Hairway to Heaven : Remove, Renew & Begin Again (Killerstrands method : Remove Old Hair Color)

Removing Old Hair Color, for one of many reasons:

• lighten hair
• have used boxed (yukky) hair color & desire good quality color
• hair is unhealthy & damaged for one of many reasons
• color hair lighter than current color (the one & only way)

At Killerstrands we recommend a 2 step method to remove old hair color we call:
Remove, Renew & Begin Again.
Spring is the Time of the Year When Everyone comes out wanting to start anew with hair color and cut. 

Remember, VANISH & the Shampoo Train are the one & only Hair Color Removers that do not damage the hair ! 





Having noticed a huge increase in VANISH sales of late - -  which always happens in the SPRING/Summer of every year….it seemed a good time to revisit the process and some of the finer points. While I realize many of you may fear the procedure…I am always so happy to see that many of you are ‘going for it’ and are giving it a try. Let me assure you that I do not sell any products in our store that I feel need any type of super-duper special education to properly apply. I just would not and will not  - -  ever do that to any of you… or your hair.

Once I got into writing this BLOG and analyzing some of the procedures we do as professional Hair stylists: I began realizing how so much of what we do is very plain............ simple........... and it runs very close to cooking which is Chemistry as well.  I always compare concocting hair and hair color products to the same as following a Recipe and cooking a meal. cooking. If you follow the proper directions and theories you will have a good outcome or a poor one – how good the outcome is, always depends on -- how well you have followed the recipe or directions. Yes, its true there can be bad recipes --just like there can be bad formulations for hair color....and it takes time and practice in order to become a good Colorist. 

But to become a decent and qualified Crib Colorist is not that hard, you know why? Because all you have to learn is YOUR own hair................. as a General Colorist in a Salon we must learn how to deal with thousands of types of hair and hair color. Along with millions of different problems and hair combinations and disasters.

All that each of you have to do, to have a great little hobby in Hair Coloring, is to learn your own hair and what to do to YOUR hair, not one other person. I have explained in this Blog the entire method we learned at the best hair school in the country, all you have to do is to study what I have written and I have taught it in a simple manner I promise.

Yes, I guess with so many of you having such poor experiences with bad Hair Stylists  you could have some doubts when you first find us…… On April 15 was our 8th year Anniversary this year !  I doubt we would be around that long if I was a poor Stylist or more importantly a poor teacher. I try very hard in listening to as many of your requests as I can and responding in teaching accordingly. So just know that.

 Same with hair, which is why I do encourage you purchase all options with us that include directions. . . If you follow the directions I give in many of these Posts with the hair color you purchase from us, you will have good results. Unfortunately, there is a lot of counterfeit hair color out there and I just cannot endorse any color you don't get from us. I continue to have people complain to me when they decide to try to save a few bucks.  So, remember that first.

I only have 2 complaints, that is one and the other is  the "timing". All directions in every single color line tells you to leave it on 20 minutes………they never suggest a “long enough processing time! Remember....... It should be 65- 85 minutes for blonding and 45-55 minutes for processing time for any color darker.

     I’m very happy that many of you are taking the proper steps to properly color your hair. VANISH is the one and only hair color remover that works without damaging the hair. The manner in which it works  > > still fascinates me. . . as it truly reverses the way in which the hair color goes into your hair in the first place. No bleaches, no peroxide………….it’s a bizarre process to explain but hopefully as you repeatedly read about it will begin to sink in.

We now have 2 separate types of hair color removers.......Vanish And now De-Cap. Why the new one? Vanish does NOT remove Direct Dyes or Crazy Colors but - De-Cap removes it all ! Which makes it a wonderful addition to the hair color removing category especially being as it works on the same principal as VANISH and does NOT damage the hair AT ALL. It too, shrinks the color molecules of all 3 types of hair color and wipes it right out of the air with ZERO damage. I would suggest purchasing the application sponge at least, because you get a lot more coverage with it.

 

 One of our staffers just applied 6 applications of VANISH, which reminded me I forgot to tell her about the 1st Step which would have saved her a whole lot of time, and headache. 

 I was freshly reminded of the persistence one needs to approach hair color removal. Even yesterday I had the clerk at the supply house ask me what did she do wrong when she just applied Vanish and then her hair turn dark again. What I want to be sure to point out to you, is  - - the first part we call the "SHAMPOO TRAIN.

The Hair Color Removal procedure is not a breeze, so I don’t want to mislead anyone. The good part? It’s not complicated, The Bad?  (once you read directions)…….it IS ‘time-consuming’ and pricey. But nothing.............I mean N-O-T-H-I-N-G beats how advantageous this procedure is for the HEALTH of the hair. The Shampoo Train is a necessity to begin with in order to make the Vanish Steps easier and work better. 

