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 !

The Results of Various Toners & How They Work ?

This is the single most common email question/subject I receive and I hope writing a Post about the results of various Toners might help many of you understand the answer.

This answer has 2 separate answers.............. 1 answer would not cover the whole topic. Remember whenever using ANY developer and yes...I mean "ANY"....If you have virgin hair anywhere on your head, that hair will show a "line-of-demarcation" using any Toners or Demi-Permanent Hair Color



 (1)PREVIOUSLY COLORED HAIR
 ( Virgin hair or hair that has never been colored is below) 
 

So it doesn't matter what Volume it is...........USING DEVELOPER CREATES A LINE OF DEMARCATION

(the only exception: if you have Level 10 or lighter) 

 

DURP means : Dominant Underlying Remaining Pigment - which is the annoying color that pops up in almost every single person's hair when lightening. Some of you don't have any DURP at all - but you are few and far between. 
Most of you have tried lightening your hair at some point, that is just a fact I know from talking to so many of you. When you lighten the hair -- the DURP pops out. It is extremely difficult to get rid of by covering it up.
Does DURP only show if you lighten the hair? NO some people have it naturally.

The name of the Tool we have to cover up annoying DURP - is called: "TONER"

Personally my #1 favorite tool on blondes is to apply the lightener 1 more time and lighten it past the brass/gold stage.That way Toners are not necessary, which I feel is why my clientele was so large and grew so quickly.When you can turn out brass-free blondes, the word begins to spread.
I feel many of you Colorists out there are afraid to leave the lightener on long enough or you don't apply enough applications.                                               
 
First of All ..........understand this:

Definition of a Toner -- is any hair color used to deal with the DURP (brass/gold/blorange) leftover from lightening hair. Now this Toner can be a hair color that is used with Developer....and that Developer can be anywhere from 3Volume to 18Volume to create that color into being a Toner as:

 

-- -- -- Developers BELOW 20 Volume theoretically don't    lighten the hair

They don't lighten but they DO leave a line of demarcation.
So it IS really lightening. Because if you have ever seen it, it isn't a darkening line, it IS a line of demarcation though.

To be perfectly honest it can also be any Level and ANY COLOR Toner, for example : ....Asians usually have problems with Red in their dark hair when lightening a little 

 
so.............therefore one can use a Green Based Toner (Darkest Brown ASH in some lines) to conquer that problem which could be as dark as a  Level 3. So Toners are not just for blondes. Toners are for ANY hair color needing to deal with whatever color DURP is in your hair color.

I have Level 8 copper hair, so how does a redhead deal with this? My DURP is GOLD, yes gold is part of copper but many times the hair color is wayyyy too gold. So I look for a Level 8 Red Neutral instead of Level 8 Red-Gold like so many people do. I have tried every single type of Toner in my life and career. 

• LOW - 3Volume Developer 
• 18 Volume Toner.....                                                                     
• Color Touch in 9/16 - it has violet so it works a tiny bit on the gold, but there is no Toner that lasts for 4-6 weeks so it is a never ending game of re-touching.
• I have found that using a Toner even a super low Volume, just is a pain-in-the-ass and never lasts, and I don't know about you, but my GOLD DURP is on my lengths, so to apply hair color on my lengths (my hair is past my bra strap), is difficult to do to oneself That is a lot of hair.
• I have decided on using BOOST & BURST, I have been using Boost & BURST for 15 years, they just were bottles in my shower with no name.
• The Toner I have on my own hair is why many years ago I decided to Shampoo "IN" and Conditioner "IN" my Toner. I find it is the easiest & gives me the most effective result. I LOVE how my hair feels right after.....I truly do. My color is rich there is ZERO Gold. I find this way to be the easiest OVERALL method, especially with long hair.
•  I do it once a week, sometimes I do it in the sink while cleaning or doing laundry, or I will do it in the shower. Sometimes I will apply the shampoo without water at first then add in a little water and shampoo.  Shampoo the hair  then leave in for 5 minutes -- RINSE lightly -- towel dry the hair... -- Apply Conditioner for 10 minutes - while shaving & doing everything else. Rinse lightly and poof it looks superb, it really does - I use Killer Copper 2. It takes less time than breaking out hair color and it lasts a lot longer. Another advantage? If I decide to lighten my hair a Level or 2 (in the Spring) all I have to do is stop using it....use regular shampoo and POOF in a week or two -- its gone and there is NO LINE OF DEMARCATION
• That is how BOOST & BURST were created and sold over the last 1 1/2 year ago...Its why we have H.Ash Brown, for those with Red DURP................Violet Pilot for those with Brass................Breaking Bad Blue for those with BLOrange ...............Wink.Perry.Wink for those with Gold/Brass..............we should have a color for every single color DURP there is.
• I've never really written a Post about BOOST AND BURST and explained things so that is my mistake and I am sorry.

