How / Why Hair Is So Screwed Up After 1 Application of Box Hair Color. WHY ? Makes ZERO Sense to Readers (read KC explanation)

Never used boxed hair color nor any Kits of kind on your hair, if you care AT ALL . . . about the condition or the look of it afterward. 

There is simply NO WAY the Level system of hair color will work on every single persons hair that walks into a store. NO ONE READS the back, they glance at it, but mainly they look at the color of the persons hair on the big Beautiful - wonderfully LIT photo on the front of the Box. Boy, I advise any consumer of any or all products that are sold on the Internet, to do a little research regarding all the bells & whistles used to take that photo, light the hair and face, then to have it artificially altered by PHOTO SHOP.

Think about all that is gone into that photo of that one girl chosen for that one photo, especially when hair color is a multi-billion dollar company. They put out what is known as "cattle calls' to all the top Beauty agencies in Hollywood, Dallas & New York City. Then thousands of girls are 'looked at'..............' photographed'.............Analyzed upside down and right-side UP........Then the extensions experts come-in and add extensions and the hair is freshly color..... If you notice in Tina Fey's hair color commercial for hair shampoo......she wears a wig. WHY? Because there simply is no way in Hell, that a man/woman/or child model or actor is going to put $10.00/ hair color FROM....A....Box ( from Walmart) ..... IN-THEIR-HAIR !!!  If you had all the money and access to the best.....the finest.........the top Colorists and Hair Cutters in the world, do you think you would get in your car and drive down to CVS and purchase Box Hair Color and do it yourself..............or even have someone apply it for you.

WHY. . . .WOULD. . . . .SOME. . .ONE,  IN THEIR  RIGHT  MIND  . . . DO. . . THAT? 

 They just simply would not. So, in order for the Tina Fey:  Hair Color and Hair Shampoo commercial not to be completely FALSE ADVERTISING ( and now with every single person, even 5 year olds having cell phones with video camera's attached to their bodies ) Large mega-Billionaire companies have to be more careful about covering their ASS, and doing " whats RIGHT ! ". Everyone loves Tina Fey, Kids - Women - Men - EVERYONE, she tests well ACROSS-THE-BOARD. So for the commercials to be credible, effective AND realistic. They have purchased a $50.000 - 75,000. Wig. The wig has 100% human hair in Tina's really color but Tina suffers from premature Gray and has been covering her gray for many years. So when they signed her for the hair contract with Garnier the only way she would agree to it (as would any hotshot celebrity) would be if she could wear a wig that was died in their actual hair color. 

A very long time ago when I did these commercials, the cell phone industry was for the rich and wealthy - remember those days???
So it made it much easier to get away with all of our canoodling and  B - S - ING !!!

 I mean . . . think about it there is one box of boxed hair color on the shelf.
The photo on the front is Tina Fey with her Level 6 B Hair color.

What happens when
 ........................when a:

• black haired, 
• brown hair 
• blond hair 
• albino and a
• red hair person 

all walk in the same store or goes to that lame madison reed website or the other one ( can't think of the name) which are online.....and all 5 of those people purchase the same box of hair color.....because on that same day they all woke up and said, 
" I want to be a Level 6 Brunette today " ? ? ? ?

Now, please don't think this is such an odd occurrence....
I have 6000 people per day read this Blog and we acquire hundreds new readers - each & every week. 
 At least half of them have made the box hair color mistake......I tell you......if I wasn't ill. I would take up the cause in the judicial system and begin to get the whole theory banned from the public's use. Or I would come up with a better system that involved some education prior to purchasing hair color.
There is no way in the world that BOXED HAIR color with 1 bottle of developer in the box will work. Every single person ....while ''half'' may use the same color in the tube, they MUST have a different VOLUME of developer or the result will be completely destroyed as the results have been before.  The most popular hair color in the entire world is BLACK, coloring Black hair is pretty easy and keeping it black it pretty easy as well. So I believe that is what they thought of when they made Boxed hair dye. Yes, it will work for Level 1 & Level 2                                                  .

