Killerstrands Professional Hair Color ( at home) - Top 10 Suggestions for Success

 Vibrant, Professional Hair Color is possible without visiting the Salon. Just follow these 10 Steps to ensure you get the results of your dreams ( and not your nightmares)

Prepare a "Color Cave", that you plan to use each month. Use old towels, old t-shirts & an old sheet for the floor. Hide anything and everything that's within dye splashing distance. Now that I am a Crib Colorist myself. . .  I play with different methods every 60 days !  Remember if your formula is correct then it should surely last 60 days. Last months Color was done with old Beach towels spread out over all my bathroom shelves and products (a great result).  Be sure to invest in a hands-free... rear-view mirror if you don't have help with the back of your hair. We have the one I use - personally, in the store. These mirrors are also wonderful for blow-drying and styling hands-free.....never go out of the house without a look in the "rear-view mirror" ! I have had be for 20 years, you will wonder how you ever made it without it after trying it for a week. You earn your money back in a single month by all the tricks you can do with it.

Begin with clean, dry hair that's free of styling product build-up - for super gunked up hair - I have used many of the products by Malibu 2000 for many years . . .  Such as COLOR PREP Treatments packs, when doing hair color for big photo shoots or TV commercials we will begin the process with an application to have completely stripped down hair. 

The advantages?

why you need it

• readies hair for unprecedented color absorption, coverage and retention
• extends vibrancy
• prevents brassiness, dullness and discoloration
• accelerates color-processing time
• protects scalp from itching and burning caused by harsh oxidizing chemicals

key benefits:

• 100% Vegan, food-grade, Ecocert, wellness ingredients
• features a highly advanced blend of vitamin antioxidants and botanical nutrients
• activates on the spot for maximum potency
• free of preservatives, parabens, propylene glycol, salts, DEA, gluten and fragrance
• hermetically sealed, eco-friendly, travel-ready packaging
• safe for all ages, all hair types (except white, non-pigmented hair)

key ingredients:

• ascorbic acid – nature-identical vitamin C, freshly activated for topical use – removes damaging water deposits and purifies hair and scalp
• betaine - improves hair’s texture and softness with superior, penetrating moisture retention
• panthenol -  pro-vitamin B5 absorbs deep into the hair shaft to repair hair and improve moisture retention

The 24 hour Patch Test. There is a lot of controversy about this step... legally - it should be applied before every single color service, although if it was, 90% of clients would stand up and walk out on you. I learned that the hard way coming out of Academy. Therefore, what to do??? 
24 hours before applying color and especially if you have any type of sensitivities / allergies to products of any type - I highly suggest mixing up a super small batch of the product you'll be using to check for an adverse reaction. Smear a small amount behind the ear and covering it with a band aid for 24 hours, its only 1 little day. If any irritation occurs, wash it off ASAP and do NOT use...Yes, its rare - super rare ... but if you are the one .. it can save you some heartache.

 

Strand Test. The difference between its cousin - -above?? One is on skin........ the other on the hair. Big difference. The one above you are testing to make sure your skin/hair will not have a negative reaction to the hair color. For this little guy you are testing to see if you get the color you desire with your present idea for a formula. I am very much in favor of this one. I will get emails all the time, from people who have destroyed their entire head of hair......I always ask: 'did you run a strand test' ?? THIS TEST WILL SAVE YOURSELF A WORLD OF HURT when NEW to Professional Home Hair Color. TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THIS - it will take you all of 1 hour.  For "strand tests" - apply a tiny batch of product to the hair in the back of the ear and underneath, using a foil to cover,process for complete time. Be sure to set TIMER, checking twice throughout developing process. The sun, products, and previous color can all affect your results and timing ... it will give you an idea of the final result before you commit yourself.

 

Plenty of product.
 If hair is long or thick, have 2 tubes of color on hand you can always use the 2nd tube next time if you don't need it all, pr the best news is our NEWEST Star Hair Color, that we refer to as X.Factor - -  the tube is a whopping 3.5 ounces - its HUUUGE! It is almost 2 tubes in one for a super good price. Best part about it? Shiny - long-lasting hair color. A couple people have had a bit of a learning curve with the new ratio it comes with. Which is 1: 1.5. So with 1 ounce of haircolor you are to use 1 and a half ounces of developer. We are now enclosing a business card you can put on your fridge - which spells out how much you should use at every level !  Saving partial tubes are done all the time in professional color or remember tinting your eyebrows is always recommended by the top pros. Its no longer having the carpet match the drapes, its having the shutters match the drapes! Even more desired!

6 Barrier Cream application is mandatory around hairline, to prevent color-run and to soften the color hairline . Always applying the color up to & over the hairline for security. Using this cream prevents the dreaded skin stain which results from a clients very dry skin & new color application. We have a couple different types of this . . . the one by Repelle is my fav., it is like a giant Lip Balm stick making it easy to crank up and draw around the hairline. To me??? Time is always money!.