The longer you perform each step on my direction sheet the more successful your outcome. Just like anything in LIFE, ‘precisely navigating the steps as long as you are going to take the procedure ‘on’ you might 

as well do the best you can.

I mean not only did we have to apply 6 (common) separate applications – a step I worry many of you may be shorting yourself on – (remember there are 2 applications per box).

 Our staffer – Cassy - - had what is a very common issue I bet many of you are dealing with. She had highlights under her Level 2-3 DARK BROWN hair color… Black .. basically. Now, that type of situation will many times take a minimum of 2 boxes, 3 is more likely and 4 is not out of the question…just FYI. The reason I want you to know is hopefully you will only perform this procedure of hair color removal ONCE in your life.

 Now. . . after this you will have read through the BLOG, learn the 10,000HEADS :14 STEPS and study your color wheel and the Level System. So you will learn clearly how to care for your hair in a new and unique method.



The number 1 mistake most people make in removing their color is: they do not apply enough applications of VANISH. I don’t think in all these years I have ever gotten all the color out in 2 applications… it would be nice if you could…but almost always people are trying to get BOXED hair color out of their hair which is this ‘thicky syrupy gunk’. 

Professional hair color comes out of the the hair much faster/easier than boxed color. Why? because it is not made to color ANY color of hair it is properly formulated for your hair! . Formulating is done by the professional (or you) so the color that was used was the “proper” color for the situation. Boxed hair color is made so it works on any hair without any formulating knowledge necessary. Otherwise why would they be selling it every store in America to A N Y O N E  that wants to purchase it. The color in boxed color kits….uses the E X A C T same coloring process and formula that professional hair color does. There is not one hair color formulation for boxed hair color and another for professional hair color….they are made the same way only 1 has better ingredients (quality).

The difference? You (or your stylist) is taking the answers to the KILLER 14 questions and calculating the proper color to use. When that is done…the color process is done correctly and therefore REVERSING the process works flawlessly. Most people that are looking to remove color here @ Killerstrands, I find, are boxed hair color removal. Which I am very sorry to say is going to be minimum of 4 applications. . . . and upwards of 8 or 10. I had Cassy our staffer, working on the Shampoo Train and using the COLOR PREP and COLOR CORRECTOR packets every couple days (by Malibu 2000) for 5 weeks prior to our 2 days of VANISH applications. . .which completely helped. . .we would have had to do at least 8 apps. if we had not done that…. as it was we did “5” !!   I know - - I know, just keep in mind: this is a one time project….hopefully to never be done again. She had highlights underneath (which btw she neglected to mention until about 1/2 way through) – I was really becoming puzzled by the fact that the procedure was not working very well {after 10 million of these, you truly get a feel for how they should work}.

Malibu 2000Has now come out with a new packet called CPR - or Color Pigment Reducer, so I highliy recommend purchasing a couple packets of this. If you are removing your color once and trying to recolor, that simply will not work, you either to either go ALL IN or forget it. So many people try to take short-cuts, when that simply will not work in hair color. Remember its a science and the rules and laws must be followed in order for the result to come out correctly.

Then I asked her, “ did you have any blond underneath this black? The truth came out about her wanting to get rid of the highlights so she got a box of color from Target and slapped it on, then she did it again and again and again for a year… She will never do that again, and neither should you!ONE BIG TIP HERE: When applying new color ( of any type) you must only color the “NEW GROWTH”……the “ROOTS”………..the “BASE” – coloring over the lengths that have already been colored will do nothing but damage the hair, whether going lighter, the same Level and especially going DARKER…. see this photo . . . the color is applied on the root area and the “lengths” are left out….that way you are not coloring on top of color….it IS NOT NECESSARY, & I promise you is one of the biggest mistakes hair stylists make.



How does hair color get in the hair and stay there >>>??? The molecules of “color’ shrink, then they go in the hair strand through the cuticle…then they EXPAND while in there - - which locks them in there – they can’t leave because they grow and become too large to get out the way they came ‘in’.. Thus, the hair is now the color of those color molecules. VANISH works by reversing that process. VANISH shrinks those molecules that are locked into those hair strands The reason we have a VANISH KIT versus just the VANISH Box?? You need 7 odd little things to complete the application properly plus my personal directions assure you of a perfect application. 




The single most important fact of beginning and ending the VANISHING technique? Making sure the old color is all the way out. With the Kit comes the one trick of a way of checking if all the color is out of the hair or not, that way you will KNOW - - you will have a gauge of when you can stop and be assured that all the color is out.