HOW IN THE WORLD COULD THAT TURN OUT CORRECTLY? ? ? ?
BOXED hair color should be banned, I  personally listen to thousands of you weekly who go through this and I will never stop answering this question because I want you all to get MAD ENOUGH to stop purchasing them and to call your congressman and tell them they should be banned from the shelves.
They are like purchasing a bottle of dynamite. It works 1 out of 10 times, and it still damages the hair by having the incorrect formula inside for at least 90 % of you ! That IS a lot of mistakes !. I feel like people think, " well crap" its only hair! ! ! ! But I don't know one of you who doesn't care about your hair.! !  A.....LOT !

With the Level System of Hair coloring it gives you options and formulas for you to figure out your color using TUBES of hair and then calculating which Volume of Developer that works with the 2-5 tubes of color you would use in order to create your perfect formula. If you look at my Killer 18 questions ('Google' them on my Blog ) those questions and then their answers are what will educate you on the knowledge of the basics of the LEVEL SYSTEM. Its something you  can use your entire life so begin educating yourself

              

The Level System of Hair Color Does NOT Work (but Rarely)

The Level System just truly is useless anymore.The Only hair it works on is hair with NO COLOR on it, which means you have to be about 12 years old for that to happen. There are just so many exceptions that I am pushing for that system to be demolished. 
I mean we can use the Levels to talk about what,
Level of hair color you have .....if Virgin
What Level of color you have.....if Colored , etc. But that is it! 
The Level System just does not work if you have previous hair color on your hair and I think that is what confuses new and sometimes 'older' hair stylists. I have had plenty of hair stylists contact me with questions about the LEVEL SYSTEM NOT WORKING and it is because they have tried to apply it to hair 'WITH" hair color on it.

The Level system
..... has "exceptions...like there are a few categories of Virgin Hair Color that the Standard Virgin Hair Color System just does not work for and I don't know why I have not brought this up before and this is why Boxed Color or E Color or any automated color just DOES NOT WORK ! But to be honest the Level System does not work anymore because it was designed to work on people with NO hair color on their hair.  The system just does NOT WORK if you have present hair color on, period !

Probably the same reason we (as Colorists) just go on our merry way coloring hair and not considering the fact that there are just so many people it just doesn't work for. I had to have one of my long-time wonderful customers ring the bell in my head as to the fact that I have NOT written about it....as he is Asian....and has Level 1 (BLACK) hair color { which btw is the #1 hair color in the world}. He wondered why the Schwartzkopf APP that I had asked everyone to download and play with gave the wrong answer. . . .  and BOOM...... that was my wake-up call.

This is why all these systems like EColor and Boxed Hair Color,  and Sally's color and on and on - - just do not work....it is because there are exceptions to all of those standard rules and that is where Colorists come in to do the 'tweaking' of the System.
They came up with a Systematic System for Levels 4 thru 9 hair which is where a large majority of people's hair fit that don't have Black.

 But the Level System does NOT work for virgin: 
(virgin hair is the hair color you were born with) :

•  Redheads 
• 100% Gray
• Level 1-3 - so that includes all Asians and Latins which is the largest hair color category in the world & lastly. . . 
•  Level 9-10 (virgin)

So that is an awful lot of people.....and truly not fair. But I promise you.....they are working on hair color and how it works frantically.// Hair Color is a multi-Billion dollar business and its going no where but UP UP & UP . . . if you are ever looking for somewhere to invest your money...hair products and hair color will go no where but up ! So I am afraid those of you in those EXCEPTIONS. . . .  of categories of hair color will have to join our group. . . which for $49.00/ monthly will get you help or "tweaking" from myself, to getting you the color of your dreams ! I don't know what else to say, to help the thousands of people out there with every different color of hair possible....what - to - do.......

http://groupspaces.com/KillerstrandsHairClinic/public/pay/subscription/ 

I don't mean we should throw the entire chart of Levels out the window....BUT everyone needs to understand that there no longer is a simple easy to use system. As long as you have colored your hair at least once and the color is still on your hair.....you canNOT just color your hair 1 color and it will work..........because it WON'T........... and I am very very sorry it no longer is easy.

