Become LLLEVEL Headed, Knowing the ''Level System of Hair Coloring" Can Prevent Disasters

Back to the Books
 If you plan on trying to learn the CRIB COLORIST method you must review the entire blog.
 Please, read through the entire Blog, take a week to do it - if it seems overwhelming or 'too much' ... it doesn't take that long and everyone I ask to do that - 'Thanks me' - when they are finished.... they really do! Absorb and learn it so you have the advantage/knowledge for the rest of your life.

BECOMING LLLLLEVEL HEADED


I want to go back and review some of the Level System. Of course in this small arena, I have not covered it all. I tried to focus on the important parts, but I realize there are additional areas I must cover so the education is more thorough.

What I'd like to do is to get everyone on Killerstrands talking in 'Levels and Tones', as a Sassoon Colorist that's how we roll. Everyone is known by their hair color level & tone, every single person has one, even if they have never colored their hair. So as you go through your day, as you stand in the line at the post office - start guessing everyone's Level and Tone - practice makes perfect

The first task in learning hair color theory is to understand the difference between LEVEL and TONE. These 2 characteristics of Color are the most important and vital to understanding the concept.

Level, I thought I felt confidant that most everyone understands this concept, it simply refers to the lightness or darkness of hair color be it natural or artificial............. but over the course of this last week........I am realizing there will always be brand new people showing up and my teaching will never be done.  If anyone out there is having a difficult time with the concept of "Level" I want you to post a comment at the end of this post OR email me so I know. Everyone here needs to be able to name every person in your life's Level/Tone of hair. Think about that. . can you?

 Everyone is one level between  LEVEL 1 & 12 .

The amount of Tones is a whole different story. Especially in 2017. Because now it is normal to have a Rose-Gold in your line and if you don't you better get back to the Lab and invent one ! Because that was the single most desired tone in Salons  in 2016 ! and I don't see it doing away anytime soon. I guess the confusing part comes from the fact that as soon as the major hair color manufacturers decide on a basic 8 Tones, one of the companies decides to add a new tone or two, for Pizzazz! As colorists we are never more thrilled when we hear of a new tone coming down the pike. They call that a Lab-Rat, and sadly I may fit well into that category -- what a loser.

Manufacturers Level Systems vary somewhat from one another. Some products have ten levels, some 11, some 12. Regardless of the variations the lowest number will be the darkest color in any given system - highest number the lightest color.

Levels are precise degrees of lightness standardized across the manufacturer's tonal groups. All colors of the same level will have the same degree of lightness or depth, whether natural (neutral), ash, gold, matte, Pearl, Brown-Red-Violet, or any other tone.
To illustrate this, visualize a tall building, black is the basement and white is the penthouse, graduating from dark to light each story a grade lighter than the one beneath it. 
That is the International Level System, with numbers identifying those grades of dark to light. 
If you wash this image with a hue, such as gold, then you have a tonal series. 
 Imagine a "black and White" photograph - in that you are only seeing 'Levels" of color. Before color in our TV's and in our photographs we only had this "tonal" look. Its taking one color and going from the dark to light in each.

TONE
Tone refers to the hue of a hair color, be it natural or artificial. The main tones, or hues, of hair coloring are natural, ash, beige, gold & red...although I like to add, matt, pearl, brown-red and a few others. 

Another point I know I didn't clarify was the labeling of hair color, so when you go to buy that first tube of color you won't be thoroughly confused by what's printed on the end of the box. Manufacturers usually indicate the tones of their colors with letters: 'A' for Ash ....'N' for Neutral and so on. Numbers are also used to designate 'tone', for instance, if ".1" means ASH , then a Level 6 ASH would be a 6.1. That's the method, my European based WELLA line uses and to make it easier on the end of the box it says : 6/01A, so you get both.

Any color can be described in level and tone. If the sky is blue and darkest blue almost navy along the horizon and then graduates up as you look into the sky. Those are also distinctions in "levels". The level system pertains specifically and only to hair coloring.
If you are having problem distinguishing between level and tone, give it some more time. It will come to you. Its just foreign lingo.

FYI: the painters use of these words are totally different than the hair colorists and should not be related -- each has different vernaculars, but it is still all COLOR THEORY !

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

              

Thursday & Friday Feb. 4 & 5 2016, We Are Giving Out FREE Laminated Level Charts With All Orders Placed !

Level Charts are something I hope          everyone has 

                             therefore

 we are giving out FREE LEVEL CHARTS              with all orders placed 
                    Thursday and Friday 
                             February 4th & 5th, 2016

            No code 

            No Nothing

   Just Make A Purchase & Receive                           a 
COMPLIMENTARY LEVEL CHART

Part 2 : Difference In Professional Hair Color + Public Color ? - Description of Koleston Perfect & Quality Hair Color !

