Reachin for Bleachin' - Why Is My Hair Yellow & Not Beige-Blonde ??

How light is "white"
when bleaching the hair the only answer is "WHITE"like you see in this photo - everyone can achieve this.You MUST use an oil bleach to protect the hair from damage though!

Lighteners / Decolorizing

Lighteners are the chemical compounds that lighten hair by decolorizing the natural hair pigment. I try to explain hair color education in as many ways as I can possibly think of to help everyone understand the theory behind it.

 I like you to understand so it helps you learn how to get yourself out of problem situations. I listen to how distraught everyone is and it really breaks my heart, so the more I teach the more I want you to do your part and READ ! ! 

In order for me to explain what "blonde hair" IS.... I need you to think of hair strands as tubes..... Picture color in tubes, and lets just say the tubes are hair strands.....those hair strands (or tubes are filled up with hair color or pigment that IS your hair naturally, or if its  colored then you have put in there by applying some of your old hair color applications....

 Make sense so far?

Then here comes the Tint brush with the lightener and developer mixed with it to be applied to those tubes....or hair strands.....as soon as the lightener formula (powder or liquid) is mixed with the hydrogen peroxide, it begins to release oxygen. This process is known as oxidation, they call permanent hair color of ANY type ....OXIDATIVE hair coloring.....because of that process that takes place at just that moment.... and it is permanent.......because it occurs within the cortex of the hair shaft.

Hair lighteners are used to create a very light blonde shade that is not achievable with permanent hair color and it is referred to as Bleach. Bleach means lighten if you look the word up up in the dictionary....it does not mean all the terrible things everyone has conjured up in your minds. The one and only reason you have terrible things conjured up is beCAUSE some damn hairstylist has applied bleach and then done what you are not supposed to do she OVERLAPS it the next time she gives you a re-touch..... 

...........and having lightened hair means you are NOT supposed to lighten it on top of the already lightened part AGAIN ! ! ! You are only supposed to lighten the dark part...... and THAT is what gives you a bad feeling about Bleach. Its the Hair Stylist who applied it incorrectly. It actually is thought of as our most useful and loved tool by all top colorists. It just needs a person properly educated to use it. All you need to know is in our Blog, just put the words "blond, bleach, lightener" in the SEARCH Bar and you will learn everything you've always wanted to know!


Otherwise bleach is the single most useful and most handy product in a Colorists arsenal for changing hair color - PERIOD !

The lightest color one can achieve using hair color is with the type of color called HIGH LIFT BLONDING. Every line has their own version of HIGH LIFT blonde tones that ‘claim' to lift 4-5 Levels by using this tube of color plus a double dose of 40 Volume Developer.
Something I have found not to be true.....
 

...So there are 2 ways of going very blonde.....

#1) High lift Blonde's ( which you will NOT find in a HAIR COLOR KIT) these must be purchased as a tube of color and the developer SEPARATELY.

or

#2) Bleach or Lightener : In Powder, Creme, Liquid or Oil form.

As a seasoned colorist I have learned that very few of them actually do lift that much color, especially when you are dealing with the entire head or large sections of hair.. When doing something small like highlights most likely you can get the 4 -5 levels of lift (lightening) as you are using foils ( which add HEAT > Heat helps color work faster - and more intensely - altho it is tougher on the condition of the hair) …it all depends on the texture and porosity as well ...just like in all lightening procedures.

THE DECOLORIZING PROCESS, which in common terms is bleaching!

The hair goes through different stages of color as it lightens as you can see in FIGURE 16-19. The amount of change depends on :

· how much pigment the hair has ( how light or dark)
· the strength of the lightening product
· the length of time it was processed
- the texture of the hair
- the porosity of the hair.....etc....

During the process of decolorizing ( Bleaching), natural hair can go through as many as 10 stages FIGURE 16-20. The most common problem? would be when you see yellow hair..which would mean what? Check the stages....

As the hair is lightened....it works its way up the chart... if it stops at "gold"level 7 or even "yellow/gold"level 8...

it means whatever lightener has been used  has not been left on long enough....