Now in our little Vanishing escapade… I discovered 2 new wonder-products we recently added to the store I thought I’d point out to you…. (the new Portable Bonnet Cap BLOW dryer system - -  that I was completely impressed with, btw) she had been using it all month long with the COLOR PREP and COLOR CORRECTION packets. What she forgot to tell me was how well it worked. I guess I thought the dryer would blow-up . . . WRONG…. or that it would either be too hot or too cold….WRONG again!. She brought it back and we put it on her ends as we had put pastel colors in her drips for EASTER… OK – YES, it looks goofy, but who cares… it works so well, that just doesn’t matter…..I mean don’t look at yourself.  . . . and the price is sooooooo reasonable. Ours are black, is the only difference. The most goofy looking new tool  - - - and the most EFFECTIVE….LOVE IT!



LOVE IT

The second great discovery is…………really silly but supremely effective and I wished I would’ve had for my entire career. Truly. I’ve already had it posted in the store but getting these posts on here are getting harder and harder for me…I try - - I promise you  - - I try. This little item is an applicator sponge….and as goofy as that sounds…let me explain…….
 

Above is a shot of the little devil . . . One of the problems with VANISH, Malibu 2000 Packets and all those types of products . . . is, the product itself is expensive….even to me VANISH is expensive. So we all want to use every last drop of the product, which is why all Colorists use tube “keys” - - to get every last drop out of the tube. 

Same with VANISH…every little drop of liquid should be used. Over the years I have tried 6 different types of applicators: make-up sponges, kitchen sponges…and most lately I had found these sponge “cloths”… I cut them up and thought that was my final answer to the issue. NOPE! I don’t know why but it must be the density of this particular foam that its absorption and application of the liquid was just awesome. 

You see if you have not used Vanish before: there are 2 bottles inside, Bottle 1 and Bottle 2 - -To look in each bottle you would think you were looking at water. When you get ready to use,  you mix 1/2 the bottle of #1 and 1/2 the bottle of #2 for 1 application. Then tighten both bottles immediately – tight. Use a spoon to mix thoroughly, at this point you would reach for this handy dandy applicator brush. Not even expecting a thing I decided to give this new little contraption a go . . . now our staffer has hair a couple inches past her shoulders – so long-ish. Her hair was completely drenched after applying only 1/2 of the total VANISH liquid..in the bowl….( or 1/4 of the total liquid in 1 box ). That would have never happened using all my other contraptions I had been experimenting with. Plus with VANISH the more you douse the hair with the liquid, the better. 

This little wonder – brush wins my vote for “Tool – of -- the- month”  - - if not the year. But…..this little sponge for some reason holds the right amount of liquid and then disperses every last drop onto the hair strands….why? I have no idea  - - but I was just star struck. Cassy kept making fun of me and my enthusiasm for something so silly. . .
But I love finding a GREAT tool . . .especially at a great price .
That’s probably why Killerstrands has turned into the success it has. . . because I DO care about every little product I bring you . 
Once again - - thank you for your support . 
KillerChemist

Can Boxed Hair Color Truly Produce Highlights and Lowlights ?

One of the more absurd boxed Hair Color commercials shows a beautiful woman "Kate" with her

supposed husband in a Voice-over roll speaking about her beauty "remaining the same" over the years (with supposedly this boxed hair color being the reason for her still youthful beauty - I GUESS!!). He is explaining how his life has changed so much......" 4 moves, 3 kids & 2 jobs"......but she has always remained the same. As if, his wife's hair, never got gray because she uses this ridiculous Box of Hair Color. First of all, I want everyone to know, that this is NOT HIS WIFE. TV commercials are cast, just like movies or TV shows are (see below). They look long and hard for the 2-3-4, etc.. people (the child is an actor too) that are cast in a national commercial like that .... and why? ..... because a helluva lot of money is as stake. P & G has to pay these actors every single time this commercial plays, it is a "national ranked commercial", which means that from 1 or 2 days work these actors put in to shoot the commercial, they could bring in a high 6 figure income! A TV commercial in hair color is never an honest endeavor, I hope everyone realizes that.....but this one stuck out more than most to me so I felt I must at least explain ...'why', for those that are new to Killerstrands.

So this boxed Hair Color's main point was that this $8.00 Box-O-Crap could give your hair both

highlights and lowlights similar to this 'woman's hair' when she was younger (is the premise).  Which is scientifically and chemically impossible to do. So, the fact that they boldly advertise this box to be able to pull off a Coloring trick that takes a highly skilled Colorist to accomplish, when false advertising is illegal in this country, infuriates me.  The next time you are confused by what politicians in Washington are getting paid off for ... remember this to relate it to your life. 

