TRUTH: BLACK TO BLONDE

Some clients who opted to wear very, very dark hair now look forward to warmer months... Deciding that being blonde might be a great thing to do! And, when they see their favorite celebrity transition from shade to shade.. they think this is a fast and easy thing to ask for when they visit your salon. Little do they understand that their idol is wearing a wig or extentions..... For US: Lightening previously colored dark hair is not usually easy.

I watched a video created by a talented salon pro. The client wanted to be lighter. She was 50 percent gray. The hair lengths were dyed a level 3, medium ash brown.. dark. First, he cut her long hair to right at the top of the shoulder. After washing her hair and combing through, he applied lightener and low volume developer (no brand or exact products were mentioned). To the DAMP HAIR. He applied EVENLY and quickly to all this damp, towel dried hair, and massaged thoroughly. Hair was processed for only 15 minutes at room temperature. Next, the hair was rinsed, shampooed and conditioned. He applied a dark blonde ash no-lift demi color to the roots first, and then to the hair lengths. processed for 25 minutes at room temperature. .

The result: Gray hair was well-blended. Hair lengths were a lighter, lightest WARM blonde/brown. Shiny, pretty. BUT the client was NOT what she would describe as being "Blonde". My clients might scream "My hair is RED"... This lighter, pretty result did not over-stress the hair. And,.. he is smart: Attempting to lift this hair further would have exposed more bright orange-golden hair. ... Hell to deal with when the client expects blonde.

TRUTH:

The client was told that on this first "voyage to blonde" her hair would be lighter, warmer, shiny.. but not pastel blonde. We will discuss this more in class on April 7th and April 28th. Indianapolis and Boston. Spring is right around the corner! Beth