Calling Italia - hair help needed!

[honey22]

Hey Italia, I have been stressing about my hair colour, and whether my hairdresser is able to do what I am wanting, and then I realised that YOU would know the answer!!

Ok, but first, please don''t flame me - I have been home colouring

- hangs head in shame. To be honest, I couldn''t afford the salon colour (no highlights, just plain colour) and all was going super well while I stuck to the same colour, but things started to go down hill after I tried several different colours. Now, don''t get me wrong, I loved the colours, my hair felt healthy and conditioned, but now I want to go back lighter for our wedding.

The second last colour was a red brown colour, which looks very rusty/brassy in the sun, and I wanted to tone it down for the wedding. So, I decided to try light golden brown, or dark golden blonde, whichever it was. And lo and behold, it ended up darker, and the ends just looked redder. I am sure you are nodding along here, like this was going to happen!!

My hairdresser explained that you can''t just tint over the old colour, you need to strip/bleach the colour out and start again. So, I think okay, that should be fine.

But when I went back into make the appointment, she was less sure that I could get rid of the reddish brown and get back to light brown which is more my natural colour. She said that I might still have some of the red left over?

What are your thoughts? Can you explain the ''science'' behind it? I don''t want to end up with lighter brassy/rusty coloured hair, I just want a natural light brown so it doensn''t stick out like the provebial against my ivory wedding dress.

Any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated Italia! Thanks in advance

 

[honey22]

*Selfish bump*

 

[purrfectpear]

A good colorist should have no problem lifting the color, filling, and then getting a neutral brown.

Since your salon person indicates she''s not sure, I''d find one who IS. They''re out there. Look how many times actresses go from cherry red, to platinum blond, to almost black, and back to blond. It can be done, but it takes S-K-I-L-L

I''ve gone from platinum to burgundy/aubergine to honey blond to highlights to copper to platinum to brown so many times I''ve lost track.

 

[honey22]

Thanks pp, I thought as much. Thing is, I really love my hairdresses as she cuts my hair really well, and I am very comfortable with her. I might have to find someone who is more confident with my colour I think. I am having it done this Thursday night, the appointment is also booked, but now I am not sure whether I should a. cancel it and try to find someone else or b. give her a go, and if it doens''t work out, then I will find someone else for next time. I still have 7 months to go before the wedding, that''s enoug time to get it right I would say?

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Hi Honey22.

Yes, I am not surprised that you''re hair went darker, not lighter, with a box color. Color on top of color goes darker.

As far as the red goes...it''s a funny thing. Red is the hardest color to get into the hair...and the hardest to get out. Red is a very dominate color.

At this point, your best bet is to go to a color correction specialist. Not every colorist is great at this because it''s a lot of color wheel knowledge mixed with a lot of science...however, every colorist is able to do a color correction if needed. Some are just better than others. If you''re current stylist is giving you the vibe that she isn''t totally comfortable with the job find someone that is!!! You want someone who is like "lets do this!" because your hair integrity is at stake.

With color correction, you''re probably looking at different steps to getting it exactly where you want it. Starting now will give you the best bet at reaching your final goal in ample time. You may not get the perfect result the first time, second or even third...so the more time you leave yourself the better. So you can tweek the color if needed without over processing your hair. Figuring that you''ll want to visit your stylist every 8 weeks, you''ll have about 3 visits before the wedding to lock down the finished product.

Another good way to get a sure fire result is bring pictures. Try to get two or three shots of what you''d like so you can limit the chance of miscommunications, esspecially on a tight timeline. "Light brown" is a very over-used, bland discription ... being able to point out "this is my color" will help out a lot.

Oh...the science behind color correction when you''re going from dark to light is removing everything you don''t need by using decolorizer (bleach), getting the hair to place where you haven''t compromised the hair too much and then adding in what you do need (more color pigment). Most people who color at home, apply color to the whole head every single application. When you do that you''re alway putting more and more and more color on the mid-shaft and ends. So when you''re using color correction to strip color out of the hair, you''re going to have the hardest time doing so at the mid-shaft and ends where most of the color has been deposited, which is why it sometimes takes multiple visits to get back to a happy place.

Good luck, let me know how it turns out!

 

[honey22]

Thanks so much Italia, I really appreciate your long post.

I thought as much, you see people changing their colour all the time, so I figured it can be done. And it really does make sense. I vow to stop home colouring

As for my current appointment, I am going to go into the salon beforehand and have a really frank chat with her about our expectations and exactly what colour I am looking for. I will get pics, and use those sample charts. I think I need to be more vocal if I am not sure of the colour and actually say what I really want, and tell them if I don''t understand what they mean. After all they are not mindreaders.

I will keep you updated! And thanks again!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Date: 4/27/2009 8:01:46 PM
Author: honey22
Thanks so much Italia, I really appreciate your long post.

I thought as much, you see people changing their colour all the time, so I figured it can be done. And it really does make sense. I vow to stop home colouring

As for my current appointment, I am going to go into the salon beforehand and have a really frank chat with her about our expectations and exactly what colour I am looking for. I will get pics, and use those sample charts. I think I need to be more vocal if I am not sure of the colour and actually say what I really want, and tell them if I don''t understand what they mean. After all they are not mindreaders.

I will keep you updated! And thanks again!

Becareful with the sample charts.

The hair you''re seeing there is pure color. The hair has been stripped, boiled and then colored using the purest formula possible. What you''re seeing there isn''t always what you''re going to get after a color correction. On virgin hair? Maybe.

Also...be firm and frank. Let her know that you''re okay if she wants to pass you off to someone else...but you just want the best result possible...period.

 

[honey22]

Ok! I never knew that either - you are just a fountain of knowledge!

I will let you know how it all goes!