I'm sure many of you at one time or another may have had foils in your hair, or if not, may have seen them in someones hair, right? There is a very specific reason we use foils, which is to apply different colors inside those foils, so the result is....a multitude of colors giving a more authentic and youthful appearance when finished. Before foils there was a weird apparatus called a cap and hook...where they would yank small bits of hair thru to also impart color differences, which hurt peoples head too much so, foils were developed. No one has developed any further technique's because foils are as close to painting on individual colors as we have found.  But, here is where the art gets tricky........you know how there are rules for coloring the hair? Well, all of those rules pertain to individual foil work as well. Which means you cannot just apply any color on top of another hair color or it won't work. All of the hair color rules that pertain to the Killer 14 questions still need to be applied to the foils in order for the colors to end up the same. You still need to have a lighter hair color underneath if you plan on applying a lighter color on top, and so on. The Art of Hair Color and looking natural is no small feat.

So, it is insulting to my career and to the art of hair color, that this commercial gives false hopes to women who don't have access to possibly foils and foilwork. If you are going to advertise quit giving false hope when you know for a fact that it is not chemically possible to give both highlight and lowlights when you apply one color. I mean listen to how ridiculous the sentence evens sounds. 

Come on P & G, GET WITH IT.

KC

(Full disclosure: I want to say that I support P & G in one facet of hair coloring, as I support Wella : Color Touch and Koleston Perfect Professional Hair Color, which they bought from a Private owner about 2 years back, I tried a couple other brands and none were as good as Wella, so I returned.)

About This Commercial

Description	This commercial shows a man talking about his wife Kate. He says that although he has aged, his wife still looks more beautiful than ever. In one step, with color blend technology,    ________ is proven to give more blends of tones versus untreated hair.
Advertiser	Facebook Twitter YouTube  (Airing Rank: 248)
Agency	Grey Global Group Inc.
Mood	Active
Tagline	“The Color Experts”
Screenshots	Previous Next

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People, Places & Things

Actors	Alex Kendall (Model) – Plays Husband
Music	Know the song?

Hair SOS - Mane Emergency - Watch Out For Boxed Hair Color

Vidal Sassoon Box Color is Same Ole Crap-In-A-Box
I'm tired of sugar coating the word for Boxed hair color - all boxed hair color is Bull Shit.
I am just horrified that a new boxed hair color has been rolled out. First of all . Leave it up to Proctor Gamble to wait til the master is dead so he couldn't SUE their ass. 
Because he surely would. 

Lately there has been a barrage of Vidal Sassoon commercials for hair color and I'm sure they are using the death of the man as a way to bring attention to their product, it hasn't even been one full year. Such poor taste Proctor and Gamble, such poor taste. The story that was told in school was the following: The words Vidal Sassoon were sold 2 ways back in the late 80's (when people thought you retired). #1) was sold as a package of the Salons and Academy's to this couple in London.....Annie Hartley and Tim Hartman, they acquired the name Vidal Sassoon and #2) he also sold his name to Proctor and Gamble for hair products, something that makes ZERO SENSE in today's world, because Proctor & Gamble makes the cheapest, lousiest products in the market...I don't know how they get it sooo wrong....I even tried them way back when I was in school because they encouraged it.
Apparently Mr. Sassoon tried for years to get out of his deal with selling his name to Proctor and Gamble.  No one has higher standards than Vidal Sassoon Academy.... as did the man. So the lousy products that have been turned out by Proctor and Gamble, just never met the standards that Mr. Sassoon signed up for, he tried and it was not reversible. My hypothesis is that there was a deal for hair color when he passed. Good for him  - -  but bad for us.

I just want everyone to know that boxed hair color is boxed hair color.
I stand by my initial analysis of it....there is no way that product can work. 
Think about this...........
   1 brunette
   1 redhead 
   1 blonde &
   1 black haired person walk into the Grocery store or Target or Walmart , to purchase 1 box of color. Lets Say Level 8 Blond like this 

Which one of those 4 people will end up with the correct color?



The answer..............only 1 out of 4 people will turn up with a sort of close color  - everyone else will have a disaster on their hands. Even that one person has to be so very careful about their hair color, it is just NEVER EVER choose a box and use..............ever!.



No one knows that, do they? They put a little directions on the box, but no one reads them. So the hair ends up destroyed.


Please do some reading and learn how to color the hair. This Blog covers it all, we have so many successful Crib Colorists!
 
