Hair color is definitely one of them.
My dearest friend Sarah is letting me showcase her journey for this blog. I am so grateful for her allowing me to tell her story so that many can learn from her mistakes.
A little back story on her hair history.
She is naturally a brunette. ( Not as dark as her before photo)
Her and I actually experimented with box color in high school, before I attended cosmetology school and knew any better. She is a new stay at home mommy and like most of us is always looking to save a dime.
There have been multiple times where she will text me with a hair 911 after trying to play hairdresser at home. In her defense, the girls a natural and should probably attend cosmetology school herself as much as she enjoys and knows about hair.
I believe this time, was her breaking point though
and she will be leaving it up to me, the PRO from now on.
This is her brunette to blonde adventure.
BEFORE:
This was before the damaging, lightening, and madness of her journey began.
She had colored her hair about a month before using box color. She was tyring to get her hair color all evened out, however the box color was taking evenly to the hair and just kept getting darker and darker on her. (More on why this happens in the next section)
I will say that after pregnancy your hair is crazy due to all the hormones and it is normal for color not to take at times, but not every single time.
Her goal was lighten it to a lighter brown/dark blonde.
BOX COLOR:
Sarah purchased a Garnier box color that was the color "dark golden blonde " for about $8.00. She applied it roots to ends. As usual it didn't take evenly.
The roots as you can see are lighter and the ends are a little lighter, but the mid shaft barley budged.
The reason for this is because your roots are virgin so they have no previous color on them therefore they are going to take the color more quickly. The ends of your hair are usually the most dry and porous so it is going to soak it up thinking its moisture allowing it to process quickly like the roots. Leaving you with an uneven result.
The biggest downfall to box color is the amino acids that are in it are unlike professional color dyes. These ones are stronger and never fully stop processing so when other colors or lighteners are applied afterwards there is a chemical reaction between the two causing more uneven color applications, damage or for the hair to take the color even darker than expected.
1st BLEACHING:
She went back to the store and purchased one more box lighter by Garnier called "ash blonde" and some bleach with 30 volume for $75, which included her supplies needed to apply it. (Bowls, brushes, gloves etc.) As well as a toner she knew she would need.
She then proceeded to lightener her hair with 2nd box lightner and again with with powdered lightner and bleach.
As you can see Sarah needed to lighten it a little more to achieve her goal.
Keep in mind when bleaching you are usually only going to get 3 or so levels of lift. Especially with box colors, you won't get much power.
When you get into using powdered lightners and higher developers you can get more but unless you are using something on a professional hair care level you aren't going to achieve the 7 or more levels needed to go from one extreme to the other. As the professional I also know what to look for, and what to feel for when dealing with the integrity of your hair so I am able to keep it healthy. Because as a stylist that is my number one priority.
2nd BLEACHING:
She applied the powdered lightener with 30 volume for the 2nd time. At this point her hair was damaged and feeling very dry, especially on the ends.
When I am in the salon using professional color I rarely use anything higher than 20! The higher the volume, the stronger and more damaging it is on your hair.
She mentioned to me that it took forever to dry, which is a sign your hair is lacking moisture. Now don't get me wrong if you have a lions mane of hair you better believe its going to take you longer than the average person! But she noticed a difference in her hair after bleaching it. At that point your hair is clinging onto any water and moisture from products that it can!
What most people who don't understand is how the lifting process works. Its quite simple to be honest... lets go back to our kindergarten days and take a look at a color wheel.
When you are Brunette or darker your hair has deep cool undertones like blue and violet.
In order to make it to the "Blonde" side of the color wheel you have to lift through all those other stages. Leaving your hair in the orange/brassy or yellow side of the color wheel.
Usually a toner can take care of this (I will explain how shortly) but sometimes you need to lift more to break through that super orange color in order to be able to tone properly.
TONER:
This is after Sarah used a Wella t18 toner with 20 volume. (Side note on toner & developers. You should only use 10 or below when toning because anything higher lifts the hair. 10 volume & under actually deposits the tone needed to color the hair.)
Going back to the color wheel
When you are toning to cancel a color out, you use the complementary color across from that color on the color wheel. For example with Sarah, she needed to use a blue based toner to get rid of the orange. However if you don't add a Violet to your toner, you will just be left with a very yellow/gold blonde like she was. Again, as an amateur most don't know these things. That's why you should trust your stylist.
She knew it was time to come see me! We had been communicating up until this point and she wanted to get it as light as she could for me, for as cheap as possible. Then wanted me to apply the finishing color and do my "magic" as she calls it.
AFTER:
I applied a dark ash blonde color in foils and re toned everything else that was left out of the foils with a Violet and natural blonde color. This cost about $85 including tip. I had to cut 4-5 inches off of Sarah's ends to get it back to a healthy and grow able state. I personally didn't charge her for this portion as she is a dear friend of mine, however is she was a regular client it would have been an additional $40!
Sarah, like most of you, think that paying a stylist to do something that drastic must cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars. It can. We use a lot of product, and we spend a lot of time on it. But in this case not only would it have been cheaper for Sarah to come to me from the start, it would have been easier and more healthy on her hair. It would have taken me about 3-4 hours but many less steps!
I never recommend my clients making this leap in a day. I always suggest a very heavy highlight once or twice (in a 2-3 month time span) to keep their hair in the healthiest stage possible. I always always recommend that they use a deep conditioner in between visits on a weekly basis to help.
An inexpensive and easy at home deep conditioner you can use is coconut oil. Its natural and helps to add moisture and repair your hair. You can apply it to dry or damp hair by emulsifying it in your hands and coating your hair from mid shaft to ends. I never really suggest a heavy conditioner on your scalp due to the fact that your scalp produces enough natural oils. It is usually just the mid-ends that are in need of some extra TLC.
In the end Sarah spent about $160 after it was all said and done and spent 8-9 hours on it including the 2 &1/2 she spent with me.
Like I mentioned it would have only been about 3-4 hours and would have only cost her $125.
We probably would not have had to cut as much off her ends either.
So when it doubt, no not even just when you re doubting yourself... even if you are confident..
See a professional for all of your hair care needs.
Xoxo, Molly
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