COLOUR HACKS* | Pocketmags.com

COPIED
6 mins

COLOUR HACKS*

From surprising tricks with toner, the app that calculates colour ratios, or turning blonde to caramel in 30 minutes, here’s the techniques the colour pros swear by…

CLEVER TONER TACTICS

Adele Clarke, OSMO ambassador, and owner of Spectrum Hair, St Helens “Want a great colour hack for when you’re colouring, but that can also be used with your backwash shampoo and conditioner? Add a few drops of the OSMO IKON Elevation Additives. They come in four neutralising solutions and can be used for all lightening techniques. They contain a highly concentrated pigment that helps deliver the perfect, super-clean base for colouring treatments. The Red Elevation Additive helps neutralise those unwanted green tones, the Green Elevation Additive knocks out unwanted red/copper tones (it’s great for colour correcting too), Blue Elevation Additive neutralises orange tones for that cooler effect, whilst the Violet Elevation Additive will remove yellow tones and brassiness.”

PASTEL PERFECTION STARTS HERE

Sophia Hilton, ambassador for Crazy Color "One of the things I hear people struggling with the most is getting vivid colour to be even when using soft pastels over balayage or highlights.

My stylist, Aaron, came up with the best quick fix that has saved us so much time. What we now do as a team is squirt a few pumps of Crazy Color POWER Pigment into a small amount of water in the bottom of an applicator bottle and give it a shake. Once the colour is mixed with the water, we add more water to fully dilute it and squeeze the liquid over the hair at the backwash. It creates the prettiest, pastel tone that's perfectly even in seconds!"

THE FRENCH SECRET FOR LUMINOUS HAIR

Adam Reed, UK editorial ambassador for L’Oréal Professionnel Paris “French Balayage is a colour philosophy: it’s all about taking balayage back to its Parisian roots to create that effortless, natural-looking colour that so many are now seeking. The Parisians are well known as the epitome of graceful and easy-looking style and French Balayage is just that, it looks beautiful, luminous, healthylooking and completely effortless – yet, it takes a huge amount of skill to blend the colour this seamlessly. It’s for all hair types and colours and can be dialled up or down, depending on the desired finish. The beauty of balayage is that it is a highly personalised service. It’s all about having an artistic eye for placement and painting colour onto the hair almost freehand, blending to offer light and dark and enhance every individual’s face shape, hair colour and cut.”

THE RECIPE FOR BEAUTIFUL BLONDES

Karoliina Saunders, Revlon Artist, Karoliina Saunders Hair Design “I have fallen in love with Revlon Pro Satinescents. It’s a great way for us to create our own formulas, and offer a more unique colour service for our clients. They can be mixed with Revlon permanent Revlonissimo range or used on their own. This particular formula is my favourite at the moment: 9.23 (Revlonissimo) + .523 + chosen developer. I change the ratio depending on the client - anything from 5:1 to 10:1. I’ve got to mention Magnets pre-lightener too – I’ve never seen anything like it! It lifts the hair so evenly, and creates an incredible blonde. It doesn’t dry up when doing a global application, has a pleasant smell, and Magnets 7 is ammonia free as well. To add to that, the Magnets re-bonding treatment is an amazing add-on to keep the integrity of the hair.”

FOOLPROOF COLOUR THE HIGH-TECH WAY

Sam Burnett, owner and creative director, Hare & Bone “Being ready for a colour client as she sits in the chair is the dream, but since we installed Vish [an app that takes the guesswork out of colour ratios] it’s now the norm in our salon. We no longer have to search for records of previous visits, which are often incomplete. Now the entire history is there on the iPad, right next to the Vish Bluetooth scale where we mix the colour. And once we’ve mixed, Vish records any tweaks we’ve made to the formula for next time. Should we need more colour mid-service, we don’t waste time mixing up half or full bowls, which we don’t need and costs us money; we simply follow the Vish ratios to mix the exact quantities required. It’s easy and quick.”

SAM BURNETT

GET DUSTY TONES MINUS THE WARMTH

Suzie McGill, Schwarzkopf Professional UK Essential Looks ambassador “Dusty tones are so on trend but they can be tricky to achieve, so it’s all about using the correct toning treatments. For refreshing balayage or to tone panels freehand I use the BLONDME lilac toner by Schwarzkopf Professional within the mix.

On blondes I love the dusty tone of Igora Royal 91/2.1 + the lilac toner + BLONDME 2% equal parts.

For brunettes, Igora Royal 6.46 + lilac toner + BLONDME 2% equal parts.

SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL

And for red heads, I love the rosy tones of the BLONDME strawberry toner. For maximum results, apply on dry hair and leave for 20 minutes. This can be a duo treatment for when clients have their root colour on, or on its own for the specific lightened area. For a softer effect, apply to wet hair at the backwash area and leave on for 20 minutes to ensure the correct deposit of product and tone. This will retain the warm, dusty shade but neutralise any unwanted orange tones.”

FROM GOLDEN TO CARAMEL IN 30 MINUTES

Michelle Summers Davies, Matrix Artist and Michelle Davies Hair salon owner “For clients who want to go from a golden blonde to a warm caramel chocolate, I always turn to this technique. It’s a quick and impactful colour placement – it’s easy to change the hair in just 30 mins. Take two rectangular sections around the sides and one through the middle of the fringe and apply a copper/gold colour. Apply SoColorSync Acidic Mocha throughout the rest of the hair in a monochromatic application. The result is a lighter contrast around the face that brightens every skin tone and enhances the cheekbones. It’s a technique that looks like I’ve spent hours on foiling, yet it was a full head of colour. Quick for me, impactful for the client.”