Most people do not understand that....I think I have 20 questions alone just today (1/26/2016 )  about why their hair is yellow and what should they do about it.....

Be very careful . . I am not promoting everyone going out and leaving bleach on for hours and hours...or putting it on 2-3 times - like I do.

It takes constant monitoring...it needs to be washed off the minute it hits level 9 or 10 if you can.
If you have dark brown hair the color will go from brown to orange quickly.
BUT, then going from orange to Pale yellow will take multiple applications.....that is the only way to achieve properly lightened hair.

This chart show the levels

 But the answer to those with gold hair and why is it  yellow or gold? 
9 times out of 10, the hair stylist PANIC - stricken ....took the bleach off....then frantically tried to cover it up with a toner....so for a couple days you have"OK" hair color ( I use that term VERY VERY LOOSELY ! ! ! !)
Then you shampoo it a 3rd or 4th time and you think YOU did something wrong when all along it was a badly trained hair stylist. 

From my point of view 2 out of 10 Hair Stylists know how to color correctly. I worked in 2 very cool Salons in Malibu. In both of them they had over 20 hair stylists but in each there was me and 1 other person I would trust to color my hair and that is the average in LA. where we have the top school in the world. ! ! !

Not all hair will go through all 10 degrees of decolorization. Each natural hair color starts the decolorization process at a different stage. Remember, the goal is to create the correct degree of contributing pigment as the foundation for the final haircolor result.

The hair is never safely lifted past the ‘pale yellow stage’ to ‘white’ with lightener. Going that light with bleach even oil bleach causes excessive damage to the hair strands. One must be a seasoned hair colorist when going into the light blond range....we know how far we can go and be safe...and its nothing you can really 'teach'...... its simply experience!

10,000 HEADS of hair I had colored 1 year before I was diagnosed.
 Here is a chart I made so you can see what I am talking about......
It shows the color of hair and the arrows indicate each application of bleach to the hair!

I can tell by clearing the color off of a strand of hair EXACTLY what stage its at, so that prevents me from leaving the color on too long. 
Now the problem with most bleaching or lightenings you see on the street are done at home? 
The main problem all of you who have contacted me today is you need another application of OIL LIGHTENER>>>> which we sell kits AND i KEEP THE PRICE DOWN BECAUSE OF ALL THE PEOPLE i HEAR THAT NEED THEM......

WHEN YOU ONLY  bleach the hair once.....look at the chart above.... the color leaves the hair REALLY REALLY fast on the first APPLICATION as you can see it dips almost 3 full levels.....THEN, it gets stuck and that is where the majority of America gets stuck .... see where the arrow is after application #1 its on 5. ORANGE!!!.....some of you get lucky and it passes orange and lands on what we call BLORANGE... the chart calls it orange/Gold....I don't care what you call it.......
its hideous.
The only way to get out of this mess is to keep lightening the hair. 
I promise you.
What keeps people in these horrific golds & BRASS is FEAR from using  the lightener again. But when I lighten hair I can't wait to use the next application because the next application will get the hair color OUT of this crappie color.

Big shot Colorist's trick?

> use our OIL BLEACH Kit  !

> apply it twice . . . . sometimes 3 times - yep . . .in the same day -- the trick is...in knowing when to stop.

> OIL Bleach continues to work for 3 hours. Each hour the speed at which it works slows down. Therefore, the first hour the bleach is jamming & working quickly, then depending on costs - timing - etc...is how we determine if we are going to wash it out and reapply a new fresh batch or leave it in and let the speed diminish.

Sometimes that will be the best answer.

MY usual protocol : I apply our Oil bleach and 30 volume > 1 inch FROM ROOTS and thru ends.... (apply to roots as very last step).. for last 45-50 minutes.

RINSE

Reapply - new batch of oil bleach on ends and in the last 1/2 hour apply to roots.

Being very careful to use very small sections to apply the product.