 Prince, Violet Pilot & PERP all work wonders on brass & Gold

(2) VIRGIN HAIR ...hair that has never been colored.

•  Virgin hair will ALWAYS get a line of demarcation, when a Toner using ANY Volume Developer. Yep, even 2 Volume will leave a line of demarcation. In other words, you will see a line on the never colored hair.
• The only Toner you may use on Virgin hair with highlights and not have it color the virgin hair is BOOST & BURST, which is semi-permanent hair color I'm afraid. I know all of these answers are probably not what you wanted to hear, but they are in fact THE TRUTH 
• A toner without the use of a Developer --- ANY developer is the only way you will not color the rest of the hair. Think about it..............why would it only color the lightened pieces? What special thing is mixed in so it will not color the rest of the hair?
• NOTHING
• I'm sorry, BOOST & BURST are your best selection .  Still.
  
  
  

Breaking Bad Blue works wonders on Gold/Blorange

Demi Permanent & Toner....are One-in-the-Same

Toners are such a simple subject.... yet they are very complicated to explain and have people understand.

The technical description : Toners are semi-permanent, demi-permanent and permanent hair color products that are used primarily on pre-lightened hair to achieve pale and delicate colors.  

They are applied to the lightest degree of contributing pigment that remains after the de-colorizing process. Toners are normally pale colors that are used to counter the DURP (see previous Post) that pops through of so many peoples hair when going blonde.
Toners are always applied with low Volume developer, in order to also add to the Pastel or Demi appearance. 

 
The one description I use that works about half the time for people is this............... think about your winter white skin right now and if someone wanted you to throw on some daisy duke shorts and run around for some photos in broad daylight....would you do it?.. You would probably tell them to go to Hell, because no one has any color on them now. Everyone is kind of white , pasty and unappealing. (or maybe its just me!) but anyway . . .back to the description . . . . So what do we do in that case? We either :

• Spray Tan
• Self Tan Cream 
• Tanning Bed  or
• where some Nylons  . . . . any one of these 4 things do EXACTLY what a TONER does to hair.

A Toner is applied to the hair to give it a SHEER coat of any one color! Just like the tanning creams change white skin to Tan skin.....a toner can change brassy hair to a beautiful shade of beachy beige blonde. 

This category of hair color was originally discovered back when the platinum blonde was discovered approx. 80 years ago. They have refined how the Toner- category works, as 50 years ago they would lighten as light as they thought they could then apply a toner using 20 volume toner, hoping that with the 1 level that 20Volume developer lifts they would get even lighter blonde.

Since then it has been nicely refined. About 15 years ago Wella introduced the very first Demi-permanent line of color, which is called Color Touch. Color Touch truly is the most magnificent line of hair color for all hair types. Why? It has a pleasant floral scent ( if you can believe that!!!)..

Also let me show you how specific colors work to cancel annoying DURP that appears in hair as it goes blonde.

Here is the vast array of TONERS or Demi-Permanent

 Now the most important thing to learn about hair color ..........is its "BASE" color......otherwise how do you know how to fight the DURP or the annoying tone that you are trying to correct.

Remember the previous Post  . . .  and if you haven't read it, please do. DURP is that remaining pigment that you want to get rid of......