Difference in Pro Hair Color 

& Public Hair Color?

NOTHING Secretive that's for sure !  

. . . . . . .  its the ''Quality'' of the Color 

& the QUALITY of the Developer ! !

and that’s it. . . . . . there are no tricks and no secret information Hair Stylists have or receive -- as they make you feel like, which took a long time for me to come to terms with...a LONG LONG Time ! Yes we received an education, but if you didn't pay attention in school most likely you will pass your State BOARD TEST ! ! !

The article below is the original one with some updates to it AND, the answer to the same question I receive over and over ...... In regards to MY EXPLANATION REGARDING THE DIFFERENCE's BETWEEN the QUALITY issue between PROFESSIONAL HAIR COLOR and PUBLIC HAIR COLOR ??

WHY DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD GO TO ALL THAT TROUBLE OF HIDING IT of not making professional hair color available to the public for all these years?   Like in Europe you can purchase Wella's hair color's at the local drug store but they are made like the lower quality level we have here, which is called Color Perfect and Color Charm (Sally's Wella's colors).

I have explained in non ending explanations about how the ingredients in each of the hair color lines made available to the Hair Stylists who have spent 1-4 years training, & giving them a State Board issued test that certifies each of us as to whether or not we deserve to purchase "professional hair color at wholesale prices". This system has been within our government since hair color and hair stylists were born. Every year I receive a bill for $66.00/ for my yearly dues. In California we have the most hair stylist licenses in the USA given out, it is over 1 million. I often wonder why we never hear of where the money from every state's Cosmetology Board goes to ? ? ? I know its not Billions but money doesn't have to be "billions" to be "a-Lot " ! Imagine if you added every state's Board's money up.... that would be in the billions and that is each and every year. I mean who came up with this idea of having the top quality - high-end....LUXURY hair color ONLY to be made available to the Professional Stylists.
I go on and off ...........about thinking about,  whether its a good idea or not?!?!

People write me over and over and I would like to put the question to rest, with this....
They, I guess, either go grasp a professional color and grasp a Sally's brand of color. They see ''like'' ingredients in both, so they think my theory is debunked !  

But, that is not at all what I am referring to. Remember I spent nearly 3 years making hair conditioners, Lotions, Lip gloss, make-up, shampoos, color shampoos & conditioners a very long time ago!  I learned all of this fantastic information from a famous cosmetic chemist who used to have a weekly online education forum that many of us who are super serious about "HOW" our personal care products are made, learned & studied under. I tore apart formula's and learned from the bottom on up...how to make these products, all the way to how they MUST BE LABELLED FOR FDA APPROVAL!

I learned that as long as there was 1 gram of any ingredient in a product...you were allowed to apply it's name to your ingredient list on the rear label.. 1 gram is less than a tear drop, wwwwwway less. Which means if one company has Rose Hips Seed Oil in their Dry hair oil at 38% (like we do in Gleam) and another has 1/2 Gram - the product will not only be nothing like GLEAM, if you add products like silicone's ( that are now hidden under all sorts of weird name's) to that "Duplicate" product it will take that 1 Gram of Rose Hips Seed OIl and mess up all its dynamic qualities. 

Plus, 1st of all . . . .You cannot tell me you can find 2 products made by 2 separate Large corporate competing company's that have the EXACT same ingredient List. There are so many elements. Look at the developers their are luxury developers and cheap developers so when thos are mixed with lousy brand of hair color you really don't have a chance. 

You MUST MUST MUST try to spend as much as possible using top quality hair products...do your research, become educated in the world of hair. As far as I've seen every single one of you . . . .LOVE'S YOUR HAIR  ! !  !!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Applying the color to the hair through a bottle or the more proper method of, a tint bowl and a brush is about the only other major difference, I think there is. Using a Tint brush you can apply pressure to the strands which forces the hair color into the strands and produces a more ''even'' color , in my humble opinion. Every top Colorist in the world uses the Tint brush method for that reason. 

Procedures change in the hair color world for a reason. 
Usually that reason is -“THEY  FIGURED OUT THEY WORK MUCH BETTER ! "

For those of you who are brunette's I notice this color line never sells and it is one of the most used brunettes I used when I did hair, so PLEASE PLEASE consider the Brown Red-Violet hair color line series, mixed with a Neutral -- you will have the hottest brunette in the world.   it is Gorgeous!

