12 Tips for Colour Removal and Correction

1. A hair colourremover and a hair colour stripper are very different.  

A colour remover contains a sulphite agentwhich works only on destroying the artificial colour molecule so it can beflushed from the hair, it cannot affect natural pigments present.  A stripper contains a peroxide agent and isdesigned to gently remove both natural and artificial pigments so you canre-colour immediately to a different or lighter permanent shade.

2. Fading unintentionally dark hair colour.

If you haveapplied a colourant and it’s too dark wash it in baby or clarifying shampooseveral times immediately.  Most homehair colours contain an after colour conditioner which is designed to help thecolour molecules settle inside the hair. If you are not sure if you are happy with the colour, washing it willremove any barriers (from the conditioner) and unsettle the new permanentcolour.

3. Removing colour sooner rather than later.

If a colour istoo dark, try to remove it immediately or within 48 hours.  The fresher an artificial colour the quickerit will remove from the hair (especially if you have already washed andclarified it several times with baby or clarifying shampoo).  New unwanted darker hair colourants onlyrequire a hair colour remover, they shouldn’t need a hair colour stripper. 

4. Fixing hair colour that is too light.

If a colour hascome out too light (for your liking) try to do the opposite as to darkercolours and wait at least 48 hours before attempting to re-colour, ideallywaiting one week.  Lightened hair canlook brighter when first coloured and will often calm done over the followingdays, so judgement should be reserved before attempting to go darker.

5. Balancing warm tones in hair colour.

If a shade hascome out too warm, golden, coppery or gingery work out if you have applied acolourant which contains (gold, copper or red) as one of its tones or whetheryour hair has lightened in the colouring process and ‘kicked up’ your naturalwarmth.  If you have applied a neutral orash based colourant and are seeing warmth it’s because your own shade was toodark for the colourant applied and possibly needed pre-lightening or strippingfirst.

6. Use colour remover to remove unwanted tones.

If you haveestablished a shade applied and it has caused your hair to go warm, golden, copper orred due to the secondary tones featured in the product applying a hair colourremover should rectify this issue.

7. Options for covering unwanted shades.

If you haveestablished a shade applied has caused your hair to go warm, golden, copper orred due to the lightening of your natural shade you need to make a choice as towhether you want to strip the hair and apply the desired shade again (onto alighter base) or whether you wish to go to a slightly darker shade which wouldcover the unwanted warmth.

8. Do not apply aperoxide based colourant immediately after using a hair colour remover

Thechemistry of colour removal and peroxide contradicts - so you need to leave thehair ideally 1 week (to normalise) before attempting to apply a peroxide basedcolourant.  You can (however) use nonperoxide temporary colourants and toners after using a hair colour remover.

9. Stripper creates a blank canvas for recolouring.

Hair that hasbeen stripped has seen both natural and artificial colour pigment removed fromthe hair, therefore you should always have your selected subsequent colourantshade at hand to achieve your desired result after the stripping process.

10. Retaining a good base shade.

The key to asuccessful hair colour is mostly achieving a good base shade.  If you are looking to go blonde, obtaining adark blonde base shade can prove a good canvas for highlights.  If you prefer darker (brunette hair) alwaysensure you apply colourants only to your re-growth and do not apply throughoutthe hair.  This will prevent buildup.  Using toners and colour enhancingshampoos will also retain your shade and do not attempt to use severalpermanent colourant processes on your hair within at least a one monthperiod.  Very frequent exposure toperoxides, ammonia and PPD’s can cause the hair to become very porous anddamaged.  Once hair becomes damaged it isthen difficult to achieve a good colourant result as the shade could grabinitially and appear too dark (or patchy) and then fade fast over subsequentwashes. 

11. Fashion colours can be difficult to remove.

Be aware thatfashion colours such as pink, blue and purple (and often bright red) do notwork on oxidation (peroxide) technology to evoke a long term result; insteadthey are a ‘direct dye’ which stains the hair. If the hair is bleached these direct dye molecules can stain the hairand make the shade impossible to remove. A hair colour remover is not designed to remove direct (fashion)dyes.  A stripper may have more successbut always give a strand test first.

12. Clarifying hair to improve results. 

Prior to anyhair colour removal, stripping or correction clarify the hair fully.  Even if you have just conditioned the hair,there may be a barrier on the surface which will prevent removal, stripping orcorrection working effectively.  If yousee absolutely no hair colour change from a removal or a stripping treatment theremay be a chance your hair has silicone damage. Here the hair has been encased in a silicone which quite often has beenmoulded to the hair by heat.  In theseinstances follow the blog advice for ‘Hair Clarifying’.  