The most common color of DURP is BRASS

Remember what I've told you . . .  in order to cancel out the tone in your hair or the color in your hair that is remaining.....you choose the OPPOSITE color on the Color Wheel....
See the above Color Wheel?
so if you have Brass in your hair..................what Base do you want your Toner to have?
(remember you go across the Color Wheel................so Violet ! )

Here is a great little "cheat sheet" I call it......

I forget.....because a very long time ago I memorized all the base colors to all the lines of color I love and carry. But that is not fair to you....
So keep this and use it because it pertains to all Wella Colors including Illumina and Koleston Perfect, which are all the best hair color you will ever use.

Now as you can see a Violet based Toner or colors like 10/6, 10/81, 9/16, 8/81 are the perfect toners if you have Brass and or Blorange...... the first number is the LEVEL the color will be and as it shows about the numbers after the slash are the TONES.....

Becoming a Brilliant Crib Colorist - Blonding & Its Warnings

PIC 20-40

Crib Coloring

In an attempt to stay interesting and not bore you, I am going from “hair” theory back to “color” theory and back again. It’s an odd of way teaching the info but am assuming we have no closet Cosmetology students out there and it will be OK.

D.ominant U.nderlying R.emaining P.igment      
Contribution or
DURP
Its very important to understand DURP. 
 Primary, secondary and tertiary colors can be found at any level of natural hair color ( See Pic 20-40) .Remaining pigment contribution is the color that will be left in the hair after the lifting process. Lifting is the term used for lightening basically. 
Knowing the colors that will be present at a given level of color ensures that you will select the proper base color formulation to either neutralize or enhance to achieve the desired color.

A huge problem you will face is that most color swatch charts display color selections on “white hair” swatches, another weird move on the hair color manufacturers’ part… My complaint with Boxed Hair Color is how they do not take into count what color the hair is underneath when selling them. It matters, as much as they like to pretend it doesn’t, when new colorists ( like you) are just learning how to do this, that can really throw them off. 

It irks me that the damn companies cannot just make the charts right to begin with. It wouldn’t cost a penny more, but it would be correct, therefore eliminating all the improper color on women in those first few years of learning hair color and when buying hair color “kits”. Hair color is a science and does not have to be “guess work” which is what these companies make it , by supplying the wrong information. By the way, the charts are just as messed up for us in the professional world as well, so they are not prejudice, we all get screwed up with improper color charts and information.

Can’t they just spread that technology so all the companies can benefit ? Like I said..its not rocket science.The entire problem with both Boxed Kits and their charts boils down to them not taking into consideration the pigment contributed from the natural hair UNDERNEATH that will remain during the lifting cycle.

( Figure 20-40 is just a rule of thumb there is no way to make charts like this on every line for every company)

Contribution of DURP
Decolorizing the hair’s natural melanin pigment allows the colorist to create the exact degree of contributing pigment needed for the final result. First, the hair is decolorized (bleached) to the appropriate level. Then the new color is applied to deposit the desired color. The natural pigment that remains in the hair contributes to the artificial color that is added. Lightening the hair to the correct stage is essential to become a beautiful, controlled, final hair coloring result. 

Many times you see people walking around with just awful “yellow” hair, for a Colorist there is nothing worse to see “yellow” or “orange” that is a mistake by not lightening the hair enough times or leaving the lightener on the hair long enough. You must always reapply lightener as it stops work after 65-70 minutes. So taking it off and re-applying is the best way to achieve that brass-free blond you desire ! Sometimes with very resistant hair…you may need to do it one more time the next day. The point is Stylists that leave hair this way, don't need to, it might take a while but ALL hair is fixable in my mind. My mentor taught me that as I watched her many times work for 1 or 2 full days on a tough case. She would be proud, I have spent many a long night in that same spot.

Toners are semi permanent or demi-permanent hair colors that are used primarily on pre-lightened hair to achieve pale and delicate colors. They are applied to the lightest degree of contributing pigment that remains after the decolorization (bleaching) process.

Toners are one of my passions…there was a time when I had hundreds of toners on hand at all times…one can perform magic with them. If you like to be blond – becoming a Picasso of Toners is a suggestion of mine you can vary the color of your hair with something as simple as a Toner application every other week & using the proper brand can also lend a tremendous amount of shine and strength to your strands. One of my favorite’s - I call it MAUVE - CREME -

 it’s a very soft-rose-cream color…use Maroon BURST maybe to achieve it (having a platinum base). This is a Color Top Colorists strive for constantly....why? Because it is next to impossible to achieve!