MULTI-TONAL BLONDE MAGIC

Zoë Irwin, Wella Professionals colour trend expert “The trend I am really into is doublehued or triple-hued blonde. It’s how I work with all of my balayage clients – it’s where different toners are used to create multi-tonal blonde adding light, warmth and gloss to the hair after lightening. Emulating natural lightness in hair that would have appeared from holidays abroad will be extremely sought after as the pandemic forces people to stay in the UK (even as we go into autumn clients will want to look like we’ve been away!) Clients also want to work with their natural base more – because they’ve recently seen far more of their natural roots than ever before. This has led to Balayage becoming requested more than the traditional to-the-root highlighting with the foils method of lightening.

ASP

Clients are requesting an “undone blonde”, which adds a youthful, cool vibrancy to the face.”

THE TRICK FOR TRULY INTENSE COLOUR

Tracey Devine- Smith, ASP global ambassador “To give your colour more longevity, extra shine and full tonal coverage, use the ASP INFINITI Intensives every time. Just by adding as little as an inch of intensive can pump up your colour tone massively, especially if you're trying to create the perfect ice blonde -add ASP INFINITI Intensive 0.2 to get that violet kick. Or for coppers and reds you can super intensify using shades 0.4 or 0.6. Also did you know the ASP intensives (unlike other brands) are permanent? This increases longevity of colour but they can also be used alone to create dynamic tones on lighter hair. I tend to add a splash of each to all my colours to help my client achieve a truly bespoke colour, which is unique for them as you can switch it up for everyone.”

ZOE IRWIN
This article appears in September 2021

Go to Page View
This article appears in...
September 2021
Go to Page View
WELCOME
Letter from the editor
THE GOSS ON FRENCH GLOSS
French Glossing is the need-to-know service that your clients will be asking for as we head into autumn. Here’s how you can offer it in the salon…
NEWS
Stay up-to-date with this month’s news round-up
HJ DIGITAL
What’s new on our site and social channels
A NEW LEASE of life
What you need to know about negotiating a lease
5 REASONS TO ATTEND THE TRENDVISION AWARDS LIVE FINAL
Set to be an evening jam-packed with creativity, hairdressing icons and inspiration. Here’s why you should be part of the biggest celebration of creativity with the #WellaFamily and hairdressing community
HJ insider
How did your business compare this month?
Should hairdressers wear masks?
Should hairdressers continue to wear masks?
Mind your own business
Balancing creativity and management
AW21 Hair Trends
HJ tuned in to the virtual catwalks to spot the upcoming trends for the season ahead…
WELLA STUDIO SPOTLIGHT
Your monthly update from Wella Professionals featuring news, education dates and artist profiles
TIME FOR CHANGE
How the new NOS will shape the industry
What’s on at SALON INTERNATIONAL 2021?
You won’t want to miss the biggest names in the industry LIVE and the latest launches dropping
The SALON INTERNATIONAL Hot List
The stands to visit and brands to know about at this year’s Salon International
Colour NOTES
Ria Kulik shares her inspiration
STAND CORRECTED
Expert colour correction advice you need to know
Colour Chart
The latest colour products
LET IT GLOW
If your clients want to embrace their silver or grey hair, Wella Professionals has the perfect new launch to make their hair shine brighter than ever before
COLOUR HACKS*
Colourists reveal all…
IMPRESS WITH EXPRESS
Elevate your clients’ grey hair with Express Silver Glow by Wella Professionals. Here, we take you through the steps to create the look
WALKING in London
Taking inspiration from life in the big smoke, KEVIN. MURPHY’s latest collection captures the styling intricacies of seemingly everyday life
Femme future
A creative exploration of female empowerment and attitude –1980s style!
Tinc ture
It’s our differences that make us beautiful
TAKING ON A MANAGER
Handing over your salon’s management can offer a better work-life balance and more time to plan the business’ future. Here’s the NHBF’s guide to finding the best new boss
WARRIOR WOMEN
Strong styles and out-of the-ordinary accessories fuse to create striking and bold images
HJ MEN
All of the latest men’s hairdressing news to help you improve your grooming game
Wild childs
An aesthetic that embraces a genderless vision with strong street influences, this collection combines androgynous looks with innovative cuts
25 YEARS OF INNOVATION
ASP Luxury Haircare is celebrating 25 years in business this September, with a range of promotions and activities throughout the month and into October
Happy hair
Hair that exudes health and makes you and your client smile
IN CONTROL
Strong, powerful, and not a hair out of place…
BOOKINGS ARE BACK ON:
BE THE TALK OF THE TOWN IN 3 EASY STEPS
The art of balayage
A collection created especially to showcase a salon’s key colour services
E-phoria
The Inscape collection for Schwarzkopf Essential Looks AW21, features a trip into a digital fantasy
STEP BY STEP
#CANDLECOLOR BY X-PRESION
Get WIG-Y with it!
This collection demonstrates just how versatile a wig can be when it comes to creative hair work…
Wigs on a dime!
Over the previous pages you’ll have seen how Craig Chapman created a beautiful collection using one model and multiple wigs. Here he explains more
Trending
The products to stock in your salon this month
Clock shop CHIC
Take a tour around Jack & The Wolfe’s new and improved luxury salon in Lymington
Adventures of a Hair & make -up expert
Elizabeth Rita on her biggest career influences
Life THROUGH A LENS
Desmond Murray’s top creations
Looking for back issues?
Browse the Archive >

Previous Article Next Article