Emmy's 2012- The Mad Men Women

Elizabeth Moss

Whilst Elizabeth lost out on the leading lady Emmy to Clare Danes, her role as Peggy Olson has taken her hair look from a ponytailed 1950’s teenage archetype to a Jackie Kennedy style businesswoman flip. 

Elizabeth was in my view a highly deserving nominee of Best Actress because she gives such an understated performance in ‘Mad Men’ and counter balances Jon Hamm’s male lead position demonstrating the uphill struggles women had to succeed in business in the 1960’s - during a time ignorant perception raged that being a guy, wearing a suit and just drinking with the boys made you somehow more credible, smart or a better business expert.

What excites me the most about Elizabeth’s bleached lightened hair is how remarkably well it suits her. She has very cool toned grey/blue eyes which have suddenly been exaggerated by the block blonde hair. As Peggy, she has a 6.3 (dark golden blonde) hair colour which works perfectly for the character but was subtlety muting her eyes and skin tone. 

Elizabeth’s was clearly previously artificially coloured (to Peggy’s shade) and if you take a look at her new blonde hair you can see some of the heaviness from this previous artificial colour applied is still evident in the mid-lengths and ends, whereas the new re-growth has lifted up evenly.  A great deal of the length cut has been off into a graduated bob because (quite frankly) Elizabeth’s hair wouldn’t have taken too well to this kind of all over lightening otherwise. 

A product such as Colour Restore Iced Platinum would work to keep this shade pure white and I think because Elizabeth has softness about her general appearance the overall colour would benefit from having some beige, blonde violet and deeper light blondes woven through it to take the edge of that pure block appearance. That said I’m nit-picking and actually think this whole colour and style has been created brilliantly.

January Jones

January Jones inclusion on Mad Men is like the reincarnate of Grace Kelly, her character Betty Draper is the ultimate glamorous 1960’s text book housewife yet flawed significantly in varying ways. January Jones usually sports perfect light golden blonde hair that is clearly based on her natural colouring (with some obvious enhancement). However, at the Emmy’s, she displayed a completely different look.  

January’s hair has now been coloured a light copper blonde (base 8.0) as she is currently filming the picture ‘Sweetwater’.  The colour has changed her appearance remarkably and coupled with this sleeked chignon has created a highly dramatic look for January who is usually famous for a softer edged styling. 

The hair is crucial for January’s red carpet appearance because she’s wearing a fairly dramatic Zac Posen gown, had she worn the hair softer it would have mismatched with the dress and ultimately January’s new light copper hair colour would have not particularly harmonised with the stark black of the piece she was wearing, she’s also compensated for the dark colouring of the dress with much heavier eye make-up. 

This is a great example of tailoring your usual look to suit an outfit.  Such severe hair styling is quite often a big risk, but if you have a dramatic dress to sport it’s one of the few occasions where hair can be understated to a large degree to showcase the garment you are wearing.

Christina Hendricks

By far my favourite character on Mad Men - Joan Harris is a complex lady who swings between being the series mother figure to resident shrew, giving little away as to goes on beneath the surface. Christina Hendricks has done for redheads what Harry Potter did for wizards!  

Naturally, Christina is blonde and she sports a shade that (whilst common with a lot of famous redheads) is actually very uncommon on a natural level.  In artificial hair colorants, the nearest shade to achieve this look is Feria Mango but the key is to make sure the hair has a stable base.  If applied to very blonde hair, the result could be a little fluorescent whilst attempting the shade on a darker brunette base would kick off a deeper red hue.  

The most favourable base to apply a shade such as Feria Mango is either a 7.0 (medium Blonde) or 8.0 (light blonde – which appears as a deep blonde).  With her own hair, Christina usually lets her signature colour do all the work for her (as demonstrated at the Emmys).  

Here her stylist has simply used a curling or straightening iron throughout to achieve a ‘Monroesque’ waved curl.  If you have this kind of deep auburn shade you can also create a similar look by using medium sized heated rollers.  