The Level System : what in the Hell, Do All Those Numbers Mean?

I am finding there is a lot of confusion, and mixed up definitions of the numbers involved in the Level System coding on the sides of boxes and within the Level System. I'd like to clear up and clarify some of them.

First of all the Level System which is a system: defined "by numbers" is actually meant to be made "easier" by using those numbers. There are many times I feel they have just traded numbers for Letters and it truly hasn't helped much of anything....but I still teach it and feel it is the best tool we have for defining a 'system' for calculating hair color to be used on your hair in the correct manner.

It is referred to as the Level System of Hair coloring, beginning at Level 1 (Black) ---  all the way to Level 12 (platinum)....with all other colors sprinkled and spread throughout the middle of the two.

Here is the chart of a level 1 thru a Level 12 (after high-lift was added to the system)

Level 1 being Black and Level 12 being Platinum colored hair with all the other colors in between in a gradual scale of dark to light, or light to dark whichever way you choose to look at it.
{ this is a Wella chart -- Wella runs a Level darker which means a Level 2 is a Level 1 - basically}

The same holds true in the Tones.
Do you understand the difference between the two?
Levels are the lightness and darkness of hair color
and

Tones which are created by the way light falls on a object. Hair color tones can be put into three standard categories: warm, cool, or neutral. When I discuss color, or if you are choosing a color from a swatch book, the tones are often indicated with letters.......... standard examples of color tones are:

N = 0 = Neutral. Neither warm, nor cool. 
B = 7 = Brown (neither warm or cool)

Cool Tones
A: Ash............ 1
B: Beige......... 4
B: Blue........... 2
G: Green .......
V: Violet ........ 6
B: Brown........ 7

Warm Tones
C: Copper ( in the red series colors) OR Pearl..... 8 ( pearl means blue-violet based )
G: Gold ........ 3
R: Red ......... 5
( or Blorange) my own assessment of a bleached blond that pulls orangish

(not all company's use the exact same numbers for tones, but I find that each year they are all conforming more and more towards Wella who is really the Grandaddy of all hair color!

 Lets review what a few box ends look like........... so you understand this a little clearer

Here is Wella Koleston Perfect tube & the side of the box.
This color is used for excellent gray coverage, beautiful brow color and an all around beautiful hair color line. I recommend it for hard to cover gray and for battling the Blorange tones, none of us like ( the Matt series /2). Its the only line that does have a MATT series.

The number on the left side of the 'dash' or 'slash'  (EITHER ONE)..... is the Level of color that is in that tube of color. So this tube of color is a Level 6 ....( all colors & tones in this tube are a Level 5 because of Wella running a Level darker than all other lines)

The numbers on the right side of the dash or slash are...........the Tonal qualities within this tube of color. The one closest to the dash is the strongest , the next one being the lesser of the 2 tonal qualities.
Therefore in the above pictured tube is a Level 6 ( my favorite shade of brunette)  with a double shot of just STRAIGHT Brown tone. So no tones, either way no cool no warm....just straight up brown-brown-brown!  Unfortunately hair color has many gray areas that need to be learned by experience....so never expect it to be black and white I'm afraid.

Here is the color the above tube will be............. once applied and dried:

 

This tube from Wella's line Illumina color is listed as a 5/81...............

 So, for this color inside the tube is a Level 5 (I've found that Illumina, runs - only - about 1/2 Level darker)
and the tonal qualities are an "8" which is PEARL in this instance (Pearl has always been referred to as Blue Violet based which would fight any orange/blorange/gold & Brass Tones). Very handy for pretty much all of you! Then Ash which also fights the same tones, so this would be a very beautiful color for those of you with color that is stubborn in fighting those undertones. 
After its been a little while since coloring your hair -- does your hair pull any of those tones:

• blorange
• orange
• brass
• gold

if so then this is your color. You would want to add it to an appropriate Neutral if gray is also your enemy.
                                            This tube of color would look similar to this photo:

