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!!!