Sadly, Christina lost out on a deserving Emmy win to Dame Maggie Smith, who although now known as grey haired was (in her day) famous for sporting exactly the same vibrant ‘redhead’ mane Christina has now adapted.  Remember, if you are a redhead and want to retain the shade Colour Restore Deep Red is a great inclusion to your hair care regime.  Likewise, if you are planning to go red (from blonde) pre-pigmenting first with Deep Red will give you that even blanket of red colour molecules (within the hair) which will prevent colour fading in the subsequent shade applied. 

Garnier Olia Oil Based Colourant Launches

Being a complete hair geek I am really excited about the launch of Garnier Olia. Whilst we seem to have many home colourants on the market it's quite rare an entire new brand launches.

I wanted to tell you why Olia excites me. Firstly they use the ICC numbering system (this is the numbers salons work by). So it becomes very easy for me to recommend which shades for you to select. Secondly it's an oil base, which is a fantastic base for use on general permanent colourant, tone on tone or after stripping because it goes on smoothly. Thirdly, there are a few shades in the range I am thrilled about. Two in particular are 7.13 and 8.31 these are blonde bases which contain both gold and ash and are very common in salon colourants. They are perfect for use after stripping because often a pure ash colourant can make warm hair look muddy. Mixing gold and ash together in a colourant gives a high neutral so you will tend to find you get that 'biscuit' shade that looks good on deep blondes or very light brunettes.

I have (or have had) absolutely no involvement with Garnier Olia so I am looking forward to hearing how you all get on with it as a new range on the market.

Take a look at the shades and see if any inspire you!!

Garnier Olia Colour Chart

We had a discussion on Facebook about this new Garnier hair colourant, if you want to read the whole story, please check out the post on Facebook.

Pre-pigmenting Hair with Colour Restore Deep Red

Pre Pigmenting is a method commonly used in salons to prepare very blonde, pre-lightened or bleached hair that is going to be coloured to a much darker or red shade.

When hair is bleached, heavily highlighted or lightened the centre of the hair can be empty and contain no pigment, this means that any subsequent colours to be applied to the hair are likely to fade quickly, requiring a lot of maintenance.

Hair that is void of any natural pigment (due to bleaching or pre-lightening) can cause hair colourants to take a much darker colour result than expected or create a odd translucent or unwanted green/grey tone.

In the above instances pre-pigmenting hair with a red temporary colour molecule (prior to permanent colouring) will fill the hairs centre and duplicate natural warmth (within the hair).  

When either a much darker or permanent red colourant is then applied, the hair will display depth, appear more lustrous and see a reduced amount of fading due to the new level of pigment molecules contained.    The new permanent molecules tend to sit on the outer layer of the hairs centre and permanently ‘link up’ trapping the pre-pigmented (temporary) red molecules inside the hair.

How to pre-pigment with Colour Restore Deep Red

If you are currently a lightened blonde and wish to go to a much darker brunette or red shade, you can pre-pigment your hair very easily with Colour Restore Deep Red.   

Colour Restore Deep Red

In addition, if using Colour Restore Deep Red immediately prior to application of a permanent red colourant you will also fill the hair with additional molecules which will not only produce a more vibrant red shade, but also aid against fading through subsequent washes.

1. Firstly clarify the hair well to remove any surface build up and towel-dry.
2. Apply Colour Restore Deep Red to the damp hair and comb through to ensure each strand is fully covered.  Pay particular attention to lightened or porous ends.
3. Leave the Deep Red to develop for 20 minutes and rinse out fully – do not condition the hair.
4. Dry the hair 100%. At this point you will see the strong red undercoat in the hair.
5. Mix and apply your chosen dark brunette or red permanent colourant as per manufactures instructions.

If you have applied a very vibrant permanent red colourant after pre-pigmenting with Colour Restore Deep Red, you can continue using Colour Restore Deep Red as a regular treatment to encourage vibrancy and lustre.

If you have pre-pigmented your lightened blonde hair in order to apply a deep brunette or very dark shade, you should find the new colour remains permanently within the hair and displays a rich true brunette.

What Does Ash in Hair Colour Do?

Unless you are naturally quite fair it’s a fair assumption to say that when you attempt to lighten the hair by any level it will display some of the hairs natural red and yellow pigment – creating an overall orange shade.   This can even appear when you have attempted to remain the same colour due to the peroxide contained within the colourant causing some degree of lightening of the natural base.

Rachel Stevens Ash Blonde Hair

For many, a warmer hue in the hair (when intermixed with the new artificial colour) can create an appealing warm or golden shade. However, some people really dislike this warmth and seek to banish it.  Selecting colourants which contain an ash (within the formulation and box description) can remedy this issue.

