Porosity & Texture = How They Effect Hair Color {done}

 
You know when you read the directions that come from all of the various manufacturers on their own hair colors. . . . what type of hair do you think they are giving you directions for?

AVERAGE.
&
NORMAL.

They already have to write directions in 12 different languages! 

The directions on a box of professional Hair Color only writes the directions for MEDIUM Texture and NORMAL porosity.......what about the rest of us. 
I find very few "average" people now-a-days......they are there somewhere but they don't happen to visit this Blog or shop in our store !

In order for the color to look beautiful and shiny and to last........... you must accommodate these issues in all of the factors that go into Coloring your hair correctly ! The diameter of the strands (texture) and the condition of the cuticle (porosity) are affected by how hair color absorbs into the hair.

Texture refers to the diameter of the individual strands.....
Is yours fine???  medium??? or coarse??? 

The greater the diameter of the hair strand the coarser the hair......and those are things you cannot change about your hair. So please be aware of which type of hair you have so you can make adjustments accordingly.

The less the diameter, the finer the hair. 
 Fine hair has a thinner cortex so therefore is penetrated easier ( by hair color), it is lightened easier. Fine hair also FADES faster..........Coloring is faster as well.The finer the hair the faster it absorbs the hair color ! So...yes, you could cut 5-10 minutes off processing time. Some people have extremely fine hair (Meryl Streep) and in that case you would only want to process 20-25minutes. But that type is quite rare.

Coarse hair has a thick cortex. Color Chemicals must penetrate more mass and lift more of your own natural pigment........so the whole process takes longer, using a stronger developer and choosing an ashier formula many times is wise to compensate for the stronger DURP (Dominant Underlying Remaining Pigment).

POROSITY
Porosity is the ability of hair to absorb and retain moisture......another word for Porosity is "Condition".
Degrees of Porosity:

• Resistant
• Normal Porosity
• Over-porous

So when someone asks you if your hair is in good condition they really technically are referring to your porosity. If you have poor porosity there is an old trick which truly helps the simple step of simply shampooing it.

Oil Pre-Wash with Gleam to turn back time in your hair's condition

If your hair is at all porous - even just a tiny, little bit, if it ever gets tangly or poofy or frizzy and seems like it needs weight, if washing it makes it seem to float in the air or if the ends of your hair seem to get wispy and disappear, oil pre-wash treatments can help. Oil pre-wash treatments add flexibility, softness and "weight" to hair. And when you think of "well moisturized" hair, you are referring to a number of qualities, two of which are flexibility and softness.

Here's the deal:
You know how washing your hands too often makes them chapped - even if you don't use soap? Washing your hair ultimately dehydrates it too unless your hair is tremendously low porosity. By that I mean the cuticles are un-damaged and in such pristine condition that they don't let water in at all. Porosity is a surface thing. Oils have other great effects like making hair soft and flexible - those are partly related to porosity. Even low porosity hair can get dried out with too much washing or dry air or a lot of sunshine. I still say of all our products the one that makes the most significant difference is OVERNIGHT Oil treatments  and Pre-Wash Treatments.

Any oil will keep the water out of your hair for a little while and that is great. Many oils can surround any chipped and broken places in your hairs cuticle covering, giving you better protection.

  Gleam contains the absolute best oils for most people's hair because they "waterproof" the inner part of your hair that swells. If we can keep water from getting into our hair and swelling it up, it won't end up waterlogged and the cuticles will chip off less and we'll keep our lovely proteins and everything that keeps out hair strong from escaping down the drain.


Rose Hips Seed Oil
Abyssinian Oil
Meadowfoam Seed Oil
Fractionated Coconut Oil
Argan Oil
 ............are the top 5 oils out of 13 we have in GLEAM and that is why it rocks!


AS I've said many times before....all YOU have to do is figure out your own hair and these facts about your own hair .........its the professional's that must know and understand every type of hair in order to have a wonderful outcome - every single time they create a new hair color project  !!!

Follow the Colorbrick Road: How Texture Relates To Hair Color - Step # 1

 The System will be called : 14. Point Fast & Furious Hair Color System  

Texture of the hair... its your hair texture - you must figure out - then off you go to calculate your hair color selection.  This woman to the right has some of the best hair texture on planet Earth ...... it took me a couple years being a hairstylist in LA, to learn what in the world 'good texture' looked like. The funnier part I discovered....people that have it, don't know they have it !  If someone ever comes up to you and asks you to be a "hair model" you can pretty much tell from that - YOU ARE ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES !

I'm thinking that almost everyone knows their own texture. Please submit a question at the bottom of this Post, if you don't know your own texture.  I'm a hair stylist so I forget the world "before" ! No question is a bad question. I need to know that... in case I need to explain that. So, until I hear that question I will assume everyone knows if their hair is:

• Fine
• Normal
• Coarse

See what it says under the name of this System above ('14-Point : Fast & Furious Haircolor System')?
                   ...texture will affect the: 

• developmental time of the product you apply
• the amount of  product you use 
• the correct usage...........................  see it?

Those are the 3 key reasons you need to figure out your texture. Answer those and you are done with this Step. I don't think you can tell by the illustration but, the 'scales' you see on each hair strand, they are arranged differently....
  -- on the

   > Fine hair : the scales are arranged looser - which helps the color seep in quicker - therefore doing its' job of coloring or lightening the hair 'faster'... nor does it need as much product on the tint brush to accomplish the same action, as the Coarse hair. ( lucky you, you can purchase less than the norm of color - which only counts -- when you get started and have multiple tubes. Its hard to purchase less than 1 tube, nope,......... impossible !) 
          and
  > Coarse hair : on coarse hair the scales are tight - very tight .. therefore making the job much harder of letting the color 'in' to do its' job...once in, the color must stay on and process much longer ..and finally : twice as much product must be used than those with fine hair. ( so you will need to buy more)

I won't pinpoint medium texture, I think those of you with that hair can tell where you sit. There are a lot more with medium texture than you think, don't be so rough on your hair ... or yourself.  The only thing that is frustrating is learning the system to color hair, not your hair itself !
Every texture hair has its pluses and minuses - there is no 'perfect texture' - whatever yours is ..... give up fighting it, and learn to work with it and love it. 

Texture and porosity are very close entities so I have included them both in the chart underneath,  which I really will refer to when we hit the porosity page, later.

Here is a photo of a hair strand multiplied a hundred zillion times and those scales that control so much 'within' hair color. 

Did you know that depending on the tightness or looseness of those scales . . . is what can turn your hair from the beauty & deliciousness  of Jennifer Anniston's hair to the "extension helped" Chelsea Handlers' sad hair. Hey, they are BFF's and if there was something that could help Chelsea's hair... her bff is one of the most wealthy women in this state if not, the most wealthy -- and she would help her with it. ( I wish I could get her Thriven and most specifically the 'Secret Supplement' that is the type of hair it makes the biggest difference for :D  )

Evaluate Your Hair Texture

• Very fine hair is more fragile, easier to process and more susceptible to damage than is coarse or medium hair. As a general rule fine hair will take color darker. Therefore when formulating, and you are stuck in the middle of 2 colors - always go one half to one level lighter... it will always be a good idea

• Medium hair is the most common hair texture. It is considered normal and does not pose any special problems or concerns.


• Coarse hair has the largest diameter which usually requires more processing than medium or fine and will take color lighter because of the resistance factor...formulate one half to one level darker. It is usually more difficult for lighteners, and color to penetrate. Leave it on longer, always run that strand test first.

I think that is as much as needs to be said about this topic, I hope it is crystal .............crystal clear.