The BRV Series which you see here is a Brown-Red-Violet… a gorgeous warm brown, I wouldn’t say the Red-Violet is anything monumental just very subdued – perfect – these are all amazing colors, if you want more of a jolt of either the red or the violet you would use this as the base of your formula.
Lets say you want a Level 6 BRV as your “desired color”, with more of a jolt of Violet to it than just this mellow version they give you.     
I would use:  1 ounce of 7BRV ( because of how dark the colors run) 
+ 1/2 ounce of 0/66VV (violet booster) =
most likely with 20 Volume ( must answer the Killer 8 to know that)

 
Now on the other hand if you basically wanted a nice Level 5 BRV but with a little punch more of RED
I would choose a Base of
6BRV - 1 ounce ( we called this color Heather for years)
 and then add to 6BRV
+1/2 ounce to 1 ounce of  6/45 – 6RRV.
Both of these colors have a corresponding color in Color Touch, which is what is so easy to use to refresh the ends. 

Back when my hair was miraculously groomed, I would always refresh my lengths 2 weeks after the main color. Which is exactly what all those celebrities with their never-ending gorgeous looking hair do. . . I would show up at their door with my entire mobile hair color silver metal Case ( its made to hold rifles, but worked great for my ‘traveling color business’ which was a large part of my business just before my diagnosis . We all know reds fade quicker than any other color…but using them in this manner with BROWN as the main hue, that problem won’t be an issue.  

I know it might seem odd to you but I really want to try to get through to everyone, that when you are planning your formula for your next hair color or any hair color for that matter…the idea is not to pick out the color you want from hair color swatches. The idea is to pick colors that will counter the problems you are having…. say if your DURP is brassy, yet you want a pleasant – more mellow – GOLD……..you do not pick colors from the GOLD page of the chart. That would be disastrous.
I would choose “N” series if the brass isn’t too bad if it is then I would pick a color from either the /71 BA series ( Brown Ash)- which is my most used category, it fights most issues and turns out beautiful browns. Also the next page which is the /07 NB series – which stands for NEUTRAL BROWN...awesome colors that fight most common issues the NB series...Neutral Brown a very straight-up Brown – the Frosty Brown collection.



This Series came out right about the same time the /71 BA series came out - - everyone was thrilled as they had finally put in 1 tube what every person I know was making. I mean mixing > 1/2 ounce of 8N and 1/2 ounce of 8 B
= makes 8NB.
Which was one of my most commonly used combo’s.
Another great brown?
7N  + 7A + 7 M + 7B  = 7BAMN………..awesome and it covers gray wonderfully if needed, or the color in general is superb. No need to switch it up for non-gray or Gray. Just a good-to-know straight-up-Bombshell BROWN  . . . just trying to show you how to formulate not using the prettiest hair color swatches. 

At my stations in the Salon - these color swatch boards were prohibited. If you don’t understand how they are made and how the Level system works then they are really pointless.  The way to get clients hair the exact right color they want is by using colors that fight the hairs objectionable tendencies, such as ‘reds’-‘oranges’ ‘brass’ etc.. and for that you must choose the color swatches that are not very “pretty”….they can’t be…in order to fight “red tones” the brown needs to be ‘green’ based, not exactly a pleasing-to-the-eye color. 

I feel,  that is where a lot of the problems stem from with both Crib Colorists & Stylists getting the end hair color  > wrong. So I will just keep trying to explain it in different ways – hoping everyone will continue to read it. What I discovered when I  learned cosmetic chemistry – was – to just keep reading the part I didn’t understand over and over -  I swear it will sink in, I know that because a whole lot of Crib Colorists have been born from that exact method. Repetition breeds comprehension, is my line.
And lastly we have Wella’s RED’s which is pretty much a straighter shooter:



I use and love every red on this page, Wella is famous for having the best “reds” in the business, and I agree whole heartedly. They are all beautiful. The categories of red are:

• R -- Red
• GR – Gold/Red
• RG -- Red/Gold

Which ever letter is ‘first’ is the more predominant color in the tube. I mean to me a GR and an RG are completely different. I almost always will use the R and RG categories – because of my dislike for “gold” in most heads of hair. The reason I don’t like Gold? Clients don’t like it, its not really flattering to anyone’s skin or eyes either.

Wella came out with this new technology a few years back, for their “RED” colors calling it: “INNOVATIVE  REDVOLUTION”:  meaning their red shades contain a 5 sided molecular structure that reflects red light and provides a deeper and more dense penetration of color into hair structure. As usual I didn’t believe it at first, but once I began using it, they were pretty right-on. Don’t go too much on the EXACT colors you see on these charts here, if your computer monitor isn’t set to the exact same numbers as mine is – well its not going to look the same

But I am so glad to bring these all to you, so you may have the complete picture of colors offered.

