QuoteReplyTopic: Hair coloring basics help needed! Posted: January 11 2000 at 1:17pm
About 2 months ago I used L'Oreal Feria "Brazilian Brown" (level 5) on medium auburn hair hoping to darken up my color a bit for the winter months and also downplay most of the red tones. I might add this was my very first in-home coloring experience! The result was totally different than what I expected however, it was by no means a total disaster--just took some getting used to :O) It turned out much darker than I anticipated from a level 5 with almost maroonish highlights at first that toned down considerably within a couple of weeks. My husband loved it! As for the L'Oreal product, it covered my grey (35-40%) better and my hair felt healthier than after previous salon colorings!
Anyway, I have just returned from almost 3 weeks in the warm Florida sun which lightened my hair quite a bit, my roots are grown out about an inch, and I am ready for color again. My question is, if I want to shoot for a non-red color again how do I go about that? The "Brazilian Brown" swatch was by no means a "cool" color but didn't really show any signs of reddish highlights/undertones either--just a warm, medium/dark brown. I have read many forums answered by William and also his hair coloring basics. If I am correct, I have to add red to red to cancel out the red in the end result. Is this correct?! I am a little vague on the color wheel thing that William was refering to. He said to get rid of certain undertones you have to add the opposite color(from the color wheel) so this would mean to get rid of red you would have to add green which I am translating into meaning a "cool" color such as something labeled "ash". I am just plain confused, I guess :O) Please, if anyone can clear this up for me I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks in advance.
First you might want to go to an Art supply store and buy a color wheel. Second brown is acheived by mixing in even amounts Cyan (a blue), Yellow and Magenta (a red). This is why if your colors are off a little you end up with either a blue, yellow or red tint. :) Now this is an oversimplification. Remember you are ADDING the color to your existing hair color. This make the mix even more interesting. Your maroonish highlights resulted because there was not enough yellow so your hair ended up as a mix of blue and red.
I would find a salon that has a certified master colorist and pay a few dollars for her advice. Most will help you select a color without feeling the need to do it for you.
There is a list of certified master colorists, by state, on the net. I just don't remember the site at this moment. I am lucky enought to have one a few miles away.
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