 The last tube is Color Touch 8/81 :

Color Touch is a Level 8 - 
8 = Pearl Tone
1 = Ash Tone


This is a great Toner in a Level 8 (7!) use either a 6 or 13 Volume which you would apply to a blond with brass or Blorange tones to it to BOTH...............
remove the annoying Tones 
and to add shine and strength to blonde's


which would look like this photo:

Melanin - and Why This Concept is Important to Learn About Hair

We are changing back to LANZA, Schwarzkopf, Wella, & Kaaral for Hair color, I just completed the LANZA page and I will fix the Kaaral page next week. This is great news for all the present redheads and people considering red hair. Kaaral has more reds than any line we have ever seen ! I tested a new line that just came out out called OYA and frankly it did not compare to the lines we carry. They all have recently tweaked their formulas adding violet into their Ashes, which is all colors that 'end' in "1".  Have you noticed that I haven't really spoken too much about that BUT. . . . in every color line they are all getting on board and realizing the advantages of the LEVEL System so now all colors in all lines have the Same number for the same Tone.

We all now know the Level System:
Level 1 
is 
Black Hair

and
Level 12 
is Platinum Hair!

and all the colors in between are obvious, you just go up a little bit or down a little bit for all the Levels in between. We have many many Level Charts in the past pages of this Blog, just put that title in the SEARCH BAR and many references will show up. But, come to think of it... that sounds like a good idea, its time for an updated version of the Level Chart and now a Version of the Tones" (which are the numbers "AFTER" the Dash or the dot in a Hair Color Title on the side of the Box.  
I'm not too sure if I reviewed this as much as it is important and will make your life easier, when you step out to become a Crib Colorist ! 

Here is the side of some Kenra boxes, just happens to be their new metallic's, which I did some strand tests a few Posts back...just FYI ....

But the main point of this photo is to explain what all lines are doing to make it easier for you, in figuring out your Color formula's, which is every one's main problem...pretty much.

This particular color doesn't have a DASH -- or a POINT . in between the Level and the tone....but because no one else has a metallic line they are making it easy by using the first 2 letters of the word. SM or Silver Metallic.

                                                         OR

 This a photo of some Schwarzkopf boxes
you see 5-3.......that is Level 5 Medium Brown  - (dash)  3 , 3 always stands for "Gold"
so if you see a Level 5-3 it will always be approx.Medium Brown then with a 3 - Gold TONE to it as you see here and on and on...

Next is an important Concept no matter how weird the words sound, don't let them scare you....... I will always try to break down a subject and make it easier to understand .

What makes the hair have Color so that it CAN Change to New Colors... and why?
This was an excellent recent question from a gal in our group. Remember, I am happy to tackle any subject you would like me to review in Hair Health & Hair Color, just email the question to : Killerstrands.info@gmail.com color . I t may not happen right away but eventually there WILL be a post regarding whatever you ask !

The molecules in the hair are set in a specific pattern in VIRGIN hair.
Say you applied Demi-permanent color with 13 Volume last December.
At that point, those molecules - change - somewhat and remain like that, even when the color washes out, those molecules do not go back to the beginning pattern NO MATTER WHAT.
As far as the color of hair?
All virgin hair is the result of the pigment inside the cortex called MELANIN. I've known that word for a lifetime, asking my mom "why do I have freckles"..........she would tell me that my melanin came in my body different than the rest of the world....it did not give overall color it instead, formed spots of melanin. So I really disliked that word as a child, I would imagine a lot of redheads might. ! ! !  

I have since forgotten about it . But it relates to this subject today because melanin is what colors the skin, eyes AND hair in the body !
Melanin are tiny grains of pigment in the cortex that gives color to hair.
BUT....BUT,  there are 2 different types of melanin: 

• eumelanin AND 
• pheomelanin

eu-melanin= provides brown & black color to hair
pheo-melanin= provides red- copper & yellow

BUT, DURP is not really pheomelanin

As I've said many times
there can be 8 females......... all the same age, with the same texture, color - Virgin Level 7 hair........ lined up ( for example)...
Then I mix up 1 mixture exactly the same of 8 - Neutral Violet and 20Volume. So the virgin hair will be lifted 1 level from the developer and 1 level from the color.
Apply the color wait 1 hour
Rinse, INTENSIVE, and dry.