Ash colourants use a green and/ or blue molecule which neutralise the orange tone.  Whereas  platinum colours which use a violet colour molecule and designed to neutralise yellow tone – which can only be seen on light blonde hair. In addition, a beige tone is a deeper violet molecule that is effective at neutralising warmth in medium blondes.

Positives to Ash         

                                                                                   

Ash will create a neutral or cool tone in hair colours which are displaying a coppery hue.  Using an ash colour will be more effective at producing realistic light brown to medium blondes.   The darker a colourant the less required pigments can be (as the hair colour deepens and covers warmth and natural cool tone).  The lighter a hair colour is - the more likely the hair will be to display yellow for which a violet pigment is required to neutralise (such as platinum or beige).  If an ash is applied to very blonde hair it will appear silver.

Elle McPherson Ash Blonde Hair

Negative to Ash

Ash will tend to display as a matte finish, so on blonder depths the colour can appear slightly flat.  Ash is also a neutraliser and has to fight against the natural warmth in the hair; therefore it can require building up within the hair to display.  

You also need to be realistic of ash, if the hair is showing bright orange or red the ash pigment will sometimes be limited in its ability as the base shade is too dark to be neutralised.  If ash won’t display in currently red or orange hair it means the base needs to be either lightened to accommodate the ash pigment or darkened to cover the red or orange entirely.   

Victoria Beckham Ash Blonde Hair

Colour Restore Cool Ash

Colour Restore Cool Ash is simply pure ash pigment which you can infuse into the hair to balance warmth.  It can be used immediately after lightening, general colouring or hair colour removal.  For best results make sure the hair does not have conditioning barriers on it, so clarify prior to applying.  If you like super cool results (on any base) use a blue shampoo with every wash and a small amount of Cool Ash as your regular conditioner.  Leave for 2 minutes and rinse. A more intense 20 to 30 minute development of Cool Ash weekly will build a stronger ash tone in the hair.

How to Create Cool Lights with Colour Restore Cool Ash

Creating Ultra-Cool Toned Highlights with Colour Restore Ash

For deeper and more brunette natural bases highlighting the hair can evoke several tonal issues.  Many people find - as darker hair lightens - a substantial degree of heavy warmth can be revealed which can have a rusty or carroty hue which is often hard to disguise with blue shampoos.

A great deal of brunettes have an underlying cool skin tone (this is irrelevant of ethnicity) which can clash with strong (unwanted) warmth within the hair, often making the skin tone look sallow or buttery.   If you are a natural cool toned brunette and wish to have highlights you should optimize the presence of ash within your shade.

Often applying a permanent ash toned colourant to the whole head (after highlights) can cause the darker (non-highlighted hair) to lighten and expose further warmth.  The best approach is to highlight darker hair with bleach and then use a high ash toning product such as Colour Restore Cool Ash.

Colour Restore Cool Ash contains a deep level of neutralising ash and silver pigment which will turn lightened coppery or warm blondes to a solid neutral to high beige tone.  These cool toned highlights will intermix with the natural (darker) depth and created an overall ash shade which harmonises with skin tone and any (original) natural hair colour present.

There are two methods you can apply and work with Colour Restore Cool Ash:-

Using Colour Restore Cool Ash for Cool Lights At Home

You will need:-

• Jerome Russell Highlighting Kit (including a highlighting cap)
• Colour Restore Cool Ash

1. Always start with dry and clarified hair. Put on the highlighting cap and pull through a mixture of hair throughout the top and side sections of the head.

2. Mix and apply the bleach and leave to develop (as instructed in the Jerome Russell kit). Darker natural bases will often require around 70 minutes to lighten the hair sufficiently.

3. Once the hair has lightened sufficiently, leave the cap on and begin rinsing off the bleach with warm water. Do this for around 5 minutes.

4. With the cap still on, apply the Colour Restore Cool Ash to the highlights and work through the hair. Leave for around 5 to 10 minutes and remove the cap. The Colour Restore Ash contains a conditioning base and will enable the cap to be removed smoothly.

5. Apply a small amount of the Jerome Russell tone and condition throughout the hair and finish.

Colour Restore Cool Ash will work relatively quickly to tone freshly bleached areas of the hair. However, if you desire a deeper ash you can re-apply the product and leave for a full 20 minutes. Colour Restore Cool Ash can then be used as part of your regular hair care regime in conjunction with a blue shampoo to keep your highlights ultra-cool.