TEN DEGREES OF DECOLORIZATION
See the 10 degrees of decolorization? Those are the stages the hair goes thru as it loses its color or as the color is taken out with lighteners…bleach, etc. Not all hair will go through the 10 degrees, each natural hair color starts the decolorization process at a different stage. Remember, the goal is to create the correct degree of contributing pigment as the foundation for the final hair color result . See figure 16-20





BLEACHING POINTERS

In my opinion there is only one way to lighten hair this light, safely… and that is with oil bleach. Here at Killerstrands we offer an amazing Oil Bleach Kit, check it out on our website!

The hair needs to be very carefully taken care of when lifting past the yellow stage to white with lightener. 

• Don't let people put you under a dryer when you have Bleach on your hair that will surely cause damage, 
• it is absolutely WRONG to use heat with Bleach. Stylists do this sometimes in an effort to buy themselves some 'time' when they are busy. 
• Just kindly say to your stylist: "No Thank You, I would prefer not be under a dryer"- I don't mind waiting. 
• DO NOT RUSH LIGHTENING THE HAIR................
• Another Red Flag is :  Overlapping. If you have previously lightened hair and you re-touch....... you must apply the next batch of lightener 3/4 " away from your previous bleach line....because bleach EXPANDS as it develops and many people are unaware of this fact.The extreme diffusion of color necessary to give hair a white appearance causes excessive damage to the hair strand. 
• The result is the hair feels a bit “mushy” and will stretch without returning to its original length. When dry, the hair is harsh and brittle usually suffers breakage and will not accept a toner correctly.Treat hair like expensive crystal at this stage. Gleam & THRIVEN can save your hair at this point. I have had to repair so many other Stylists hair...that I have seen - everything, pretty much.

The way to that beautiful “baby blond” or “Marilyn Blond” ?...it can be carefully achieved by lightening the hair to pale yellow and then neutralizing the unwanted undertone (contributing pigment) with a toner.



Look at the 10 degrees on this chart
If hair is dark brown & you want to go blond check out the long route the hair must transition.
Check out where #1.is...you apply lightener and then the hair begins to lighten going up 1 Level at a time on This chart 16-20 to the right here....

So it starts at Brown and then goes to dark red-brown first ( you notice a fast change in the beginning) and at the beginning 20 ,minutes you will notice the hair lightening pretty quickly - heading up the levels from #1 to #2 ...to #3...to #4... to #5... to #6 at Level 6 it gets stuck and sits there for about the last 25 minutes. The GOLD molecule is very difficult to lift, which is why so many of you end up with Gold/Blorange/Brass hair !

 This photo is after 1 bleach application.

At this point you must take the initial application of Oil lightener off Rinsing with cool water...for 5-10 minutes. Then a very light quick shampoo, then rinsiing again. Dry the hair and re-apply for application # 2.

 Mix Oil Bleach Up Again Re-Apply for a 2nd and most times a 3rd application. But checking for health and strength after each application . Crib Colorists - ALWAYS ALWAYS have a set of helpings hands with you. Never Lighten alone.
 

 See in this photo the virgin Brown hair color ???? The gold piece underneath is 2 bleaching's and the section on top is done, we call it the color of frozen butter when wet as a guide for what to look for . When its finished it does NOT LOOK WHITE, it still appears a bit brassy. So make note of that.


These are levels hair must go through in that climb (the most common complaint I hear is "Blorange" hair)
 Basically that comes from the fear of leaving lightener on too long. Or not applying the lightener enough times. But if you really want to master this and get your timing down. Buy a swatch of your hair color (some extensions) and do a practice run at home. If I receive enough request for TEST strips I will be happy to carry them. 
Send us an email: Killerstrands.info@gmail.com

Check out all the colors of Blonde, which is your favorite?