Will they all look the same?
ABSOLUTELY NOT !
every single one of them will look different and that is because of the unique melanin & DNA to every person on the planet.
So the DURP will be the unique colors that remain AFTER hair color has lifted out color to achieve the newly desired color.

pheomelanin provides red-copper & yellow hues which are present in all colors apart from Level 9 - 12 + Gray & white hair.  
Even black hair has red-copper & yellow pheomelanin, so I hope this makes a  little more sense now.
So, if dark hair has all those colors in it, it makes it a little easier to comprehend how all those funny DURPS - Dominant.Underlying.Remaining.Pigment appear as hair color is used, doesn't it?
Will it should silly !

thank you one and all, and with fall upon us, please let me know if you need any topics about all the new hair colors coming up.....discussed !

.

Level System : Helps You Choose Hair Color Formula

BECOME A CRIB COLORIST 
I would love to see a show of hands, from all Killerstrands readers, as to who had heard of the “Level System” before landing here.
I’m fairly certain, that it would be few . . .  . In speaking to thousands of people both here in southern California and across this great land of ours the Level System is not even taught in the majority of Cosmetology Schools. Just with my little Blog here, I feel I’ve done ‘some’ to contribute to that whole attitude changing.I noticed in the past month many subjects opening up that I truly feel have to do with subjects I have opened up. Take advantage of every single one of them, is my best recommendation.
The similarity between the medical world and the hair world is as about as close as I can come to something to compare the Professional Hair World to. In the medical field you have trained professionals who “hold tight”  all the secrets to repairing (or keeping in top shape) that body of yours. Same in the Hair World  - - the professionals in both worlds never want to ‘give too much up’ to you the public. The medical field ? ? same thing happens . . . I cannot speak for them, but I can understand why they might have to hide things, until they run diagnostic tests to confirm or deny their hypothesis first. Hair ??? The reason is fairly simple . . . if we teach YOU, then why would you need “us” ? ?

Killer Strands BLOG  is here to kick that wall down - -  if I were you I would take advantage of the situation and be a sponge, soak up all the education you can.The Internet has helped me so much with the disease I battle, and I truly wouldn’t know what I would have done without it. Doctors like to keep you in the dark the same way Hair Stylists like to, I’m convinced.

There are thousands of trained hair stylists out there at Salon’s who will NOT try a hair color on you, simply because they have NO IDEA how the Level System works – they “guess'”. Can you believe that? I mean to “guess” at something as critical and as important to people as their Hair Color just seems crazy to me.Had there not be the “level System of Hair Color I can guarantee you I would have turned toward “cutting and styling” instead. 
Once I completed my year of training at Sassoon, I stayed on for another full year of apprenticing – under one of the Top Colorists in the World. That year was spent teaching & Assisting the Advanced Training Courses. These courses were designed to refresh and “update” the Color Skills of licensed Hair Stylists who had been doing hair for years. Being a newbie at the time,  I was absolutely blown away at how little these people knew about the Level System in Hair coloring, how little they knew about the proper method of coloring hair. It had been the only method I learned from the beginning – there was no other "system”  for doing hair color. To this day … I remember asking, “ how do they figure out which hair color or direction to go – without it ?”  Some of these people owned “chains of Salons” back east . . down south – all over the country - -  which is why I am sympathetic to teaching the public. There are just so many of you who have tried every single Salon in the town that you live in and are just tired of having their hair color destroyed or mis-colored.
THE LEVEL SYSTEM IS MANDATORY KNOWLEDGE in charting your plan for coloring your hair.
Whether the goal is Level 1 Black

or Level 12 – Platinum WHITE


KNOWLEDGE IS POWER... 
                                          the more you know the less you fear