Using Colour Restore Cool Ash At the Salon

If you have your highlights undertaken in a salon with bleach and foils, you can take Cool Ash to your appointment.   

The colourists will just need to highlight your hair with bleach and foils in the usual way.

At the backwash, after removing the foils and rinsing for several minutes, your colourist can firstly shampoo with their regular Colour rinsing cleanser and then apply Cool Ash throughout the hair (as a conditioner) and leave for 10 minutes.   

The hair will then be toned and conditioned.   You can then intensify the cool tone (at home if you choose) by applying Colour Restore Ash as either a 2 minute conditioner (following application of a regular use silver shampoo) or a once weekly for a 20 minute intense tonal application.

Some Pointers for using Colour Restore Cool Ash

• Colour Restore products work exceptionally well on newly highlighted and bleached hair. However if you apply a conditioner immediately prior to Colour Restore it will create a barrier on the hair which will prevent the pigments from entering. For Cool Lights methods always apply Colour Restore immediately after rinsing the bleach..

• Colour Restore Cool Ash can be built up in the hair with regular use as a standard conditioner. Be aware that very silicone rich shampoos could also create a barrier which prevents the product working, so for best results use a blue or clear shampoo for deep tonal absorption immediately prior. 

• If you have achieved an unwanted warm result from an artificial permanent hair colourant. Remember many colourant products include a sealant conditioner to prevent the artificial colour from fading. Therefore, this sealant conditioner must be removed from the hair (with a clarifier) prior to using Colour Restore. 

• Colour Restore Cool Ash will not damage the hair and contains no peroxide or ammonias and has a conditioning base. You can use as much or as little as you wish, if you find the tone is becoming too cool or silverized simply use a clarifying shampoo several times to reduce the pigment.

What does Ammonia do in Hair Colours?

Many people realise the term ‘No Ammonia’ in hair products typically means the item is kinder to the hair.  But do people know what ammonia does to the hair and when it is required?

The Science

Ammonia is an alkaline chemical that is used in hair colouring to open the cuticle and swell the hair shaft.  Ammonia will also increase activation of peroxide (which enables colour molecules to affix inside the hair). You can recognise ammonia (within a product) by a strong gas that is released when you open the colourant tube or bottle.

Negatives of Ammonia

Because ammonia opens the cuticle and swells the hair shaft (during colouring) it can, with continued use, cause the hair to become damaged and compromised. This continual swelling of the hair and opening of the cuticle can lead to cuticle damage, colour grabbing (and then colour fading) and a general decline in condition.

Positives of Ammonia

Ammonia does have many positives (when applied with understanding).  Stubborn white or grey hair benefits from an ammonia colourant to open the cuticle and allow full deposit of the colour.  Bleach also requires ammonia in order to lift the hair by anything more than 5 levels – which is the requirement of most blonde and highlight colourers.

Non ammonia based products are kinder to the hair, but remember they are far reduced in strength, so it’s harder to achieve dramatic results in a single application.  

Selecting a Non Ammonia Product

If you are looking to darken or create a tonal shade within your hair (and have no grey) a non-ammonia colourant could work well for you.   

Many people select shades (with ammonia) that are specifically designed for grey coverage.  If you are a serial colour swapper, it’s kinder (for your hair) to create your desired colour without the use of an ammonia colourant to do it.  Having a pre-lightened base and then using a non-ammonia colour can give you flexibility and retain your hairs health.

You should not apply an ammonia based colourant immediately after bleaching the hair or following application of a first ammonia based product.  If you apply ammonia twice in immediate succession the hair can over swell and become porous or damaged and ultimately give an inaccurate colour result and poor hair health.

When to Select an Ammonia Colourant

Significant grey coverage really benefits from the use of an ammonia active, because it opens the cuticle wide and deposits colour.  If you are looking to both lift and deposit a new colour an ammonia shade will also help achieve a desired result.  Ammonia colourants are also fine to use when changing shades after stripping.  Decolour Stripper (for example) contains no ammonia, so if the subsequent colour applied does contain the active, the hair will respond in a controlled manner and the colourant can deposit the new shade evenly on the hair. 

Remember, ammonia (in itself) is fine when applied with understanding to your hair type.  It’s the continued use (over previously treated areas of hair) which can lead to longer term problems.