Understanding Hair Color & Why It’s So Important! (& Exciting, too!) Part 4

(If you missed part 1 or part 2 or part 3 click here)

Determining the Hair’s Condition

There is still another very important factor that is necessary to know when understanding hair color. This is the condition of the hair. Is the hair healthy? Is it dry or oily? Is the hair over-processed or dull?

Shiny hair is not only a coveted feature; it is also a sign of healthy hair.

Remember that the hair cuticle looks like scales or shingles? When the hair is healthy,  the scales on a cuticle overlap tightly and lie flat, causing light to be reflected. Think about it like a pond on a calm day. The water is so smooth that everything around it is perfectly reflected. If the hair becomes damaged, the scales separate and the hair becomes rough. Now, think about the pond image again. On a windy day, the pond is rippled and little or no reflection is seen. Just like the pond on a windy day, the hair will appear dull because the light will not be able to reflect from it’s rough surface.

 

 Hair also has natural oil called sebum in it. Sebum is produced by the sebaceous glands and it’s main purpose is to protect the hair by keeping it from drying out and also adds shine.

Another way to evaluate the hair is by its elasticity. Elasticity is the amount the hair will stretch and return to its natural state.  When hair is healthy, it will stretch up to 50% of it’s length without breaking. If the hair is dry, lacking moisture, it will only stretch up to 20% before it breaks. (Try either our Rejuvenate Organic Shampoo & Conditioner or our Bliss Organic Shampoo & Conditioner, both excellent at adding moisture to the hair.)Over-processed or damaged hair is lacking in protein and when stretched, will not return to its previous length. If the hair breaks, it is also damaged, and is lacking in both protein and moisture. (To add much needed protein to your hair, try Tuff’N Up Organic Shampoo & Conditioner. This is a marvelous hemp oil protein shampoo that will do your hair wonders!)

Hair can vary in degrees of porosity, too. Hair that can absorb & retain moisture has a good porosity level. Over-porous hair may feel slimy when wet and dry and brittle when dry. This is a sign of damaged hair that lacks protein. (Again, the Tuff’N Up would be an ideal choice.)Poor porosity can result when:

* Hair is longer, therefore the hair is older

• Poor diet or health
• Hair exposed to the environment, such as too much sun exposure
• Over use of heated styling tools
• Improper formulated shampoos or other hair care products
• Chemical treatments, such as relaxers, bleaching, etc.

Split ends are a sign of dry, damaged hair at the ends. These should simply be trimmed off for best color results.

If you are interested in learning about an amazing professional salon only color line & you are a salon owner or stylist, just fill out this form & we will send you a FREE Packet of info including a DVD!

Understanding Hair Color & Why It’s So Important! (& Exciting, too!) Part 3

(If you missed part 1 or part 2 click here)

Hair Color Levels

There is an international system used for determining how light or how dark a person’s hair color is. Levels are the amount of “lightness” or “darkness” of a color that is reflected or seen by the eye. As you can see, #1 is the darkest and #10 is the lightest. Black, therefore reflects the least amount of light, while blonde reflects the most. Every color company varies slightly from this chart but in general this is the guide and “language” hair colorists use. The level has nothing to do with the color of the hair. (red, brown or blonde ) For example, red and brown hair can both be a level 6. Notice that every level has an underlying pigment. This is also a very important “law” to memorize in conjunction with the color wheel so that you can know how to neutralize any unwanted tones when lightening or lifting the hair.

Tones

As mentioned above, the level has nothing to do with the color of the hair. The term to describe the color of the hair is called the tone, such as green or ash, copper-red, and golden-brown.

Level 6 Ash/Green Hair

Level 6 Copper/Red H

Level 6 Golden Brown Hair

Level 6 Violet/Red Hair

Notice in the pictures that the level of the hair is a 6. It’s the tone that describes the color of the hair. You can also have different tones of the same color family, such as red. You can have copper-red, as seen above, and you can have violet red. Both colors are in the same color family and are at the same level, but they are different tones of red. Also, notice that the golden brown may appear lighter than the violet red. This is due to the way the light reflects off the hair and also the fact that the golden brown contains yellow. Remember we learned earlier that yellow causes hair color to appear lighter and brighter.

Natural Hair Color

What makes our hair have a certain color? It is important to have a general understanding of what makes up the natural color we have in our hair and how it will react with the color we are using to change it.

A person’s hair color is determined by the amount of melanin that is in the hair & where it lives in the shaft of the hair. Melanin that lives near or in the cuticle layers will be darker/or redder in color and in lighter hair, melanin only lives in the cortex.

Hair color is due to two types of melanin, eumelanin and pheomelanin which occur from a colorless amino acid called tyrosine. Everyone has different proportions of these two types resulting in darker or lighter shades of natural hair color. If a person’s hair has more emelanin concentrated in their hair strands, they will have brown to black natural hair color. Hair containing mostly this type of melanin will have a “cool” tone to their hair. Emelanin are stronger and more resistant to chemical treatment, making the hair more difficult to lift. The darker the hair, the more concentrated levels of emelanin. If a person’s hair has more pheomelanin concentrated in their hair strands, they will have lighter hair, which contains more red to yellow particles. Hair containing mostly this type of melanin will have a “warm” tone to their hair. Pheomelanin are more pliable, much less resistant, and can be lightened more easily.

All natural hair color is formed from these two types of melanin. You can see why knowing what type of melanin your client’s hair has, will help you determine what your color formula will be.

Gray or White Hair

Grey or white hair is actually hair that contains little to no melanin. White hairs are actually clear. The hair looks grey or white because of the way the light reflects off of them. Most of the time, this lack of pigmentation occurs as people age, generally around the mid-thirties, but it can also be caused by health reasons or heredity. It is usually gradual and irreversible. In the USA, 50% of all people have grey hair. Grey hair usually starts to show at the temples and works it way back through the head.

Grey hair can be a challenge to cover with hair color. Like hair that contains a lot of emelanin, grey hair is strong and resistant to hair color. In addition to this challenge, grey hair contains hardly, if any, warmth or depth to work with.

(see tips for formulating color for grey hair)

If you are interested in learning about an amazing professional salon only color line & you are a salon owner or stylist, just fill out this form & we will send you a FREE Packet of info including a DVD!