Hair Color
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03.03.2020
Are You Using Green In Your Formula?
The NEW Koleston Perfect ME+ Intense Cool Collection offers the perfect variety of shades for adding a touch of green (matte) into your formulas which allows you to lift naturally dark hair, offer 100% gray coverage, and neutralize red underlying pigment all at once.
Alexandra Matiz, Top Artist for Wella Professionals, never panics when she has her work cut out for her! Below she shares her approach to lifting and toning dark brown hair with over 4 inches of new growth and previously box colored ends. Alexandra would normally begin to balayage the mid-lengths and ends while the root touch-up is processing but in this case, she had to complete the application in two steps.
BEFORE: The client is Natural Level 4, 50-75% gray and dark ends. The hair texture is curly and ends are highly porous.
FIRST APPLICATION: BASE FORMULA:
Crown (75% White): Koleston Perfect 1 part 66/02 + 3 parts 55/02 + 20 Vol Welloxon Perfect Developer
Nape (50% White): Koleston Perfect 1 part 66/02 + 3 parts 55/02 + 1 inch 0/28 + 2 inches 0/30 + 20 Vol Welloxon Perfect Developer
SECOND APPLICATION: BALAYAGE FORMULA:
Blondor Freelights Powder + 40 Vol Freelights Developer (1:1.5)
Magma 30g /17 + 30g /89+ + 90g + 40 Vol Freelights Developer
TONER
Color Touch 15g 7/97 + 15g 8/81 + 60g 13 Vol Color Touch Emulsion
CURLY HAIR BALAYAGE #PROTIPS:
- When sectioning, do not separate the curls. Section in a soft wave pattern and in between cowlicks. If you are separating curls before you begin hand-painting, you will create unwanted frizz.
- When hand-painting at the root (especially around the hairline) apply only light pressure to the surface, as you move to the mid-shaft and ends, you will apply more pressure and saturate completely.
- Remember to place a lot of pressure when applying the lightener to the ends of curly hair which will allow the lightener to be saturated all the way through each section since curly hair is more porous. If you do not do this, the lightened ends can easily disappear when the hair is dry.
- To achieve a perfect balayage blend, Alexandra suggests using a paddle instead of the back of your hand. It allows you to work cleaner and apply the proper amount of pressure to each curly section.
Alexandra recommends formulating brighter with a higher volume developer when using a clay-based lightener like Freelights and Magma. If you would normally use 20 Volume, go for 30 Volume! She chose to use Freelights and Magma instead of Blondor so she could create a natural brightness without having to time and rinse her lightener like she would need to when using foils or saran wrap.
END RESULT: