Sculpting with Hair Color
Last night, I watched a video about Michelangelo, sharing details about how he created
his famous sculpture, DAVID. I was fortunate to be able to visit that amazing piece, in
person, when Carmine, Christa and I visited Florence, years ago.
When people asked Michelangelo how he was able to create DAVID, he said that the
sculpture was already IN the stone.. and that it was hiding. His job was to reach into
the stone and to find "what was there".
In a way, this compares to what we do ANY TIME we lighten hair.. even slightly. As an
experiment, I've asked a model with virgin brunette hair to model for me. And, I began painting
strands of various sizes and shapes into the hair. I used various mixtures of powder
lightener:
Powder mixed with water
Powder mixed with five volume developer
Powder mixed with ten volume developer
Powder mixed with twenty volume developer
Powder mixed with forty volume developer.
So, five various formulas. After wrapping the final foil, I decided to process the hair for 25 minutes at room temperature. Doing as Michelangelo explained, I was revealing, (in various ways), what was already "there" in the hair. I had exposed various natural pigments which until a lightener was applied, were hidden underneath the natural, "finished" pigment.
After drying and observing the hair, I was able to see the various underlying pigments which
were revealed. Some very, very subtle.. others quite visible.. much lighter. I followed this
by glazing the entire head with liquid demi 8GN and five volume developer for 20 minutes
under a pre-heated source. The model and I were very happy.
Lesson Learned: We DO sculpt as we color hair. Colors that "lift" and lighteners DO reveal
the underlying pigments that are there... but hidden until they are exposed. This exercise might be something you might demonstrate in class or during a creative evening at your salon. If you do, let me know what you find!
I look forward to seeing YOU in class. August 8th here in Houston. Then, I'm planning to
present my color classes in Palm Beach Gardens and in Chagrin Falls (Cleveland), Ohio.
September and October. I' asking for an "I'm interested" head count. So, if you'd like to join me, please comment here... no obligation. B