Bleaching Hair At Home - Correctly : Becoming a Crib Colorist

Our most asked about issue regarding hair color is 'how to get the brass out of Blond'.... that... & how to get blond hair at home without damage or problems.

If you have not gotten a Color Wheel and are having problems with these issues ..... please get one - it will help - promise.  Studying the Color Wheel will help....as the goal of hair coloring is the opposite of what most of you think. . . it is eliminating the colors you don't want....AS OPPOSED TO : adding the color you think you should add. That is what I want you to think of FIRST. For example, with lightening hair very light............what "don't you want?"............Yellow or Brass.

This is when you grab your Color Wheel......and continually  look for the color Opposing the color you are trying to diminish.
If you don't want Brass. What color is opposite of it on the Wheel?..............Purple.
Therefore using a lightening product that is either blue or violet-based always helps. 
We have a WONDERFUL Violet Developer with the Oil Bleach Kits.

 Everything we can do to help get rid of yellow/gold/brass tendencies is included in that kit.

For 20 years I have been looking for a professional BLUE DEVELOPER and we finally have one in the store. What does BLUE counter on the counter wheel GOLD or ORANGE or what I refer to as BLORANGE ! So, we now have a blue developer option. ! I am so happy to offer this to many of you.

I'm always trying to figure out "how" to tell you the proper way to achieve your goals in hair coloring so, be sure to read all my posts on any 1 subject, especially this one...remember in each one I will try a different method of explaining the subject. I have found in Hair Coloring explanations.....just read the post over and over.....eventually it WILL sink in
!

For the purposes of this Post we will refer to Hair Bleach as Hair Lightener.....that is how I was taught and that is how I feel YOU should get used to.
Hair Lighteners are used to create a blonde shade that is not achievable with hair color.

What happens usually is: you will use a highlift blond (Level 12 blond) color, then there will come a day when  it no longer lightens your hair light enough (without yellow) - as you grow older your hair becomes darker and it needs the next step......which is Hair Lightener (bleach).
Studying the Color Wheel will drive it home faster for you . .
Just follow this post and use our professional lightening supplies for a Professional result.

Notice the 2 completely different shades (tones) of bleached blonde hair of these 2 men :
Brad Pitt & a model that looks like him. The model is white and Pitt is yellow. The difference is.....if you were to leave the lightener on longer it would kick the yellow out of the hair and you would NOT have to use a Toner. That is the DESIRED look when lightening hair this light, to have to use a TONER always would be costly and tiresome. Some of you have so much natural yellow DURP, that a toner is necessary, we have a page of Toners. 






YELLOW -YELLOW -YELLOW.....Mr. Pitt is just too Yellow

I have 2 Toners I love from LAKME, 
one fights brass................................................................10/22 + 13.Volume or 6V.
and one fight Blorange......................Blue /Ash Platinum 10/17 + 6.Volume or 13 V.

Probably seems strange how a colour wheel can relate to hair colour
most brilliant ideas go back to "the basics", there is nothing more basic than the Colour Wheel most of learn it in elementary school.

As you look at the Color Wheel you see Yellow.................what is directly across from it??????????
Purple.
Using a Toner with a Purple Base will eliminate Mr Pitt's problem. 

objectionable shades in hair colors

• in blondes: the yellow tone of a blond is very unappealing + as well as Gold / or Blorange
• redheads: ORANGE / GOLD will be the objectionable shades in a tinted redhead
• objectionable Brunettes would be "GREEN" brunette (ash)....but then there are others who won't want any red in their brown. To be honest it takes a balance of green & red to make a gorgeous brunette, isn't that funny who would ever guess there is all these colors in another color. 
  Remember we are talking about 'artificial hair

Yellow Bleached hair is probably one of the worst things on planet earth.
The method of fixing a too yellow blond is the best way to show you how the color wheel relates to hair colour.
In order to cancel the yellow tone in the blond one must head to the color wheel (until you memorize it)
The opposite of yellow?
Purple/Violet or even a Blue-Violet BASED toner ...is the answer.....which is why you would order BREAKING BAD BLUE BURST Conditioner if you would like to cancel those Gold-y - BLOrange Tones that are so irritating

PLATINUM   BEAUTY

This is what a cool clean platinum should look like and in acieving platinum almost every single person is capable of achieving this color. You do not need to be somebody special, you just need to use all the tools available to achieve it. That, and apply the bleach multiple times. Applying it once is for  Virgin Level 9.............Applying it Twice........is for Virgin Level 7 + 8............Applying it 3X is for Virgin Level 6.............Applying it 4 X is for virgin Level 4 & 5............and so on......Level

Lighteners

As soon as Lighteners are mixed with hydrogen peroxide...it begins to release Oxygen. This process is known as oxidation - - - occurs within the cortex of the hair!