You know. . . .  I've tried lots of the 'home remedies' - - honestly - something made just for the occasion is easier and more effective.

 

Proper Tools make life easy and home coloring possible. Be sure to have at least 2-3 "tail" combs at all times for hair coloring. That and the # 11 comb for parting and distributing dye throughout the hair and scalp - which we give to you free ON REQUEST !      Plenty of strong 3 inch clips (longer hair), foils, hand towels, tint bowls, tint brushes, Timer, measure cup, etc. All supplies are inexpensive and can be purchased for very decent prices at our store.

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

Never leave Tint on for longer than recommended time - that's not how it works, and it won't give you a richer, darker shade. The manufacturer's directions are on the "inside" of the box normally- they have tested their product and know it well - if you follow them exactly you will have the best results. Rinse in the manner it quotes, and 'when' you should, so make sure you have that timer visible from your Color Cave!

 
Always use a Post Color Treatment. Our own INTENSIVE is as GOOD as there is...the way it fly's outta here, you would think it was free- it is a triple-threat.....1) conditioner and 2) pH balancer and most importantly 3) a Color Lock..... I speak about it frequently, this step is out of my "SUCCESS IN COLOR ARSENAL - I never thought I would reveal. Neither of my mentors practice it and I've always felt it was a true healthy hair gold mine of yours truly, the dear Killer Chemist. Since I revealed it - I fully expect you > to run out, buy it and USE IT !! 

ooooops, if you do have a mishap,  we have a couple of Solutions to help . . . 

~ we have the GROUP......join that for support - research & questions

~ you may TEXT the store.......

~ you may ask simple questions when submitting your order

Be sure you have read and followed my directions-advice and writings....I am finding what I call Color Cowboys, they decide,"yee haw" what the Hell, it can't be that hard.....and they just power through without reading a thing. OK, I take that back, they have read 1 or 2 posts and decided they have got it down. Where the rest of you have been good students - reading - asking questions, signed up to the Forum/Group.... then made your attempt at being a CC > Crib Colorist!...with wonderful success.
I WANT YOU ALL TO SUCCEED, I swear . . . .so I have tried multiple different offerings for different types of people 

We have a couple disaster stories displayed yet I have received many more success stories than disasters - I didn't have the Forum going yet.

For everyone interested in discussing

• hair color

• hair health


• hair education of products and their ingredients


• hair styling & tools


• hair growth ( women) 12 step miracle program

Please join the forum/Group that coincides with this Blog...of the same name: Killerstrands

http://groups.google.com/group/killerstrands/about

Good Luck and Keep reading and Learning


KillerChemist

Pomade, Pins and Porosity

Porosity means the 'condition' of hair, interested now ?

Hair Porosity is the ability of the hair to retain & absorb moisture, determined by how raised or compact the cuticle layers are. Porosity is commonly referred to as the CONDITION of the hair, which affects a lot more than you think! The degree of porosity is directly related to the condition of the cuticle layer - when the cuticle layer is damaged that's when you feel your hair and think, "I must deep condition my hair, get a hair cut or a hair color . . . something is just not right."

Hair porosity is classified as:

• resistant : has a tight, compact cuticle layer that resists penetration. Chemical services performed on resistant hair require a more alkaline solution. A high pH raises the cuticle and permits uniform saturation and processing. . . therefore requiring a longer processing time . Cuticle -- Tight = Hair resistant therefore a Longer processing time.
• normal : is neither resistant nor overly porous. Color services performed on this type of hair will usually process as expected. Isn't "normal" wonderful sometimes!
• porous: Has a raised cuticle layer that easily absorbs color. Chemical services performed on overly porous hair require a less alkaline solution than those performed on resistant hair. A lower pH minimizes swelling and helps prevent excessive damage to the hair. Cuticle is lifted which makes the color take quickly AND Fade quickly.

Manufacturers write formulation recommendations with average, normal hair in mind -- that is, medium texture and normal porosity. For very coarse hair, very fine hair, resistant hair, or over-porous hair, adjustments are necessary which is a big chunk and the largest percentage of most of your hair out there . . .another of the points not taken into account with BOXED Color Kits, They don't ask, they don't explain and you can see by this Post it is a very important part of each individuals color formula. I solve this when we go through the HHCC Home Hair Color Consultation, making that a better choice than just randomly throwing color on your hair. Its all about education here, that is my goal, I simply hope to get more of you involved.
Both the diameter of the hair strands(texture) and the condition of the cuticle (porosity) significantly affect hair color acceptance.
The Cuticle
Starting from the outside -- in on a hair strand . . .we first encounter the cuticle...which is the tough outer layer of the hair. The cuticle surrounds the inner layers and protects the hair from damage. A strong compact cuticle layer makes for resistant hair, meaning that the hair resists penetration and is difficult to service.

