Life's a Bleach .. the Lightening of Melanin

Off the Hair Health Horse... 

back on the Hair Color Horse

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


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



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



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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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



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

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

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




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


                                                           
Killer Chemist

The Level System : what in the Hell, Do All Those Numbers Mean?

I am finding there is a lot of confusion, and mixed up definitions of the numbers involved in the Level System coding on the sides of boxes and within the Level System. I'd like to clear up and clarify some of them.

First of all the Level System which is a system: defined "by numbers" is actually meant to be made "easier" by using those numbers. There are many times I feel they have just traded numbers for Letters and it truly hasn't helped much of anything....but I still teach it and feel it is the best tool we have for defining a 'system' for calculating hair color to be used on your hair in the correct manner.

It is referred to as the Level System of Hair coloring, beginning at Level 1 (Black) ---  all the way to Level 12 (platinum)....with all other colors sprinkled and spread throughout the middle of the two.

Here is the chart of a level 1 thru a Level 12 (after high-lift was added to the system)

Level 1 being Black and Level 12 being Platinum colored hair with all the other colors in between in a gradual scale of dark to light, or light to dark whichever way you choose to look at it.
{ this is a Wella chart -- Wella runs a Level darker which means a Level 2 is a Level 1 - basically}

The same holds true in the Tones.
Do you understand the difference between the two?
Levels are the lightness and darkness of hair color
and

Tones which are created by the way light falls on a object. Hair color tones can be put into three standard categories: warm, cool, or neutral. When I discuss color, or if you are choosing a color from a swatch book, the tones are often indicated with letters.......... standard examples of color tones are:

N = 0 = Neutral. Neither warm, nor cool. 
B = 7 = Brown (neither warm or cool)

Cool Tones
A: Ash............ 1
B: Beige......... 4
B: Blue........... 2
G: Green .......
V: Violet ........ 6
B: Brown........ 7

Warm Tones
C: Copper ( in the red series colors) OR Pearl..... 8 ( pearl means blue-violet based )
G: Gold ........ 3
R: Red ......... 5
( or Blorange) my own assessment of a bleached blond that pulls orangish

(not all company's use the exact same numbers for tones, but I find that each year they are all conforming more and more towards Wella who is really the Grandaddy of all hair color!

 Lets review what a few box ends look like........... so you understand this a little clearer

Here is Wella Koleston Perfect tube & the side of the box.
This color is used for excellent gray coverage, beautiful brow color and an all around beautiful hair color line. I recommend it for hard to cover gray and for battling the Blorange tones, none of us like ( the Matt series /2). Its the only line that does have a MATT series.

The number on the left side of the 'dash' or 'slash'  (EITHER ONE)..... is the Level of color that is in that tube of color. So this tube of color is a Level 6 ....( all colors & tones in this tube are a Level 5 because of Wella running a Level darker than all other lines)

The numbers on the right side of the dash or slash are...........the Tonal qualities within this tube of color. The one closest to the dash is the strongest , the next one being the lesser of the 2 tonal qualities.
Therefore in the above pictured tube is a Level 6 ( my favorite shade of brunette)  with a double shot of just STRAIGHT Brown tone. So no tones, either way no cool no warm....just straight up brown-brown-brown!  Unfortunately hair color has many gray areas that need to be learned by experience....so never expect it to be black and white I'm afraid.

Here is the color the above tube will be............. once applied and dried:

 

This tube from Wella's line Illumina color is listed as a 5/81...............

 So, for this color inside the tube is a Level 5 (I've found that Illumina, runs - only - about 1/2 Level darker)
and the tonal qualities are an "8" which is PEARL in this instance (Pearl has always been referred to as Blue Violet based which would fight any orange/blorange/gold & Brass Tones). Very handy for pretty much all of you! Then Ash which also fights the same tones, so this would be a very beautiful color for those of you with color that is stubborn in fighting those undertones. 
After its been a little while since coloring your hair -- does your hair pull any of those tones:

• blorange
• orange
• brass
• gold

if so then this is your color. You would want to add it to an appropriate Neutral if gray is also your enemy.
                                            This tube of color would look similar to this photo:

 The last tube is Color Touch 8/81 :

Color Touch is a Level 8 - 
8 = Pearl Tone
1 = Ash Tone


This is a great Toner in a Level 8 (7!) use either a 6 or 13 Volume which you would apply to a blond with brass or Blorange tones to it to BOTH...............
remove the annoying Tones 
and to add shine and strength to blonde's


which would look like this photo: