My Secret Ingredient

My one weekly client was in yesterday, for her color. She is a very sweet, elegant lady who occasionally swears like a truck driver (which is pretty funny, sometimes). The swearing mostly has to do with her boyfriend's kids. Did I mention this wonderful lady is 78 years old?? Any way...She's on the last leg of the 5 year after cancer treatment plan. All medications, in case I didn't say this before, come out in your hair. Because of this, she can't have perms. I tried...her hair looked and felt like wet cotton candy. So, I've only been doing her color and her weekly wash & blow out for the last year or so. And, I've been tinkering with her formula, because she wants to be a platinum color. Let's start at the beginning. She has pretty, medium blue eyes, and clear pink toned skin. (which she covers up with make up) She has plenty of sparkle in her hair, but she still has plenty of pigment, too, which puts her at a level 6. An ashy level 6. I started using just Tigi 10/0 (natural pale blonde) and 9/0 (natural lightest blonde) with 20 volume...not light enough. So, I switched her to TiGi ultra lift...started out really ashy...100/27, then switched to 100/0 (ultra light natural pale blonde) and 100/07 (ultra light ash). Yesterday, I put in a secret ingredient, just to see what it would do. Radiant Gloss, 0/07 Oyster...a pale tan in the demi line, which is a translucent color. What's funny (and my mentor, Maeve, would be rolling her eyes at this)is that fooling around with color, taking chances with it, mixing what they tell you NOT to mix together, is what I love to do. This is where I'm most comfortable breaking the rules. Haircuts, not at all. Updo's? Nope, they're Up-don'ts. Perms?? Boring as all get out. Color?? Just give me a bunch of stuff and I'll make something happen. The end result after I pulled the color through her hair?? (Yes, I know...I committed the cardinal sin...thankfully, I don't run the color through every time I do it. So the integrity of her hair is intact) A beautiful, slightly ashy, but more platinum looking color. I did "pad" it a bit by washing with So Silver (a bluing shampoo), and using Ultra White Minx by Roux Fanciful (temporary color) just as an insurance policy, but I'm betting I didn't need it. We'll see next week when she comes in. She LOVED IT!!! On a different note. Evelyn did a color on one of her clients the other day...Margaret's hair is WHITE with the slightest titch of natural pigment...she was a blonde, a long time ago...a pale one. She's 72 (bless her heart) and wanted some color put back into her hair. Now, all the education I have so far, says the same thing. On white hair, if you put a natural/neutral tone on the hair, it will look ashy. White hair, by it's very nature, is ashy. So, when Evelyn dried her hair, it didn't look any different, other than more dull in color. (she used TiGi 8/0...natural blonde). Margaret even commented, in the salon, about how it didn't look much different. Evelyn tried to convince her that people would ask her, in a positive way, what did she do to her hair. In the end, that's not what happened. Margaret was back in yesterday, wanting something done to the color, because it looked dull (which it did, no doubt about that). So, Evelyn, with Ginger's guidance, put half 7/0 + half 6/0 and darkened it a bit. However, she used permanent color, so it's going to fade, big time. (she used permanent color, both times, pulled through a cap). When I asked "why not use demi??" the answer I got was "I want that little bit of lift"..."So, why not put some gold in the formula??" "Because she turns tweety yellow". Sigh... Sometimes, I think they purposefully mess with the hair so they'll come back to get it fixed, every time. I would much rather they be pleased to death with what I've done than come back and complain about it. Especially when I see the stylist still screw up the color. So, I'll just continue doing my "thing" and watch them do theirs. And report on both. Stay tuned!!

Updates...............

Some things that have been going on lately............ I ordered my next batch of education. I'm hoping it will come in the next couple of days, but I'm betting it will show up next week. I'm psyched!! Learning new techniques, continuing to blow my co-workers out of the water...all a good time!! Hopefully, I'll be able to get all the studying and practicing in and be able to take the exam in August 2012!! I've been getting busier!! And, I've been doing colors, too!! Yesterday, my once a year client came in. She's a level 6 golden brown. Not any more. She's a level 6-7 flaming redhead with gold highlights!! She's a lot of work because her hair is not quite waist length. The bonus is that her hair is fine in texture, so it develops quickly. Her hair color was GORGEOUS!! Ginger never said a word...mostly because A) she doesn't like my technique, and B) she's afraid of red hair color, like most hairdressers posing as colorists are. I'd love it if those that don't like doing color would turn their color clients over to me, but I don't see that happening. So, I'll just keep plugging away at what I have, creating fabulous colors that are nice to the hair!! I also am planning on amassing box hair color so I can experiment with that, as well. I want to see if it's truly completely different than professional (which I'm pretty sure it's not). I will need to go through my collection of hair first, though, to get more swatches done (which is a tedious, mind numbing , messy job.) in the shades I'd like to work with the most. I have a lot of certain levels...like level 7 which, in my world is blonde, but visually is a really light brown/dirty blonde. I also have a fair amount, still, of really dark hair. But, I'll need to check. And, of course, I'll need to create more color treated swatches, also, so I can experiment with those, as well. Previously color treated hair is quite the learning experience. I may even trash some, so I can work on realistic hair, as well. I also did a beautiful highlight retouch last week. She's a natural level 7 (see, I told you) and her hair is fine in texture, almost baby fine, which means it will pull up to the right color rather quickly. I used the lowest possible developer in the TiGi line with their lightener, and had to put her under the dryer for 15 minutes on medium (which is 90 degrees of heat) to help the top develop with the rest. Ginger was all "don't leave her under there too long...it'll swell and bleed". Here's the thing: I use the lowest possible developer, so the swelling is kept to a minimum...the swelling is caused by the lightener, anyway, not the developer, however, the slower the developer, the more control you have over the product. The more control you have, the more likely the color will come out evenly when you are done. Her hair blended beautifully, and it looked NATURAL, which is always my goal. She was thrilled (which is another goal), and she'll be back!! While talking to my red head yesterday, I found out that her boss saw Evelyn a few weeks ago, and Evie had done her highlights, which came out orange because she had a lot of previous color on her hair, which, knowing Evie, she didn't take completely into consideration. What should have happened is she should have let the client know that was going to happen, and the best she could do, without ruining the integrity of her hair, is lift her as high as she can safely, then tone over the top to make it look better than the orange. It would have given her caramel colored highlights, but it would have been a better thing to do than to let her leave orange and tell her it looked wonderful, which, I'm sure, is what happened. I told my client to tell her to come in and talk to Ginger about it. We'll see if that really happens. Sometimes, people just prefer to complain instead of seek a solution to the problem. If you EVER have a hair mishap, PLEASE just talk to your hairdresser about it. If that person isn't the owner, and you get no where, talk to the owner to seek resolution. If they are the owner, and you don't get the resolution you're looking for, it may be time to seek out a new hairdresser. Which was my newest client yesterday. She lives right in town, yet was travelling to my hometown to get her hair done. By a lady who does the same haircut and hair style on EVERYONE, which I've heard before. Sometime between now and the next time she comes in, I need to cook up a color plan for her...she wants something different than the usual highlights. YAY!!!

Corrective color

So, we had an instructor come on Wednesday to assist with a corrective color. Originally, it was supposed to be a blonding class, but turned into corrective color. The client: She's a natural level 4-5, meaning that visually, her hair looks dark brown. She has 75% grey in the very front of her hair, getting progressively less as you move to the back of the head. She had been wanting red hair color for a while now, and wasn't getting it. Part of this issue is in communication. Something we should have in the salon that we don't is a "Look Book"...a picture book of the varying shades of each hair color, grouped by category. Those "haircutting books" we all have just don't cut it, no pun intended. And she was never asked what did she perceive as red hair. Now, at her hair level, she can support red hair, but only if it's done correctly. Therein lies the problem. So, the color the client picked out is a light, warm brown. A level 7, as a matter of fact. Which isn't completely inconceivable, however, with all that previous color, it's a challenge. The first procedure is a "Color Balancing". In Paul Mitchell world, this is what used to be called a "soap cap"...equal parts mild shampoo, lightening powder and 10 volume developer. Which was painted on the hair to gently lift out as much of the old color as possible. Which it did, after an hour. So, now, the client is a really warm "red" tone, which means she's a dark orange. And, because some of this formula got onto her regrowth, she now has "hot spots". While she was processing, the instructor asked us to create a formula to give her close to what she's asking for. Evelyn, who fancies herself (Ginger does too, unfortunately) the color expert, chooses 7A & 7N as her formula. I asked her "Why the ash??" "To counteract all the warmth she pulls" (EVERYONE pulls warmth, not just this nice lady) Mind you, we're working with permanent color. I said nothing after that and sat back down, across the way from Evelyn. Chrissy didn't pipe up with anything, and neither did Maude. So, when the instructor asked us what we came up with, Evie pipes up with what she said. So, the instructor tried to guide her to a different place. The 7A & 7N are going to be just too drab...which is what I had said. So, I suggested going with a CB ( cool blonde, which also happens to be a beige-ish color), so it wouldn't look muddy. The ash is a blue based color, which technically neutralizes the orange her hair has in it, but does nothing with the red still in her hair. The cool blonde is a violet base, which is both blue and red. Still doesn't neutralize the red, but isn't going to be muddy and dull...gives it some shine. The rest of the formula is a NN base, to deal with the grey hair. The instructor formulated high...9CB and the NN is lower, level 6, which makes the level about a 71/2. Okay for what we were looking for. I'm here to tell you, Evelyn didn't appreciate the fact that my formula was used. She'll never say anything to me about it, but she'll talk about me behind my back. If it makes you feel better, Evie... Evelyn had to leave, because her husband just can't stay up later so she can participate in these things, so she didn't get to see the end result. That's how I got to actually be involved in this process. I jumped in and helped apply the color. We had decided to use a darker formula on the regrowth, and lighter formula on the ends, which is technically correct. HOWEVER, Ginger, being Ginger, and always needing to be in control, decided to change things. The lighter formula was used all over the head, with only the front regrowth getting the darker formula. Sigh.... And when the instructor questioned this , Ginger got all defensive. (NOTE: when retelling this story a day later, Ginger made it sound like the instructor flipped out, which she did not). The end result?? I feel it was too warm. I also think we should have used a lower volume developer (since PM doesn't have an opaque demi) to make sure the lift was minimal. Because, what is permanent about permanent hair color?? The lift, not the deposit!! My fear, if this client was mine, is that the color is going to fade, big time, because of the shampoo she uses (professional stuff, but the wrong stuff because it's full of sulfates), and that will be her complaint when she comes back in 6 weeks. What I would have done was created a formula in the sheer demi that PM has (SHINES) and apply it over the top to take care of those hot spots. Ginger noted them the next day in talking to Evelyn about it and remarked that the client will never notice them. GASP!!! What did I learn about all of this?? I know what I'm doing, because I've educated myself on what color does to the hair, and my co workers, Ginger in particular, don't understand permanent color, AT ALL. I'm not saying I'm perfect...far from it. But, I've got this education, and I'm not afraid to use it!!

"I want to grow my color out."

Please. If you color your hair, and you want to let it grow out, PLEASE listen to your hairdresser. I have a client, I've had her for quite a while, now. She came to me back in the summertime, lamenting about continually coloring her hair. The front of her hair is white, and it gets progressively grayer towards the back of her head (to the nape). She's been coloring her hair for YEARS (she's mid-late 40's, at best) and is sick of the expense. So, we talked about finding a solution to help her along. Which I came up with, along with some advice from the fabulous Beth Minardi. The advice was this: highlight tiny sections around her face, and throughout the top. Let them develop until the reach the pale yellow color of the inside of a banana. Rinse, then apply a demi permanent color over the top, in a silvery shade, to help the highlights to blend with the graying hair. Which I did, back in November. She came in yesterday...I was excited because I was under the false assumption that she was letting it grow out, which would give me more white to work with, and, ultimately, less colored hair to deal with, since I would be cutting more off. I had cut her boyfriend's hair the week before, and he had passed comments along about how her hair feels dry, the ends are dark. Which should have gotten me thinking. Not so much. My client had purchased some of the 28-day type of hair color to cover up her regrowth. While she thought she was doing the right thing, really, she wasn't. And this is why: When you color your hair, (and I thought I drilled this through her head, apparently not), even if it's the 28 day kind, and you smush the color through to the ends of your hair, no matter how light the color is, the darker color WILL GET PROGRESSIVELY DARKER. Also, when you have multiple chemicals on your hair shaft, say permanent color, then highlight to lift the color out, then put demi permanent color over the top of it, then put more applications of a semi permanent color over the top of THAT mess, your hair will feel DRY. This is because the cuticle is so blown wide open that the hair feels dry to the touch. In reality, it's frayed, like a beat up pair of cut off shorts. So, I very patiently explained, repeatedly, to my client, that if you truly want the color to grow out, you can no longer color your hair at home. To spend the money to have me remove what I can, safely, to start this process, and then to go buy a box of hair color and cover it up, completely defeats the purpose of removing the color in the first place. And, it's expensive. It's also a waste of money to have me remove the color to have you (the client) only put it back a month or so later because you can't stand the white. It's a choice you have to make. If you want to step away from hair color, you must step away from ALL OF IT, only having me, your colorist, remove more of the color from time to time. You CAN NOT keep coloring your hair over at home. She decided to let me highlight her hair, much more heavily this time, as well as cut 4 inches off her basic length, then layer it. After the highlight was over, and I was running my fingers through her hair while blow drying it, damn little broke off in my hands...a GOOD sign...I cut the majority of the damage out. Now, if she can only step away from the boxes of hair color long enough to let her hair grow out!!!

