Many people enter the salon with a preconceived notion that anything is possible with color. There are women who are the darkest dark brown wanting to be bleached blonde or fiery redheads wanting to look like Gwen Stefani. Although we may be magical and awesome in every way, miracles are limited. When coloring one’s hair, there are rules we have to follow while factoring in a person’s actual hair type, the chemical reaction that may occur on the hair, and what the limitations are for that hair texture.
Let’s start with rule #1: Color does not lift color. This means that if you have a pre-existing hair color (especially with darker hair) and you want to go lighter than what it already is, the hair stylist cannot throw a lighter color on top of it and have it turn light brown or blonde. The existing color molecules have been deposited into your hair cuticles and cannot be lifted out by throwing a color on top of it. That’s why many people are disappointed after slathering some cream on their head from a box color that they pick up at the store; they end up with hot roots! This is the result of putting a lighter color over their virgin roots AND already colored mid-lengths. The chemical has only lifted from the virgin hair, not the pre-existing color. This brings us to….
Rule #2: Only a lightener (bleach) or a color remover will take out the pre-existing color. “That sounds fantastic! We can just use that and everything will be perfect, right?” Well, not exactly. Although the concept sounds simple, there are a few things to factor in. One is the condition of the hair. If the hair quality is already questionable, the hair stylist should not compromise the integrity of the hair for whatever reason, even if the task at hand is possible. No color is worth the hair breaking, splitting, or falling on the floor. Another issue to factor in is how much color removal is required in the process. If a person has extremely dark hair, the lightener may not remove enough. This means that the hair may require several processes of lightening, which can result in severely damaged hair although the hair started out healthy. Also, another reality to consider is that some hair just isn’t meant to be lightened that much. Darker, courser hair naturally has red and orange undertones, meaning it will be 2 to 3 times as hard to achieve a lighter color compared to people who have lighter colored, finer hair. At this point, the stylist and client should discuss if this process is worth it. How badly do you want blonde hair? Is there an alternative?
Rule #3: Lighteners should never overlap. This rule also applies to a blonde who has a full head of highlights and want to be blonder. When lighteners are overlapped, it causes the hair shaft to become weak, which leads to breakage. This is the result when a stylist highlights over existing highlights, or overlaps on a bleach re-touch. A good example is Christina Aguilera’s hair; there is no way that a person can be that bleached blonde and not have breakage. She has a ton. So when a client asks to de-colorize their hair several times, the stylist will be hesitant because they don’t want to be responsible for any extreme damage that can happen. You can achieve a certain color, but you will have very poor hair quality.
Rule #4: Going darker is sometimes just as difficult. When a person has been super blonde for a very long time, the cuticles of the hair are completely opened, which is one reason why it’s difficult for lighter hair to retain moisture and nutrients. That being said, it will be very difficult for a blonde to hold a darker hair color without re-pigmenting. Re-pigmenting is when the stylist adds back all the color pigments that are lost during lightening or color-extracting. For example, when you have dark hair, all the reds, oranges, and coppers have been removed in order to achieve the beautiful golden blonde. In reverse, when you are coloring the hair back to dark, you need to re-pigment all the colors you’ve lost (reds, oranges, coppers). It's a strange process since everyone knows red is a difficult color to remove. At the same time, it is also difficult to put back. So when a lighter hair client asks to go darker, but wants to keep the tones ashy, this is virtually impossible because the hair will not hold the color very well. Not only will the color not hold, but it will not be vibrant and shiny because the warm color molecules are missing. In fact, if you are bleached blonde and you ask for an ash tone brown, your hair WILL turn green. This is often what happens when someone tries to use box color at home. Everyone has heard of these horror stories and I'm here to educate you so that it never happens! Which brings us to….
Rule #5: Never ever compromise the integrity of your hair just because you think the color will look good. I cannot repeat this enough! All these rules will apply whether you ask one hair stylist or a hundred. The reason for color correction being so expensive is because the stylist has to fix and reverse much of the damage that was done previously and it can take hours on end, if not several salon visits, just to get your hair back to the way it was beforehand. The next time you decide on a new look, take all these issues into consideration because it will save you a lot of time and definitely a lot of money. Happy hair + Happy people = Happy Day!
-Christine