Again . . . Lighteners are used to create a BLOND shade that is no longer achievable
Lighteners are chemical compounds that lighten hair by dispersing, dissolving, and decolorizing the natural hair pigment. EVERYONE has pigment in their hair except for ??? Who ???         Gray Haired people. Gray hair is hair with NO pigment in it.

Lighteners usually come in 1 of 2 forms : Powder..............or Cream.

Here at Killerstrands we have the old school method of an "Oil Bleach" : Which means a bleach one can mix up with Oil + Developer and apply directly to the scalp without any irritation to the Client at all. Its funny in all my years there is no way to tell who will be sensitive to Lightener or not....therefore I ALWAYS apply Oil Bleach to a client who desires a look such as Mr. Pitt's (and whiter of course!!).

Powder Lightener ( powder bleach)

 This lightener is the old standard. Most everyone uses it for just about any lightening they have. I'm hesitant to tell you all the ways people MIS-Use it. So, I won't.

Applying a blue-violet or purple based Toner to the yellow blonde will kill the yellow and make the blond a very pleasant Platinum ( think Marilyn Monroe white-blonde) or like the gentleman model on the right at top of the page.
SEE THE DIFFERENCE THE PROPER TONER MAKES?. PItt has no toner on his bleached mess, the bleached model has a violet based Platinum Toner from Wella which was left on the hair for 25 minutes after the bleaching process.
Mixing toners produce wonderful results - having multiple dozens of brands and tones, there is nothing more fun than playing with hair colour toners on blondes, silly, huh?
I love it!
The same process works for every hair colour, they have toners in all shades and tones. The too-green (ASH) Browns...using a red brown (AUBURN) toner will warm that brown right up...and so on.
A toner has three possible names

1. Toner


2. Semi-Permanent color


3. Demi-Permanent color

They are very low volume peroxide colours ...so there is no lift (cannot go lighter). The colours end up being very transparent / sheer cover over the hair...........they add shine and cancel unwanted tones.... They also do wash out easily, it is especially important to use a sulfate-free shampoo. 

Here at Killerstrands, we make sure to ONLY SELL SULFATE-FREE SHAMPOO!

Color Wheels for Reference

go across(opposite) for whatever colour you want to get rid of to neutralize

TOMMY–TONER, EENIE – MEENIE—MYNEE – MONOR – This Is How You Have A Blonde With Honor and a Great TONER

With Spring and the new Blonde’s being settled I realized that I must begin getting my favorite class of colors in line for you. I feel if I get them in line and give away some of my secret formula’s I will get all the Blonde’s KS has as regulars playing around with their light locks. I mean how much fun is that, to have light enough hair to play around with new Toners every other week or so. It’s one of my favorite past times with my bleach ‘n’ tones ( I”m not afraid of bleach – in fact many times its the right tool for the job “please see my recent post in Group, in which I lost my cool on…!!!!”) as well as with my high-lifts.
Back at the ole corral ( Sassoon ) we would have days of boredom and come up with the craziest of experiments – may days were drawing color names out of a hat and having to go make that toner for a blond. I mean that may sound easy, but when someone writes, “ light turqoise blue” ( which we named “St. Barts”) it really is not that easy. Especially when its a contest, and you have 20-40 eager beaver Colorist’s chomping at the bit.
First of all one must have a stable ( notice todays “cowboy” theme!! ha ha – after that dear post in the Group) of “counter” toners. Your basic toner that will knock a lot or a teeny tiny bit of brass right out of that hair strand. We would Tone everything, I know many of you go by the rule, “ if there is ‘no yellow’ we need “no toner”… That is not really the professional way of doing things.

