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Color Quirks
What Can Go Wrong with Haircolor Services
Anyone who’s worked with haircolor (or tried your own color services at home) knows that it
can sometimes have “unexpected” results. Sometimes, that’s putting it mildly. There are a number of problems that can occur when
coloring the hair, each of which leaves you with less than spectacular results. Let’s take a look at some of the common “problematic
results” in coloring the hair, and the most likely causes for the problems. The following situations assume that you have followed the
instructions for mixing, applying and processing the haircolor formulas correctly, and that the problems are not caused by user
mistake.
“The color doesn’t take.”
Problem: Okay, you’ve just finished shampooing out the haircolor and are
blow-drying your hair to check the color results. You may notice something wrong as soon as you start rinsing the color. As your hair
dries the problem is clear: the color didn’t take.
Possible Causes: The hair is obviously resistant to the chemical. If your
hair is gray or naturally pigmented, your hair may have low-porosity making it less likely to absorb moisture and therefore making the
haircolor less likely to penetrate into the hair shaft to deposit color.
If your hair has been color-treated (particularly with products like henna) or if you have
been given any other shine-boosting treatments (such as clear-gloss enhancers), your hair may have a coating which seals it against
penetration by other chemical products. Henna is a common culprit. It is an oil-based haircolor that coats the hair shaft and can
create a lot of trouble for you or your stylist in the future when you want a haircolor or perm service.
Solutions: For low-porosity, resistant hair, the best solution is
pre-softening. Look for ready-made presoftening agents at your beauty supply store, or use 10-volume developer applied to the hair
for 10-20 minutes prior to re-trying your color service. Rinse the developer from the hair and dry it sufficiently to allow you to
accurately reapply the color. This should allow the color to better penetrate the hair shaft and give you better results.
In the case of henna or other treatments sealing out the color, you need to take steps to
remove the offending sealant. If it’s henna, you can use alcohol and mineral oil to lift and remove the henna enough to improve your
results. If it is due to another sealant product, consult that product’s packaging or the manufacturer’s instructions about solutions
to the problem.
“My color is uneven – splotchy.”
Problem: You’ve completed your haircolor application and all through each
step things are looking good. As you finish drying your hair, however, you notice that your hair’s new color is uneven and looks
patchy in certain areas.
Possible Causes: The most likely candidate is product build-up in the
hair. Too much styling product used daily and repeatedly can leave a build-up on the hair that won’t come away with a single
shampooing, especially when you use a mild shampoo. This build-up causes the color mixture to be unable to penetrate the hair at
certain points along the shaft and can lead to uneven color results.
Solutions: If you are the type of person who uses a lot of different
styling products, or who uses styling products every day in combination with heat styling (and touches up the hair with additional
product throughout the day) you should always use a clarifying shampoo to strip away all the product build-up and residue before you
perform a color service on your hair. This will ensure that your hair will absorb the color evenly and that the color results you
get are uniform and look the way you want them too.
“Oh my god! It’s GREEN!”
Problem: You’ve begun drying your hair after a color application and you
notice that the color isn’t what you anticipated. In fact, there are tones of an entirely unpleasant color shining through the drier
your hair becomes.
Possible Causes: Sometimes, even with the best of efforts, we select a color that isn’t compatible with our current
color. Either there’s too much of the similar contributing pigment, or the contributing pigments combine to make for a less than
pleasant result (such as naturally gold-based [yellow] color combining with blue-based [ash tone] color to give greenish results).
Unfortunate color results often occur when trying to make subtle changes in the hair’s color. If you don’t know the base color of a
previous color used you can often select a new color with an uncomplimentary color base.
Solutions: The good news is that all but the most drastic haircolor
mistakes can be resolved with a simple color correction. This is the point at which most people who are “do it yourself” types run
to their hairdresser. The stylist will simply sit them down, look at the color results and select a color that will neutralize the
offending tones.
Generally, the corrective color mix will include a low-strength developer with a conditioner
to prevent stressing the hair any more than necessary. The actual color involved will depend on the offending color tones present: for
green tones, use red based color; for orange tones, use blue based color; for overly yellow/brassy tones, use a violet based color;
and vice-versa.
“But it wasn’t this dark on the box!”
Problem: You start to notice something wrong about halfway through the
processing of the color. It looks awfully dark. Sure enough, after processing, rinsing and drying, the hair color is good, but it’s a
LOT darker than you expected.
Possible Causes: This generally occurs with deposit-only haircolor. A
person uses a haircolor intending to deepen the natural color by a shade or two, unaware that adding haircolor has a cumulative
effect. The process is similar to mixing instant coffee – the more coffee you add the darker it becomes.
Solution: You can either get a lifting-color formula to lighten the color,
or the next time, use a lighter shade of deposit-only color to avoid making the hair too dark. Most haircolor kits have photos on the
packaging showing the recommended starting colors for the various available shades. These show the starting color and the resulting
color from using the product. Always remember that if your color is darker than that shown on the package, you will end up with a
darker color result using deposit-only color.
So there you have the most common hair coloring problems, the probable causes for each and
solutions to correct and prevent them. Coloring your hair doesn’t have to be a daunting task, but you have to be aware of what can go
wrong and the way other products and styling habits can affect the results you get. Once you understand these simple basics, getting
the color you want becomes much easier. (Or, at least you know why it’s not possible.)
Stacy - Stylist ©Hairfinder.com
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