SUCCESSFULLY DEEPENING BRUNETTE HAIR -- Avoiding "Black" Results

There is a very fie line between very rich, deep brunette hair and black hair. And we all

know that hair of any measurable porosity.. even virgin hair... can develop darker and

draber than we might expect. And, while some clients continue to ask us to color their

hair black..... very, very few clients look their best with that darkest of dark shade.

At my Master Class. Immersion Into Hair Color, hosted by salon expert Robert Pence, we had the opportunity to carefully demonstrate, step-by-step on models. I was tasked with

coloring hair for a beautiful model whose hair had never been colored. The hair length was

right below the shoulder, was extremely thick, and was in wonderful condition.

Remember always, to avoid that "root to end" application here: "Zone three".. that very long hair located more than 7 inches away from the scalp can always "grab" color much deeper than you estimate. It is prudent to omit application of your color formula to that protion

of the hair when you apply the deeper formula. Wait 15 -20 minutes before applying

the formula which you have slightly warmed and lighted a bti away from your starting formula.

As you will remember, when deepening hair, I prefer to use a demi-permanent hair color. Why? Because demi-permanent shades were designed to match or deepen hair color, and are either acidie and gentle or only a bit alkaline. AGAIN: I err on the side of caution and deepen hair remembering that hair ends CAN develop darker and drabber than we'd prefer.. It's easy to "go back" and deepen hair further.. BUT if you overshoot your mark, creating a

"too dark" result... you are in trouble.

Here are the basics of what we did: Remember, I was working on long, thick hair. I chose to avoid BLACK or a completely FLAT, super-ashy brunette result. Here is the acidic Demi

formula I chose

1 1/2 ounces of 3.0. (Medium brown, neutral)

1 ounce of 3.2. Medium Brown, Violet

1/2 ounce of 6.6. Dark Blonde, Red

3 oz of 5 volume developer. Attendees watched my application starting at the scalp and working through 3/4 down the hair lengths. After 20 minutes of processing under a heat source, I added 1/2 ounce of 6/6 and 1/2 ounce of developer to the formula I'd been using. I saturated the hair lengths with this and continued processing for an additional 20 minutes. I washed this luscious deep, deep brunette result using Celeb's Shampoo in RUBY. The result, a rich,

"deepest cherry cola".. almost black, level 2 hair color result. Photos will follow on my Face Book page for colorists. The take away here: Formulate lighter and a bit warmer than your target when deepening hair color. Next stop: Meet me on Monday, April 28th at Charles David Salon, Hanover (Boston), Ma.