I really should take pictures...

There are times, when I'm at work, where I do such a fabulous color that I wish I had taken a picture. I never do. I did two make overs last week. One was a former friend (we're still friendly, just not "friends") and one was a client. Both of them have baby fine hair and not a lot of it. Neither of them is bald, they just don't have an over abundance of hair. Anyway....the friend originally came in for just a haircut. I wound up doing her color, as well. She had previously colored her hair, so I knew I needed to exercise some caution. Since she had been down for just a cut, I did that first (I like to get it out of the way, really...), then took care of a shampoo/blow dry client, then went back to my color. We checked out swatches of hair..I typed her first: Level 6, with lots of "sparkle". She liked the warmth in her previous color, but it went to gold way too fast for her. She wound up picking out some red swatches...when I say red, I don't mean Ronald McDonald red....more like an Indian red-ish sort of color. I did her regrowth with the permanent color formula, then did her ends in the same formula, only in demi-permanent, same color line. (TiGi) CAME OUT BEAUTIFUL!!! My second one: She had been in about a week earlier, and I had cut her hair (see previous post "Don't lie to your hairdresser") She decided to have me cut some more off, then color it, using my best judgment. So, I did some digging and found out what she was trying to achieve with the home color job. She had been blonde as a child, and was now between a level 6 & a level 7...leaning more towards the 7, but some darker touches of 6 in there, too. I asked her what the color was she had been using...not the brand, because that doesn't really matter, more the actual color name. She said 9A, after telling me she didn't want ash tones. I said "Well, you were aiming for a light blonde, in the ash tones. That's what the"A" stands for." So, again, I pulled out the swatches so we can see what appeals to her. I wound up using 8N & 9A & 8G (just a smidgen of the 8G, and more of the 8N than the 9A). Did her regrowth with permanent color, then her ends with the same formula, only in demi. What I was trying to accomplish with this particular formula: Because her ends were sooooooo damaged, I was hoping the demi color would help close down the cuticle, which it, in fact, did. The fact that I cut an additional two inches off her hair was a HUGE help, as well. Going forward, she's coming in every 8 weeks for me to touch it up and trim it to get rid of the damage, so that we can actually do what she really wants, which is all over color with highlights. The demi in the TiGi line of color is a more translucent color, so the lighter stuff underneath will still peek through, which is what I wanted. The color was gorgeous!!! I did caution her, though, that while I hoped the demi lasted until the next time she came in, it may very well not, due to all the previous damage that was done. The damage that was done: (reader's digest condensed version) She had been coloring it at home, following the directions, which stated she needed to run the color through her hair the last five minutes or so, to "Freshen" the ends. All it did to her extremely fine hair was totally blow out the ends, kind of like when the hem of your jeans shorts get all frayed. You can't see it, but you can definitely FEEL it. And, when water hits it, it becomes a SOLID mass of hair. The only product I put in her hair, after shampoo & conditioner, was a light weight mousse, then I styled her hair. Once I put the mousse in, it helped close down the cuticle some more, and made styling her hair just that much easier!!! Another success!! On a separate note, I should be ordering my study packet in the next couple of weeks...WOO HOO!!!! I'll be boring everyone to death with all that I'm learning!!!