Many many moons ago (16 years ago) when I did my very first RADical hair color ( I still have the photos).I took an ASIAN gal (PITCH BLACK hair) gave her a Halo around her face of 1 inch -- surrounding her hairline of WHITE hair.... my mentor wanted me to learn how to get to "white" on the most difficult of hair. Asian hair is the toughest to work on because of its 'texture' (its coarse) and its porosity ( it has none)...But, when you have completed either colour or a dynamic cut on it, it also looks better than any other hair.

So its worth the effort -- if you think that way!

It took from 7:00 AM in the morning to 7:00 at night. But it was a pure snow white HALO with JET black Base that I actually made a BLUE-BLACK so the most extreme contrast possible.

That was the day I knew I wanted to master the art of HAIR COLOUR.... and I never looked back.

It was a very sweet ride and I can honestly and proudly say. . . . I can do do ANYTHING in the art of hair color...anything and everything.

Even ended up making up some procedures like "tattooing" hair....

I would bleach white the hair and then paint a Tattoo on the back of the head at the base this was 15 years ago so very early on tin the world.

Back in the day I was not so into computers... so i didn't take photos of all my crazy work when i should have
 I thought I would be doing hair forever I never knew something like this woud take me down....I always thought I'll take photos the next time......I could always re-do it...never thinking this would happen...of course...

as a matter of fact computers are the opposite of hair color....so I understand why many of the TOP colorists are not ONLINE, I would have never done this . . .

had I not gotten sick.
Doing hair is working with people and talking to people so sitting working with and ON computers was the absolute very last thing I thought I would have to do in my life......

here is one guy I had some shots of

- lousy photos -

-but you get the idea . . . . He's hispanic so black hair again...

see what color a bleach should be?

WHITE!

He wanted flames to match the flames he had a car painter > paint on his jacket....

for PROM at MALIBU HIGH - -

- - of course!

It kicked ass


I hope you get the idea with what the problem is when you have brass gold or orange in your hair. Invest in our OIL bleach kit, you will be so glad you did, it doesn't damage the hair at all!

Remember once you have bleached white hair using BOOST & BURST can be one of life's better pleasures. 

Bleach for the Stars (more about the best lightener there is)

I have spoken of the thrill I get when bleaching a head of hair the most magnificent of colors in the world. . . platinum . . . and then toned with a delicate pastel color, lately, there are so many to choose from. There is the thrill a hair color artist achieves when this has been done perfectly. Which is why I say don't count the world of "bleach" out until you learn and master it the proper way. There are a list of rules that you must follow to perform either the OIL BLEACH or the off-the-scalp bleach application properly - once complete you will be over-the-moon happy with yourself..The hair can look absolutely spectacular which doesn't take much studying at all. 


So many turn their backs to bleaching after one bad experience when it is, unfortunately, just the learning curve of a complex coloring product. Many try to perform miracles by lifting very dark (black) hair and using very high Volume developer and not taking the proper steps. Many will lighten the base first, when lightening the base should be LAST! Many try to lighten hair without using Oil bleach which is the wrong move, you MUST use an Oil Bleach Kit.

Bleach products are highly alkaline and therefore need to be neutralized with a shampoo or a product like INTENSIVE which has an acid pH value, before and after the toner is applied. By taking this extra step you will be able to achieve "EVEN" color and healthy hair. One more consideration that is overlooked is any styling products with a high "bad" alcohol content in the formula (which is 'denatured alcohol'). That alcohol can have a bad effect on the lasting properties of the Toner (which in pastels is so important).

Do not use any type of accelerators or heaters when using bleach, all containers should have the warning NO TO USE HEAT. If you expose hair with bleach on it to penetrating heat without any moisturizer on it, the hair may crack(break). Some Stylists use a dryer as a way to "by time" if they are running behind, or they are just so backed up they don't know what else to do. If you are a stylists and you are reading this in your learning stages.....just put the client in a chair hand them a magazine or I-PAD and apologize for running late, you are better off shampooing the bleach out of the hair and putting a deep conditioner or an oil treatment, than sticking them under the absolute worst thing you could possibly choose...........HEAT!  Heat & bleach are a big giant NO !