In every specialty I have pursued in my life, I have found that utilizing the best training and the best teachers on my path to mastering it, was the smartest move.
Remember….”Cowboy Colorist” …………..NO.
CRIB Colorist………………………………..YES
If you don’t know the difference . . .  I would recommend reading the appropriate Posts in the Blog. I have written numerous times about what each of them mean. The number 1 recommendation I give people new to the Store/Blog & Group ? ?
      Begin at the first post. . . skim each and every one. Stopping and reading carefully the Posts that pertain to what you are wanting to learn about. There truly is a “mini-Cosmetology” course here . . .actually something better as I did not hold back . . . so many tricks are divulged pertaining to Hair Color Formulating. Just read the POSTS “by date”  - - keeping track of the day you left off on – returning to it the following day. Guess where I got that idea from…………….YOU. I have numerous people every single week tell me that they have done that. Took me a while but I have finally relayed the message to those of you that have not figured that one out. PLEASE, I encourage everyone to review the BLOG that well. . .  it is a wealth of knowledge in all 3 categories: Hair Health - - Hair Color and Hair products.

Remember the ideas and systems I bring you are all THEORY, meaning it is scientific information that is supposed to work. But with each and every head of hair as different as each of our personalities  – there will never be an EXACT formula that will work for every single person until genetic testing crosses over with a hair company ( which to be perfectly honest is probably not as far away as it sounds)

The Level System
I was told by my mentor that when the Level System came along it replaced the “Dear God’ System with the “Thank God” System, there was finally a “system” of some sort. . .so many years were spent praying to the Hair Gods from above  - - that just sounds sooooo sketchy/scary to me.   
What I would suggest you do is to educate yourself as much as possible by reading every “POST” I have written on the Level System .  Study the Levels . . . remembering as a Crib colorist, you only need to learn YOUR 1 head of hair, while a Licensed Cosmetologist must learn EVERY type of hair. So once you get your base figured out and once you do a couple Strand Tests, you should be able to read how your hair reacts going lighter, darker and/or covering gray and not have it be guess work any longer. 
The factors that make the level System Differ from person to person:

• Porosity
• Density
• Resistance
• Length
• Growth Direction
• Scalp Abrasion
• Texture
• Condition
• Scalp Disorder
• Virgin Hair Color
• Strength
• Elasticity
• Previous Hair  Color and or Treatments (remember hair CAN be repaired and re-moisturized)

The LEVEL SYSTEM is:
The numerical system of judging color in stages, or numbers, one level being a measure of light or dark in the hair. The system assigns a number for measuring light or dark without regards to the “tones” I speak so much about. I would encourage each one of you to figure out exactly which Level AND Tone you are.

                 
                                                             hope that helps . . . . 
Visit our store &
 join our Group 
for some 1 on 1 training help from KC                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Killer Chemist

What Is the Difference Between High-lift Blond & Blonde Hair Color?

I am answering Group Member's Hair Questions This Month....this is a great question Regarding Terminology in Blonding..

 Hi KC,
I am a little confused about whether to use the highlift blonde colors vs 'regular' blondes, I am scared to use high lift in case I get too blonde (don't want the platinum look!). I have level 6 mousy blonde naturally, my colorist has been doing a blonde base color on the roots (no idea what color) every 6-8 weeks, plus foil highlights (partial) usually every other visit.  However, I'm not happy with the color or service, the color on the length is probably level 9-10, bit yellowy and the roots seem to get a little brassy/orangey a couple weeks after I get it done, and I want to start doing it myself to save money and time on the salon visits.  I travel a lot on business and so many times have to cancel appts, then it's hard to get in when I want to at short notice, they always make me wait and the whole appt. including drive time can take 4hrs! What I would like to achieve is level 9-10 beige blonde. Seems like I should choose an X factor color, maybe a level 10? With a toner? But maybe a high-lift level 12 instead? And any thing I choose should just go on the roots until the rest of the existing color grows out? It's so confusing!
Hair is long, below shoulder length very fine, good condition.
Thanks for any advice!
L.