WE ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLWAYS TONE BLONDS. Why? Because that is the professional and TOP NUMBER 1 manner in which you should send someone out into the world that has either paid for one of 2 services:
1) Bleach and Tone. This does not say, only ‘tone’ if need be…it says BLEACH and when finished with that TONE the hair - - PERIOD.
or
2) HighLift blond and Tone: same here, we ALWAYS tone. Why? Because toning is professional. Toning is the Icing on the cake. Can you imagine getting a cake with NO ICING ? ? ? ? TO us, it is the SAME --- EXACT---- DIFFERENCE. In England they always tone and would ever send a blond out of the Salon without a toner, it just is not done at the level of hair / hair color that I teach – and perform so when you go blond in my chair, you leave with your hair pH balanced – TONED- Conditioned and AWESOME. For all you Stylists out there, if you want to bring in and keep every single client that sits their pretty little butt in your chair….follow my lead. I promise you, people appreciate your passion for your work.
Yes, I do understand money constraints, but after watching people for 15 years give me that excuse and then walk in with a $400 Handbag, or their face newly frozen from BOTOX, I truly do not have much sympathy for peoples’ excuses for hair and their finances….so please don’t waste them on me.
People who are truly poor are not coloring their hair AT ALL. I find it fascinating that so many of you think I was born yesterday and you are pulling the wool over my eyes. NOPE , I’m laughing on this side when an excuse is given to me – I want you to know that. If you are involved on this site and ordering from KS, you are not that poor. You know how I know? I’ve been there. YES, I’ve had wealth and riches…..but I have also had a dirt poor and impoverished life at an older age, as well.….having both teaches you a lot about life. I never seem to do anything small. . . .its always big. I was poor in a big way. I know what you think about when money is a issue……..and it is not YOUR HAIR.
So – back to Toners….and what they are all about ? ? …there is no easier color to put on in the world. IT DOES NOT STAIN the hands, so NO GLOVES….. They are a wonderful easy-to-apply consistency, so its a joy to put on. . . . and most of the times you will get 2 applications out of 1 tube. (Long (thick) hair needs a full tube). What’s not to like about them? Only 1 thing…
THEY DON’T LAST AS LONG AS WE WISH THEY DID!
But they are working on that ( SO AM I ! !) Watch for my tips….
Now in today’s Post, I will run 2 of my to 7 lines of Toners by you.Toners that will kill any remaining brass/yellow/gold and give your hair that amazing Beige-Blond of a Reece Witherspoon – Gwen Stefani blond.
I have used all of these since Academy. My mentor taught me to make the TONER, my best friend, and I did. It has paid off well, I promise.

I’m going to start with all the Color Touch Toners ( a LOT) and the MATRIX Toners, one that I named “marilyn” a very long time ago . . . as I feel on many people it gives you the blond of Monroe. Now remember with Toners, it depends on what you are putting it on. Toners are OPAQUE. Think of a NYLON you are putting on a leg, that is toned with beige color….you can still see the leg and its color, but it now has a beige ‘cast’ to it, doesn’t it ? ? Now if you were to take that exact same leg with the same tone and apply a Black toner…..it would appear Gray-ish,wouldn’t it ? ? ? Why? Because the Leg was Beige (virtually an off-white) mixed with Black equals Gray. That is how Toners work – they are transparent/opaque. They always use either a 5-6-10 or 15 Volume Developer.
Matrix has a line called COLOR SYNC. These are the same toners I have been using for 15 years - - they just gave them a new box – a new name but thank the Lord they left the formula alone, except for adding CERAMIDES, whenever you see CERAMIDES, just know its a VERY VERY GOOD ingredient for hair.

