether SUN-IN would WORK on a certain person’s hair. I had heard someone sued and won about SUN-IN and that is what stopped the use of METTALIC Salts for hair color about 18-19 years ago… so am still stunned that Mens Hair Color is using it..

I stopped writing about them… because of all the advertisers I lost, but I can see now they don’t plan on returning. I can understand I guess. But what I can’t understand is why these companies do this. There are such easy and gorgeous colors they could put in those boxes…. I don’t understand why they put crap in them . .  and why they don’t use the good products, I guess it all boils down to “PROFITS.

So, there you have it. . .TIA or TRUTH in ADVERTISING is a huge HUGE issue to me. It gets in the way of all the Posts…So, now that you (hopefully) understand I’m hoping it will be easier for me to just plow ahead…. But I have a BLOG that I am trying to use to get my message out, for everyone to learn how to properly care for their hair and to let them know that they too can have longer shinier, thicker hair. . .  if they just follow a few rules, its truly not that hard….

I know – first hand - - -  I live it. I follow every single thing that I preach to you about.

I’ve always lived a very disciplined life, 10,000 HEADS to me is just another extension of living a healthy life I feel. I can’t participate in any of the exercises….I come from a different place - - - I would give A N Y T H I N G to be able to exercise again. So its weird to hear people complain about having to exercise …or practice YOGA to improve their hair’s health. If I could do that again, I would be a super happy person. Remember that next time you check out the local YOGA schedule…

Remember how super lucky you are that you CAN practice YOGA, and that you have the health to do it with….it truly sucks not being able to to do those things. Boy do I miss it.. . .

Happy New Year one and all

Killer Chemist