 L.,

 I bet you would be surprised by how many people ask this question. !! It sounds like a headache trying to get your hair done correctly, doing it yourself would be the perfect answer for you. As with any talent or job....how do you become confident in what you are doing?  You educate yourself on the subject. 

 While you are traveling you have plenty of time to read...so begin reading the Blog from the beginning.... skim the Posts and read the ones that pertain to what you want to learn (hair color). You can learn to be very confident choosing and applying your own hair-color I promise you. It sounds like you are trying to learn it all in a day or two..... THAT is when it becomes confusing. We have hundreds of excellent Crib Colorists in our Group, you can be one too.

 Now, to answer your question...............

People let the "high-lift" term freak them out sometimes and honestly it is just a marketing 'term' is all.  What happened was: there were originally Levels 1 thru 10 only and if you look at any swatch charts you can tell that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ HAIR COLOR SWATCH CHART(above)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 One of the hair color company's (WELLA) developed 2 more levels LIGHTER.....than the 'Level 10'. So, here they were, they came up with this UNIVERSAL HAIR COLOR LEVEL CHART.... they had even got many of the other lines to go along with this idea....and BAM! ... 2 new lighter colors were introduced. What those 2 colors are.... in reality are a  Level 11 and a  Level 12, and that is all. That is exactly what you were talking about "L." So GOOD JOB, my dear!

There is no 'super booster' in those colors, there is no 'secret high-lift juice' in the tube......it is just the next color lighter on a chart that originally was Level 1 thru 10. So, what happened next?  
 In comes the big marketing Team. Wella asks them how to 'market' the 2 new lighter colors they have developed when in reality they have had a Swatch chart with 10 levels for the past 30 years. In my opinion... the Marketing people decided to name it "highlift blond"..... and they decided not to call it what it was....... a Level 11 & level 12. Which is what happens when you ask a layman to do what is a Stylist/Colorists job.
What all this means?
There really is no such thing as a "high-lift" blond. As you will notice in the dictionary that word doesn't even exist.  It really is just a Level 11 or Level 12 color...most " highlift blonde's" you see in the hundreds of lines are just called Level 12. Then most will assign from 3 to 6 tonal qualities to each tube. You will see 12.10A (ash) or 12.00N (neutral) or what I suggest for you: 12.20: super high lift violet blonde....oh my Lord, I never even 
noticed it said that. There that shows you how silly some of these companies can be. Remember these lines are trying to
This is a very long answer to your short question about the term "highlift". Does that make sense to you? I hope so.
So, do not worry AT ALL about using the Level 12 colors, because there is no "super duper light lifter" in those colors I promise you. Its just a marketing ploy aimed at Colorists/Stylists. 

Remember I have let all you Crib Colorists into the world of Professional hair color - something that was unavailable to your brain and hands a few years ago. I mean I call it a high-lift because the hair color companies have crammed that term down my throat....I really should just say Level 12. So, please do not worry about using these colors.

Now for the specific answer to your questions:

• you cannot go platinum from a high-lift - Level 12 blond...when you are a Level 6 - so please do not worry about that being a problem. It just won't happen. Sounds like she was using a high-lift blond on you and not leaving it on long enough or it was an inferior brand (or one of multiple other reasons).
•  sounds like you have not read much of my Blog....once you understand Color Theory, then you will understand which color you need to use to cancel the orange-y yellow-y . We call those yucky colors: DURP (Dominant Underlying Remaining Pigment). So your DURP is orange-y yellow-y. You then look at the color wheel for your answers to the proper color to use, with what you have on your head. Using the opposite color from the color you are fighting - is how one can cancel the obnoxious tones in hair coloring. You see where the yellow-orange-y is.....??? in order to cancel those colors out?? Follow a line across the wheel....you  must use a Blond color with a violet-blue BASE.

 I hope this helps you . . . there are plenty of posts on Hair Color Theory.....and on going Blond on the front Guide to Posts....right hand side.

Thank You...