3 MATRIX -- COLOR SYNC TONERS -- SHEER PASTELS – Demi-Permanent Toners

• SPV..SHEER PASTEL VIOLET: my number 1, if you are confused just use this one you can’t go wrong. Its Sheer/ has violet to ‘counter’ any brass/ yellow/ gold …..leaves hair well balanced.
• SPN…SHEER PASTEL NEUTRAL : Excellent neutral looking for that blonde BEIGE…so popular now.
• SPA … SHEER PASTEL ASH : Another Ash to counter those DURP’s so many of you have..
• GWEN / MARILYN … is a mixture of SPV + SPN , the ratio ? 1:1 – which means 1 oz. of SPV + 1oz of SPN : MIX = Add 2 oz. of 10 or 13 Volume

ALL 3 of these I use constantly/daily… When you are a Top Colorist, information like this (which toners I used to produce such Killer BLONDS) were kept very TIGHT LIPPED – as everyone does….its just part of the game.

I never told anyone this info. I even confused my assistants on purpose, the last thing you want to do is give 4 brand new up and coming Hair Stylists all your secrets that have taken you years to gather. Lucky all of you . . . I don’t know one Stylist of my caliber that would do this. So please, treasure the information. I am an overachiever, a passionate artist who gives this information with the hope that many of you will use it to better your hair color - - better the hair color knowledge you use at your Salon.

One of my goals way back when …..I was in Academy . . . my girlfriend and I said ( naively – VERY naively) , “hey, lets cure all the bad color/ bad hair in the USA”……. we shook on it, we were very excited about that prospect…..I recall that moment all the time while writing this BLOG. Snicker at the thought of it.

Bleach/tone

I mean I used to try to cure all the bad hair I could I was much more lenient with so many of my tricks and education once I got into the Salon world than any other Stylist.

The Salon world and the Academy world are completely DIFFERENT WORLDS! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

But to think I could actually cure all the bad color/bad hair of America myself, was just so insanely naive. Who knew I would end up ill, that I would be forced into quitting the job I had plans of going to the top in.

But, the funny part is……………………………

I would never have reached as many people as I do through this Blog, our Group ( closing in on 2000 ) and the STORE . . .working any other way. !!! FUNNY HOW LIFE GOES………

This is the way I will reach the most people and hopefully do the most good. . . and who would’ have figured that one out ! !Level 9

Back to Toners and the importance of them…. many of you slough them off, I hope to inspire some to try them, I have never tinted a blond without using a toner. I would feel like I hadn’t finished the job…I was lucky and had assistants to help and they would all fight over who got to apply the toners (!!), so that end of the procedure was covered for me. I always applied the color to my clients ( yet the Assistants would mix to my spec’s - - and then comb through – add the plastic cap and rinse after I checked it,….. right when I was forced to quit… I had finally built a well-oiled machine, it was just such a shame to losLEVEL 8

The next Set of Toners I would suggest:

Color Touch has the most TONERS for 1 Single Line:

• 8/0 N ….….. Turns out a level 7 because of the Wella chart,being a full level darker than ours
• 9/0 N ….…...A Level 8 Neutral Toner
• 10/0N ….…. Equals Level 9 Neutral always use 6 Volume
• 9/01NA….… Natural Ash = an 8
• 10/01NA ….. Natural Ash = gorgeous level 9, now with the CT Toners many times I will mix 1/2 6Volume & 1/2 13Volume which gives you about a 10 – lasts longer SPECIFY if you want….1/2 & 1/2 Volume
• 10/1A…….. Lightest Blonde Ash
• 9/16AV…….ASH VIOLET - a level 8 excellent
• 10/81PA…..Pearl Ash – again equals a level 9
• 10/6 V……..Lightest Blond/Violet – Awesome level 9
• 10/73BG…..lightest blond/brown gold – watch that gold although this is as “gold” as I recommend
• RELIGHTS
• /86 PV……..Pearl Violet – another perfect color and is MADE to be a toner….

all the colors are visible on the Wella Color Touch Page in the Store, just click on this link

:Color Touch Line of Hair Color : Killer Strands Store

I apologize to those of you that are not blonds, but truthfully we sell blonds 20 to 1 in any other colors…..its funny BLACK is the number 1 hair color in the world but you would not know it by our numbers.!
Always – always consider using a toner, no matter what your color. . .I can’t wait to teach you some of the SECRET-SPY TONERS. . . . a LA KC
Level 9/16AV
Killer
Chemist