KC
Killer Chemist

Boxed Hair Color vs. Salon Professional Hair Color vs. Sally’s Hair Color

Friday July 30, 2010

Most of the Hair Color is manufactured by the country’s largest advertiser, P & G (Proctor & Gamble). They own most of the Boxed Hair Color brands, Frederic Fekai, Sebastian Hair, Graham Webb Hair & all of Wella and many – many other brands. So they  {very quietly}  play all sides of the coin. 

I think its absolutely hilarious because they produce the Boxed Hair Color which forever I have called “JOB SECURITY” for hair stylists or Crap-in-a-Box - take your pick. Boxed Hair Color is a bonus to any Salon Owner….. why? Because as a Salon Owner you bank on the fact that you will at least book a dozen appointments a week to correct the color that Boxed Hair Color has ruined. So that means that  one company produces the color that destroys your hair with BOXED HAIR COLOR…….and also produces the color they fix it with (Wella) How typical is that of BIG BUSINESS in AMERICA? But lets get off that band wagon because it goes no-where . . . just FYI.

What I would like to point out today is that ALL permanent haircolor….whether it be the hair color you purchase in Walmart, in Sally’s Beauty Supply( the world’s largest beauty supply), in your local beauty supply or in KillerStrands . . . is all . . .  based on the EXACT SAME CHEMICAL Process and science - there is NOT..............let me REPEAT "NOT" 2 different sciences
One for the professional's and 1 for the Home hair colorists.
NOPE does NOT EXIST
DO NOT BELIEVE ANYONE THAT SPOUTS THAT BULLSHIT !. 

It all works the same and for about the last 100 years hair color has barely chaged, there is no unique wonderful discovery that changes your life. That just doesn't exist.

Most of the raw materials used in hair color are actually colorless molecules called intermediates, which are in a clear liquid form or are coupling agents which combine with the intermediates and an oxidizing agent ( hydrogen peroxide – developer) to change their appearance. These small dye molecules possess a color-forming capacity, and it might take as many as six different intermediates to make the color.


The intermediates and coupling agents penetrate in the hair shaft where they oxidize or develop into permanent, insoluble colored pigments that are trapped inside the hair.  
The Level System color manufacturers have created wonderful varieties.

What my true message here is that there is only ONE METHOD for Coloring the Hair. Some times the companies mis-lead you into thinking the hair color you might buy that is considered (with absolutely no documentation or authority) “Professional”… might be a more complicated or difficult procedure of mixing and/or application. Nothing could be further from the truth. All hair color contains the exact same 2 parts.

• 1 tube of hair color (pigment )
• 1 'part'  Developer in varying ratio's (in one of these strengths: 10V, 20V, 30V or 40V, etc..)

Apart these 2 ingredients make absolutely no change to anything. The 2 ingredients must be mixed well together in a bowl in the proper measurements, applied to the hair and given time to PROCESS or DEVELOP( Usually 45-60 minutes) I see all these ridiculous commercials touting the advantages of some new hair color that develops in 10 minutes. Yes, it will develop, but it won't last, which makes you need hair color more often.. I mean, when you go to a Salon they will always have you sit with the product on your hair for a minimum of 30 minutes, I urge 60- 75 minutes. 

What's the hurry?? 

Once you get it on, don’t you want it to develop to the proper color? Well, IF YOU DO . . . it is going to take an hour, and you just need to commit to that. Chemical Processes like this do not work properly in “minutes” . . . it takes TIME!
The myth that leaving the color on longer will make the color DARKER, is simply NOT. . . TRUE. If that were the case why would these lines carry 120 DIFFERENT colors? They could carry 10 colors and leave each one on for a different amount of time, but THAT.........IS..............NOT.............THE..........CASE !
These professional colors have a "stopping action".......they process to the level and tone of the color you purchased and then they stop working.
 
All the various hair colors whether it be Sally’s, Walmart, your local Beauty Supply, KillerStrands, any of the professional lines…all permanent hair color works exactly the same.
Take a Tube of Hair Color ...........mix with Developer.........stir..........apply......& process. My point being - please process for a full hour to get longer length coverage and always follow with a pH balancer like INTENSIVE, to lock the color in.

 
This is where I want to make things crystal clear for everyone. The Hair Color process is one - single - solitary Process. 

There are 2 ingredients necessary for any hair color to work :
1.) Hair Color Pigment Cream
2.) Developer ( hydrogen peroxide)
Now when you purchase hair color in a box it also  has 2 ingredients….. the same exact 2 ingredients as in the professional hair Color. 

So don’t ever think  hair color anywhere is any tricky system. The difficulty comes from figuring out your exact formula for what you do or do not have on your hair presently. That is the key factor for what makes the hair color formulations different.
Killer Chemist