I forgot to get a before shot, but this client came in today for a correction; her previously heavily highlighted hair had been toned to control brassiness from hard water and the natural underlying red/orange undertones of her dark brown hair, but the toner was too dark, resulting in almost black ends and dark brown-black midshaft, but deep red roots. She wanted more lightness all over — especially around her face — to neutralize the red roots, and to keep warmth to complement her skin tone but without brassiness (basically, caramel and honey tones). Because her hair was fine and previously heavily processed, all-over highlights would have potentially compromised the integrity of her hair (and possibly resulted in a chemical haircut). I achieved her desired result in one visit, using a combination of accent (face-frame) foiled traditional highlights, balayaged (freehand painted) alternating sections between the foils and in the crown/back for an ombré effect on the ends — both with Redken Blonde Icing, a low-ammonia lightener (to reduce damage to the previously processed highlighted strands) with low-volume developer for slower, controlled lift, and toning the red roots with Redken ShadesEQ. This created a visually much lighter result without foiling her entire head and over-processing the already compromised health of her hair. To repair any damage, rehydrate the hair, and extend the life of the toner, these processes were followed by a conditioning treatment with Redken Chemistry Shots: Extreme and Color Extend. For a natural look and to avoid further brassiness at the roots, I chose to not extend the foiled highlights all the way to the scalp, but rather to diffuse the lightener using the Redken Blur Brush and light back-combing to soften the blend and complement the interspersed balayaged ombré pieces. Its not uncommon for clients with naturally dark hair to request warm, honey/caramel highlights and/or color in the red family, but to also be adamant about avoiding brassiness. This can be a challenge, not only because hair in the mid-dark level range contains primarily red and orange tones, but also because what one person sees as a desirable gold, bronze, or copper, another may view as unwanted brass... Skin tone and the base color/tone also visually affect and alter what clients perceive as warm or brassy. In the end, my client was thrilled with the results, and although a very, very slight red tone may still be visible in direct sunlight, her previously red roots are now a lovely rich, chocolate brown, blending into the soft, warm honey and caramel lightness (the photos are as close as possible to the actual result, but camera-phone pics in indoor lighting are not 100% accurate. Some redness from her shirt is also reflected onto her hair. In person, the lightened areas are slightly more neutral, but I didnt want to edit the pictures and alter the color entirely.) She now has the depth and contrast she loves and her hair is still in excellent condition for the amount of processing it has undergone!
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 01:14:50 +0000
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