 Happy NEW YEAR!
Killer Chemist

Life's a Bleach .. the Lightening of Melanin

Off the Hair Health Horse... 

back on the Hair Color Horse

Sorry I couldn't figure out why I was sleepy every time I've been posting lately...besides the usual medical crap going on, I was just unusually tired and just couldn't get inspired...I NEED TO WRITE ABOUT HAIR COLOR, to keep me jazzed and alive. So I am just going 


to have to alternate the posts, for fear of falling asleep and never waking up. DO NOT GET ME WRONG, Hair Health is as important a subject as there is, I promise you. But, for me I have done all of that writing and reporting... it was completed over the past 6 years  - so its simply a matter of "re-writing" my notes - which I guess is what was pushing the snooze button for me.
I  NEED  SOMETHING  ABOUT  HAIR  COLOR  TO  MAKE ME HAVE TO WRITE  FROM SCRATCH - its what made me become involved - inspired and REJUVENATED once again....something I very much NEED. So back we go. I ordered a couple of new Doll heads . . . Molly & Dolly's cousin's are on their way from back east. If you don't know who Molly and Dolly are . . . SHAME on you -- see here >>  



 http://killerstrands.blogspot.com/2007/12/ble-atched-hair-series-1.html.
They are showing ble-atched- super light blond's well into the Fall - and its the subject I simply get the most questions about... getting to LEVEL 12 successfully & beautifully. So today we are going over the process from a different POV, twisted technical.
Hang on.
Below the surface off the skin is the hair root: above it is the hair shaft.



The hair root is housed in a sheath, a pocket in the skin, called a follicle. At the bottom of the follicle ( deep in skin) is the hair bulb. Cells that become a strand of hair are produced in the hair bulb, the LIVING PART OF THE HAIR, from which the hair grows. At the base of the bulb, nourishing it, is the papilla, a tiny mound of tissue laced with capillaries.


 
The hair shaft is comprised primarily of cross linked, fibrous proteins called Keratin. Keratin accounts for 90-95% of the hair weight.
Structures in the hair bulb called melanocytes make melanin, or natural pigment. that gives the strand color.2-3% of total weight comes from melanin.
How is hair formed?
The papilla supplies AMINO ACIDS ( remember this - I feel amino acids are important for new hair growth) to the hair bulb; the hair bulb produces keratinous cells; melanocytes infuse melanin into these protein-based cells; then, finally, the cells dry out and harden to form the hair strand ( called keratinization) which emerges from the follicle.
There are 2 types of melanin

• Eumelanins - the darker pigments from black to brown
• Pheomelanins - lighter, ranging from red-brown to red-yellow to yellow

All hair no matter what color it is (except white- unpigmented) contains both in varying degrees. Very black Asian hair is heavily pigmented but may contain only eumelanin.
The color of a strand of hair depends on how much melanin it contains, the proportion of eumelanin TO pheomelanin  + the pattern of distribution of the melanin. There are additional descriptions of how these work but truly this all you need to know to understand 'basically' how the hair's VIRGIN color. . .  GOT there!

LIGHTENING OF MELANIN
From your POV, the most important thing to know about melanin is what happens to it in the presence of hair color.  The color result depends as much on the natural pigmentation of the hair as it does on the artificial pigment used; the same ash brown formula may look ORANGE-Y on one natural base, drab on another, and Neutral on a third....something I try my damndest to explain to everyone.

Recognizing what depth the hair is to start with and how it will change tonally when lightened allows you to anticipate the final result. So many of you are so surprised & shocked at your results, which I guess really can only subside with experience. 
Through the years, all the various color manufacturers have come up with ways of getting this process across to hair colorists {and now ME to you }  . . . . but the point of any theory of lightening is to drive home the idea that the color result depends on MORE THAN WHAT YOU put in the BOWL - -  it also depends on the color contribution of YOUR hair on your head.  So no matter how many rules we come up with and no matter how many different ways we try to teach lightening of the hair, going from Level 6 Brown Hair to that rocking Level 12 that you have always wanted to be. . . .  it also depends on the color contribution of that hair on your head right now.
Natural color contribution depends on:

1. the original virgin color &
2. how much you have to lighten it

The natural base level and the lightening capability of your formula, determine the color contribution of your hair.
The color contribution of the hair AND
the artificial pigment used...determine the color result.
Natural color
+ lightening capability of the formula
= the color contribution of the hair
AND
The color contribution of the hair
+  the artificial pigment
= the Color result


Are you getting this...??  Color contributions of the hair is referred to any one of different ways: undertones, underlying pigment, natural  underlying pigmentation, pigment bases, residual pigment contribution, natural contribution of the hair, lightened natural pigment and remaining natural color.
Any of these term can be substituted in that last equation (above).