Effect of Porosity on Hair Coloring
Resistant hair takes longer than average to soften and penetrate...therefore should be allowed the maximum timing when processing. Very-low developer volumes ( less than 15 to 20 Volume) won't soften it sufficiently. Super-duper resistant hair sometimes referred to as "tenacious" which is Gray sometimes requires pre-softening or pre-pigmentation.
Hair of normal porosity accepts and retains color normally. A slightly open cuticle allows chemicals in normally, and, once the coloring process is complete, closes enough to prevent dye molecules from escaping. Timing and formulation are normal for hair of normal porosity.
Porous hair sponges up color - it drinks it ---but it releases color quickly, too. It lets it IN and it lets it OUT. A highly raised cuticle is penetrated instantly (so timing is shorter) but it is not compact & intact enough to retain color molecules normally. Overporous hair tends to fade faster than the other 2 classes and may require 'filling' ( a subject I have yet to go into). High volume developers are generally unnecessary and can be quite detrimental on super overporous hair. If the color service is deposit only, a low or no-peroxide color is a gentle alternative (demi-permanent or semi-permanent products are great choices).
Overporous hair accepts dyes differently than that of normal porosity. The more overporous the hair, the more selective its acceptance of permanent hair color (oxidative dyes). With permanent haircoloring, overporous hair tends to reject warm artificial pigment ( red & gold) and accept ash (cool & drab) pigment.

The problem with many client's hair is: there may be multi-porous hair along one strand, more than one porosities along one strand, YYYepp! What solves that? Equalizing the porosity of the entire head of hair prior to coloring makes huge difference, I am such a promoter of this idea that I carry many products in the store to combat the problem. I am finding many hair stylists don't under stand the concept either. (about 1/4 to 1/3 of our members are licensed Cosmetologists!) I write this to accommodate you the CRIB COLORIST, I want you to be as educated as I was, if you choose to do so. Here are a few of the porosity equalizing products I carry in the Killer Color Clinic hl=enhttp://groups.google.com/group/killerstrands/web?hl=en

• In Depth by WELLA
• Malibu 2000 Treatment Packs - Color Prep package
• Malibu 2000 Shampoos
• Spray Porosity Equalizer (its on its way for the Killer Color Clinic) which I use on my clients, helpful with blonding especially.
• Thriven : leaving this on overnight as directed, would be the closest product to regaining some of your original porosity.

Keep this in mind about porosity: it lasts forever. Once the cuticle is lifted, there is no returning it to it virginal / compact state. Any porosity you create will remain forever, until the hair is cut off and GONE ! Another reason to keep your haircuts regular!

Although normal porosity cannot be restored once lost, treatments such as the Malibu 2000 Treatment Packs that only sell for $3.50 in the store, are of great value, along with the Gold Standard for Hair Conditioning : THRIVEN. Both the entire Malibu 2000 line and my Killer Strands Line of products is dedicated to the porosity of the hair, as you can see its not an easy concept to explain OR understand . . .so I am hoping with this post, I have made it a little more clear at least and expressed the importance of porosity with your hair.
http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/products/thriven

Killer Chemist

Bleach For The Stars / The Quest for Platinum Hair - Part 1

Part 3 (final) of the ONLINE Directions :  "HOW-TO-BLEACH-YOUR-HAIR : White (not yellow) Leaving Hair In Excellent Condition

The Quest for Platinum (part 3)
11.)Determine from a color chart or as best you can 15 minutes before the time is done, you are looking for a pastel yellow-white....the one major problem made by people bleaching hair is... that it is yellow. What does being yellow indicate? .... they have taken the bleach off too early... or that it was put on once....and not put on again. Many times...let me say, most times, the bleach needs to be applied twice. If the client has very light hair to begin with, Level 7 is the breaking point, a Level 8 would be darkest you can be to get away with one bleach is a pretty good guess.

Remember the porosity, the texture of the hair have a lot to do with how fast hair lightens...so it will be different all the time. You need to understand that person A with Level 8 VIRGIN Hair and person B with Level 8 VIRGIN hair can both have completely different lift speeds. Person A has straight, very porous fine - level 8 hair...while Person B has straight - non porous - coarse level 8 hair.....with my experience I will guess that person A will be light enough when all is said and done and person B will need an extra 30 to 60 minutes. 

Just know that when hair is wet with this product on it....it will never look totally white,EVER...so do not look for totally white, what it looks like is a pale yellow-white, when it is dry it turns to white. Why do you not want it to be totally white? It will be over done....the product will be on too long creating too much damage. I do not mean to sound confusing, I mean to try to teach you everything I know through words, I want you to understand this process through reading words as much as possible.

