Every revenue-building moment matters as we work behind our salon chairs. Like you, I have learned that most clients want what they want.. And, at times, they care only about how their hair will look today.. rather than how it will continue to exist in the future.
As my dear colorist friend, Max Maisano says, " BLEACH DOES NOT HAVE A BRAIN"... It just keeps working until all energy is spent.. and the formula is no longer active. As bleach
lightens the hair (regardless of the additives we mix into the mix), the hair "diffuses". Think
of how the charcoal in your home grill falls apart as it burns to white... THAT is what is happening in the hair!!!! When the hair is lightened to white, the cuticle layer of the hair has
been removed, and the keratin structure has been broken.
Years ago, "competition" hair was bleached white because the wet set, and "c shape" molding held in place on wet hair to which styling gel was applied, was like a sculpture when
dry. It had no structure of its own, and would adhere to the shape combed in by the hairdresser. Platinum blondes in the early part of the 20th century were bleached to platinum
then roller set, back combed, and SPRAYED so that the hair looked like a white immovable sculpture. It was washed and "set" every week and, in most cases, never brushed through until the "victim" visited her salon during the following week. The world
has changed.... active women wash and style their own hair.. and gorgeous hair MOVES..
unless it falls off. As I have often said: " Blonde is no longer beautiful when it is no longer attached to the head".
So, here is what I share when a client asks you to slightly deepen her overly WHITE hair. I
hope you will NOT THINK THAT APPLYING GOLD will be your best choice. In this case,
consider the hair as being so white, that it is actually almost blue. Blue plus Yellow (gold)
creates GREEN. Avoid green by applying a very light, sheer golden ORANGE acidic liquid
demi shade to those white hair lengths. Process for only 3 - 7 minutes. You will become
frightened, as the hair will look light orange. Rinse, and condition the hair. It will continue
to look rather orange.. but, as it dries.. it will become a soft golden. My 10C was perfect
for this. And, Redken's "Pale Peach SEQ is wonderful. .. Rusk's 9CG is good, as well. I
advise that you do NOT use a creme demi shade for this purpose.. as creme demi shades
are more opaque and more alkaline. In NO case does a permanent hair color serve you
best in this situation.
Human hair is a wonderful fiber... and it has a memory. That hair bleached to white is delicate stuff, trying to "hang on" to the head, creating the blonde our clients crave. Remember that lightening to pale yellow.. which is the color of the banana FRUIT.. (not
the skin of the banana) is the perfect base accepted when a platinum or silver blonde toner is
going to be applied. Bleaching to WHITE.. creates trouble. Be careful out there! B
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