Hair Color

Hair color is the rage. Why? Baby-Boomers.
There are more people in the US with gray hair than ever before in history. There are several ways to cover the gray:

1. With Permanent Color- Most permanent color uses peroxide (10 to 40 vol.) and ammonia. It covers gray the best. The draw back is regrowth of new hair. It is a different shade and will leave a line of "demarcation."

2. With Demi-Permanent Color- Uses peroxide but in low vols. (5-7). Many have no ammonia and leave little damage. When the color fades, it does gradually. It leaves no line of demarcation.

3. With Semi- Permanent Color- They are "fun" colors, meaning they will last a short time(1-4) weeks. They usually incur no damage to the hair. The best to expect is 40%-60% gray coverage

4. With a Color Rinse (semi-permanent)-They are fun but a waste. Go with a demi. Rinses are great as toners. They are great to cut down unwanted tones in the hair. For the money go for a demi or permanent color.

Some Tips to give to your Colorist:
1. Lightly mist hair prior to color application with an acid based solution.
2 Prior to rinsing the color, apply an acidifying conditioner. Wait 1-3 minutes and rinse, then shampoo.
3. As a follow up to color treated hair use: an acid based moisturizing conditioners with sunscreens.

Types of Hair Color
Temporary - color lasts from one shampoo to the next and is deposited on the outside of the hair shaft.
Semi-Temporary - color lasts up to 4-6 shampoos.
Semi-Permanent - color is for masking white or light hair and lasts 2 to 6weeks.
Permanent - color formulas change the natural hair color. They require maintenance to new hair growth after 4 to 6 weeks.(For the purposes of this guide we will be discussing Permanent colors and methods of processing only.)

How it Works
Before any permanent color can be deposited into the hair shaft, the cuticle, or outer layer, must be opened. The insoluble formula then reacts with the cortex, or middle layer, to deposit or remove the color.The color is available in a variety of forms; creams, gels or tubes, or shampoos. These will not permanently change the hair color until they are part of an oxidation chemical reaction.The Oxidizing Agent or Developer is hydrogen peroxide in one of various forms and strengths. lt is the catalyst or cause of the chemical reaction which allows the formula to permanently alter the hair's color.The strength of the developer - is determined by the desired results and the manufacturer's directions.
10 Volume - Color deposit with only slight lightening.
20 Volume - Maximum color deposit as for gray or white hair with lightening
30 Volume - . Strong lightening action with less color deposit.
Bleaching Boosters - can be added to increase lifting action. Consult manufacturer's instructions. Too much developer and the color may not have good highlights, cover poorly, not lift to the correct level and fade more quickly.

If you know the color wheel color becomes easy...
It may sound a bit odd but your hair is a mixture of 3 colors; red yellow, and blue. These are the primary colors. Secondary colors are orange, green, and violet. If you look at the "wheel" a color opposite (directly across) will "negate" that color. This means if your hair is a orange color - green will make it a brown color. If you hair has a yellow tone, violet will cancel it out.One of the most important elements of hair coloring is determining the hairs' "underlying pigment." When you chose a color in a swatch book, your hair may not come out that color because of the underlying pigment in your hair.
Underlying color + Artificial color = Final Result

First things first...
Tone: refers to whether a color is warm or cool. The warm colors (highlighting) are red, orange and yellow. The cool (ash) colors are blue, green, and violet.Level: indicates the degree of lightness or darkness of a color. Every color can be made either lighter or darker, thus changing the level, by the addition of white or black. Hair colors, both natural and color-treated , are classified by level from 1 to 10. 1 indicates black, and 10 indicates the lightest blonde.Saturation: refers to the degree of concentration or amount of pigment in the color.

Hair Pigment
A pigment called melanin is responsible for hair color. There are 2 types of melanin found in the hair. Eumelanin, is the most common type, it gives the hair shades from brown to black. Phaeomelanin, gives the hair yellowish-blond tones and ginger and red colors. Total absence of pigment produces white (grey) hair.

Levels of Hair Color
1=Black
2=Very Dark Brown
3=Dark Brown
4=Brown
5=Medium Brown
6=Light Brown
7=Dark Blonde
8=Light Blonde
9=Very Light Blonde
10=Light Platinum Blonde

THE CORTEX
About 80% of the hair consists of elongated cells (cortical cells) of a fibroid structure (macro-fibrils, micro fibrils). The cortex determines the THICKNESS, ELASTICITY and STRENGTH of the hair. It is also responsible for housing all of the hairs' natural COLOR PIGMENTS.
COLOR PIGMENTS found in the cortical layer are in the form of minute melanin granules. These granulized color pigments are stored in tiny sacks called ALVEOLUS (ALVEOLI). In healthy hair, light reflected from the cuticle surface produces a soft sheen This sheen is referred to as "the transparency of a hair color." At the same time, the pigments gleam through the cuticle. This is what makes up the unmistakable shades of color in the hair. The cortex can be damages by:
1. TOO STRONG DEVELOPER (OXIDIZERS)
2. BRUSHING AND DRYING
3. PERMS AND NON-SUITABLE SHAMPOOS

This means that the haircolor does not last as long and that the hair becomes brittle, dry, dull and not easy to comb.
FINE HAIR Fine hair can be damaged easily as compared to thicker or coarser hair. Penetration of chemicals and products occurs faster on fine hair due to the fact that fine hair has less cuticle layers, and sometimes the layers themselves are thinner. The Haircolorist needs to keep this in mind when working with fine textured hair.
COARSE HAIR
Coarse hair is larger in diameter. Coarse hair will have more cuticle layers, and sometimes the layers themselves can be thicker. This type of hair is sometimes more resistant to haircolor and decolorization products.

HOW AMMONIA. DEVELOPERS AND HEAT AFFECT THE HAIR STRUCTURE
1. Ammonia
Ammonia is used in permanent (oxidative) haircolor. When the permanent haircolor and the developers come together, the action of ammonia begins. Like all alkaline, the ammonia has the tendency to separate the cuticle and allows the permanent haircolor to penetrate the cortex of the hair. The ammonia has an effect on the sulfur bonds of the hair. If the ammonia is too harsh, the hair will lose more of the sulfur bonds than necessary. It will cause the hair to harden, lose weight and diameter.

2. Developers
The higher the volume of the developer, the greater the amount of sulfur is removed from the hair structure. This is one of the reasons why the limitations of the developers be maintained at 30 volume or less for the majority of haircoloring. When we lighten natural hair, the oxidation of the melanin will give a reduction of the natural pigments. Decoloration will have an effect on the natural pigments. They will act especially on the granular pigments and will act progressively as the action of the decoloration takes place. The granular pigments will transform into diffused pigments which explains the apparitions of the reflect more or less intense as the decoloration processes.

3. Heat
High heat and the length of time high heat is used on the hair will also reduce the structure of the hair. The hair will lose its elasticity. Damage to the cuticle of the hair will make it more breakable. Steam will form inside the hair shaft which in turn will burst hair by breaking it. This is why we need to limit the amount of heat as well as the length of time you dry the hair.