12.)About 15 minutes before you think it will be finished, remove the cotton from the scalp area. Apply the lightener to the hair near the scalp with the 1/8-1/4" partings, very very quickly...(figure 16-54). If at this point you are running out of bleach prepare a fresh batch - at this point I would make up a batch of regular bleach - using 40 volume developer, to help speed things up.You have all the hair covered in the oil bleach so the oil is on all of your strands in order to protect it. The cuticle opens and lets the OIL IN....which helps the condition and controls the damage to the hair. If you just have some spots or stubborn areas put the 40 volume bleach on them and work it in with your fingers, rubbing it into the hair strands briskly and hard with your fingers..




Process and perform your strand test until the entire shaft has reached the desired stage of pale yellow/white.

13.)Rinse the hair thoroughly with tepid water. Shampoo gently with a Sodium Lauryl Sulfate--FREE shampoo.

14.) Apply "After-Treatment" of choice for a minimum of 5 minutes to get the pH back to normal.{Remember Wella's "In-Depth" is only $4.00 at Sally's and is an EXCELLENT Deep conditioner + an "after-treatment" as well}....this little step is one of those tricks that I added that makes a huge difference in this process, many discard it...don't! You want the best tricks? Use them. You will see why in the condition of your hair.

The idea is to perform only the necessary steps,in a Salon setting you are in a massive hurry,in my days in Salons,there was never enough time for people that wanted their hair done, ever...yet doing this step was one I would never axe. Only the necessary ones are on here I promise you.

Re- condition with the best conditioner you have for a couple minutes.

15.) Towel Dry the hair....under a cool dryer.....find out which way your toner needs the hair its about 50-50 1/2 the toners want your hair damp the other 1/2 want it dry.... if dry....be sure to dry very very gently and on a lo-warm temp. treat the hair with care its just gone through Hell and back.





16.) Examine scalp for any abrasions (See Figure 16-55)  Analyze the condition of the hair. Proceed with toner application.
{ as a warning the color of this is too yellow (Fig.16-55), I would apply bleach one complete more time for how this looks.... it is in the yellow stage..... and needs to be AT LEAST in the yellow/white stage - - - see the DeColorization chart I posted... the lightest says "pale Yellow"...I call it :  Yellow/White...because it is ...Yellow White } the Decolorization chart shows what stages the hair goes through as it loses its color with bleach on it. As a Colorist we are trained to use the word "lightener" in front of clients...talking to each other we say "bleach" that's what it is and its easier

when bleaching the first few times....Click on it and Print it out....save for reference..
At this point you are completely done with the Bleaching process....your hair will feel kind of funny.....it will smell kind of funny...I LOVE IT ! ! ! .oh and why do I like this procedure better than any other in the world of hair???? Did you figure it out?

Its because it is the one single procedure that changes the hair the most....at times going from black to white...especially when applying to Hispanics or Asians. Also when it is done like this....with a gorgeous icy beige toner...there is nothing more beautiful. You will see once you do this.. You basically are changing hair from 'black' to 'white'....the more change I can do,the more I feel like a true artist within the world of hair. The very first bleach I did was to an Asian girl from Pepperdine College, she had come to Sassoon to get her hair done for free.... we had her for 8 hours,that was the penalty for "free hair" 16 years ago. I can't believe I can still remember that she was an Advertising Student so she was an ARTIST herself.....she let me put a 2 inch band (surrounding her entire hairline) of PURE White Hair so she had a GORGEOUS white frame around her face and then I took her Level 2 darkest brown hair and made it Level 1 > black-blue...so it was the complete opposite ends of the spectrum...as my VERY FIRST bleach. I cannot believe my mentor ( Lucie Doughty) had me do that first, but as she used to say, " it IS only hair". She had this great attitude toward hair which took me about 10 years to acquire, I had always held my hair dear to my heart....but as I matured and as I had quite a few severe tragedies happen in life...it finally hit me.....it TRULY is . . . . . . .ONLY Hair! Its the one object on the body that WILL grow back....!

Now find your Toner...this is as important as the bleach. 
You never want to leave it Un-toned that is like making a birthday cake and not frosting it. You can eat the cake and I suppose some would consider it done, but my Lord how much better is it WITH the Frosting!!

ITS THE BEST PART, just like the frosting is!

(Toners are tomorrow)

**** Just a note...I have gone through and added a few very important points to both posts that I both forgot and changed my mind on, so be sure to re-read them...if you have gone through the headache of reading all this. Sorry its so long, I wanted to cover everything....and I know I will still have questions.....

PLEASE >ASK ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU WANT....I WANT TO SEE IF I HAVE MADE THIS CLEAR ! ! ! ! and what I might have forgotten or what you do not understand.... I want you all to fully understand it.....PLEASe . . . ASK, ANYTHING ON YOUR MIND.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DUMB "QUESTION"

You may always "ask questions" . . . .