Bleach is the opposite of coloring where application is concerned. Bleach applications do not like air penetration and therefore the bleach should be applied thickly. The roots have to be well covered , and has the effect of retaining natural heat from the scalp, making quicker and smoother lifting action.

Never is there a need to apply higher than 20 Volume developer directly to the scalp, only in the rarest of occasions (Level 1 or 2 hair going blond ) and if it is then it absolutely MUST be mixed with Oil lightener. No exceptions. Be sure to bush hair lightly and be sure no metal of any type (glitter,etc.) is in the hair as that reacts horribly with bleach and we wouldn't want that to be the reason you had to stop the process. A close inspection of the hair & scalp is very important to reassure yourself that all is well before you proceed.

If I Channel Marilyn ... Will I Become a Platinum Goddess? ?

Everyone Should Try Platinum ............. Once in Life !

That was a little sign over my station in the Salon. There is only one "supposed" rule of who shouldn't go platinum - although I have found exceptions to the rule. The rules say "Redheads" - born Redheads should never turn platinum. I can tell you from 1st hand experience that statement held true-to-life. I still remember my daughter saying as I ran into the gym to watch her play volleyball : "you look bald". Yep, she is as straightforward (& at times - as shocking) as me! In 24 hours I was back to being red ! But, I will say there are Virgin redheads that have darker skin ... that actually 'tans'.....and they have conned me into turning them a Platinum Goddess, they turned out gorgeous. Virgin Redheads are only 1% of the entire population, so there are a helluva lot of you out there that "do" get to don the magnificent. 

I am so jealous of you all !

 I have finally realized that there just is no way to reach the entire female population about the health of their hair........

I have decided to offer some of the present items we carry exclusively to Hair Stylists at discounted prices.......do not worry,  it is not a ridiculous amount of savings.... but decent enough to, I hope, INSPIRE hair stylists across the country to use this and only this type of super lightening on your customers from now on.   

YOU KNOW WHY ? ? ??

Because when you do an excellent job on that head of hair IN YOUR chair.......she will send you a zillion other clients.......their hair will speak FOR you - you will never have to market yourself...I never did. My talent spoke for itself .
It will be a 'walking' business card and it will be Your work that will inspire people to walk up to your client and ask the age-old question ......... "Who did Your Hair?"

 I am going to make this a no-frills version...........NO Directions ( buy 1 higher priced for the public VERSION for that, if you have never used one !) Each container will have a name as to what is inside. But, that's it. No gloves - No measuring cup - no caps. Just the product, you should have the rest if you are a professional.

I encourage everyone using an "on-the-scalp" lightener to use InTENSIVE for a minimum of 30 minutes after lightening....rinse and use a toner.... If you purchase a toner, you may choose from ANY toners we carry  - -  if you move to the toner page I have added some of the great new toners I recommend .

 We have thousands of hairstylists as members of Killerstrands, and while I did not want this to be a teaching aide for them, there isn't too much I can do about it, with a Free Open Blog
I just have to give in and hope it benefits me & YOU in another way...

BEFORE YOU ORDER the First time (from this page).........                                                                                                                  
  please > Fax  A COPY of your COSMO License to Killerstrands Hair Clinic with a Cover page saying names of people who will be ordering. 805.987.0973
After you order the first time you will be given a code to use for all further orders.
It is a different page than the one for the public so here is the link: 
I am going to make this a no-frills version...........NO Directions ( buy the higher priced for the public VERSION for that !) Each container will have a name as to what is inside. But, that's it. No gloves - No measuring cup - no caps. Just the product, you should have the rest if you are truly a professional. I encourage everyone using an "on-the-scalp" lightener to use In.tensive for a minimum of 30 minutes after lightening....rinse and use a toner.... If you purchase a toner, you may choose from ANY toners we carry - - if you move to the toner page I have added some of the great new toners I recommend . 
http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/products/copy-of-pro-killer-oil-lightening-set-2-bleach-kits-1-set

Who Needs Their Hair Toned?