SEVEN STAGES OF LIGHTENING
This concept concerns the color changes that happen when hair is exposed to a product capable of lightening it.
One of the best lessons in hair coloring is how the FINAL Result depends as much on the natural contribution ( remember what YOUR hair has IN it naturally - as it was when you were born) of the hair a s it does on the artificial dyes, and the seven stages of lightening is a way to tell that story.
The 7 stages of lightening are the colors that hair attains as it is lightened with either permanent hair coloring or bleach.
If hair bleaching could be viewed in super SLOW MOTION, these are the tonal stages that would be seen during the progression from dark to light.
The 7 stages of lightening are:

1. BLACK
2. BROWN
3. RED
4. RED-GOLD
5. GOLD
6. YELLOW
7. PALE YELLOW

  When hair is exposed to a lightener agent, its black and brown pigments are first to begin to break down or oxidize ( the eumelanin lightens first). Then the red & gold pigments gradually oxidize  - then yellow and pale yellow stages are simply lighter and lighter version of gold. 




Notice 5 of the 7 stages have to do with red and gold, this is due to the tenacity of these colors in the hair. In other words, they are IMPOSSIBLE to get out of the hair! It takes longer to eliminate Red and forever to eliminate GOLD. I am hoping you will all relate this to your experience of being stuck in the "gold" stage as though it seemed like FOREVER 
The most sought after goal when going Gwen Stefani BLOND . .Pale Yellow, I refer to it as frozen butter. Pale yellow is the lightest hair can become without destroying the hair. Pale Yellow can be toned to be almost any color on the planet...including white.
I am hoping with this series in the long run I will see less banana-heads on the street, realizing fully what a grand wish that is, I am still hopeful - they make me shiver.


                                                           
Killer Chemist

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.

How To Formulate Hair Color on Virgin Hair.

Learning to formulate hair color can be a tricky slippery slope......there are so many 'exceptions to the rule'.......that its hard to remember any rules exist and if they do, why do we have them because of all the exceptions !

Plus it can be many weeks before a woman with VIRGIN hair walks through a Salon door in today's world, because even if they haven't experienced a Salon, nearly every person on earth has bought at least 1 box of hair color in their life time it seems. So you learn those rules but rarely use them because no one with virgin hair color ever sits in the chairs of stylists.

What I do want to do with this post is show you how you would formulate hair color on a person with virgin hair = for those of you out there that do have it and are considering coloring your hair for the first time. Let me tell you that if you have virgin hair........start off with the color we carry in our store on the best quality and will give you the best results you can get. Read this Blog get very prepared by being as educated as you can and I bet you will have wonderful results. I kno its scary, but thousands of people have learned right here the entire process and their results have been awesome.

look @ formulating from a Level 4B - VIRGIN COLOR

to a ..................................... Level 7N 

                                                                  LEVEL 7

                                            Level 4


 Lets just imagine you are a level 4 brown..... and want to be a level 7....blond.
The difference between the level you are at... and the level you want hypothetically be is 3 levels.....
if you use a level 7 color will you achieve the desired result?

You can really only learn to formulate the way we learned in Academy fr when you are working on VIRGIN hair. Which , of course means, NON-COLORED, in-touched color-wise - hair color. Which I have discovered that is nearly impossible to find any longer! 

Many Stylists and Crib colorists think that if they are a virgin Level 4 and want to end up as a Level 7, that they would use a Level 7 to get there which is not the case AT ALL.
You must use a color that accounts for the difference between your natural level and the level you want to be... 

Desired Level..............  7
Virgin Level................ - 4 
difference  =..................3

Add Desired Level........7 
                              +
Difference.....................3 
result :choose a level 10


A level 10 color is the correct choice....however using as level 10 which contains only pale yellow dyes, will not keep the orange in a level 7 from showing through. I would use a Level 10 Neutral/Ash/Matt.....in the line I use I have dozens of tones.....and that's why i like it.
You could use Wella Illumina in 10/69 and achieve everything you need to in combating the brass and golds

Lots of you are writing me and I am very pleased with how well some of you are absorbing the material......and asking me "proper" questions.

I guess this was a good idea.

Some are quoting the LEVELS like an old Pro - very refreshing to hear....know that it inspires me and moves me that you are interested enough to try to learn this - - - its not easy -- I take that back.....it IS EASY; its just very 'foreign' to most......and has never been done out in "public" before.

so Thank you...

I hope to keep going, get better and for sure > more organized.

KC

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: