Home coloring vs. salon coloring

> I picked up an interesting tip today and thought I'd> share:> I went to my long hair salon today to consult my> stylist about a color correction. On a whim last> weekend, I had used L'Oreal Feria in a copper red to> color my hair. While the ends turned out fine, the> hair on top of my head near my part looks> carrot-orange. My stylist explained that chemicals,> conditioners, etc. sink in to the hair fastest> wherever it's the warmest. (That's why it's> recommended that you wear a heat cap when you deep> condition). He said that the scalp is the warmest area> for hair growth and the color sunk in faster there> than my long ends. I'm sticking with professional> coloring from now on because they know how to time it> right! My stylist recommended that I use a clarifying> shampoo and lots of conditioner for a couple weeks to> get the brassiness out. Then he's going to use a> darket, semi-permanent color to even out my tone.> Hope my experience helps others thinking about> coloring their long hair!To Jen: Re; your hair color problem; Jen your stylist is right on what he told you. However, there's more to it than what he said. It is true that color will be more "aggressive" due to body heat close to the scalp when applied. This is especially true of long hair when 'piled' up on the scalp during the coloring process. The long hair acts as an 'insulation' blanket holding in the heat close to the scalp, causing the color to process much faster at the scalp than at the mid-shaft or ends. Also, the ends usually are much more porous than the mid-lengths or scalp areas and will "grab or take" much quicker than the rest of the hair usually. To combat this, colorists should do a "test strand" checking the processing timimg required to produce the correct tonal values. Color should be applied to the mid-length first, scalp area next and ends last, depending on whether depositing (usually darkening or toning), or lightening, usually in the same order unless the roots are much darker than the lengths. Sometimes, even a lighter shade is used on the ends, to even out the color differences caused by different porosity of the hair from scalp to end. Protein "fillers" can be used to help even out multi-porosity in the hair. What I have tried to explain is usually too technical for the budding home haircolorist, but is how it really is. By the way, this exact problem is why Redken invented "Color Fusion Process" to take into account these problems. william

> To Jen: Re; your hair color problem; Jen your stylist> is right on what he told you. However, there's more to> it than what he said. It is true that color will be> more "aggressive" due to body heat close to> the scalp when applied. This is especially true of> long hair when 'piled' up on the scalp during the> coloring process. The long hair acts as an> 'insulation' blanket holding in the heat close to the> scalp, causing the color to process much faster at the> scalp than at the mid-shaft or ends. Also, the ends> usually are much more porous than the mid-lengths or> scalp areas and will "grab or take" much> quicker than the rest of the hair usually. To combat> this, colorists should do a "test strand"> checking the processing timimg required to produce the> correct tonal values. Color should be applied to the> mid-length first, scalp area next and ends last,> depending on whether depositing (usually darkening or> toning), or lightening, usually in the same order> unless the roots are much darker than the lengths.> Sometimes, even a lighter shade is used on the ends,> to even out the color differences caused by different> porosity of the hair from scalp to end. Protein> "fillers" can be used to help even out> multi-porosity in the hair. What I have tried to> explain is usually too technical for the budding home> haircolorist, but is how it really is. By the way,> this exact problem is why Redken invented "Color> Fusion Process" to take into account these> problems. william

To Kelly Dias: Kelly I too, am new to the internet and have been surfing around for probably 3-4 mos. I am barely able to turn this thing on! My wife hates it! She says tht I ought to marry the damn thing! Anyway, I really enjoy this site and most of all in helping to educate people to the right way to take care of their hair. I specialize in doing long hair and am somewhat selective in my clientele as to what I will do and when. I know that this sounds like I'm a snob, but believe me this is the furtherest from the truth. I just enjoy making people be their very best and love to see that special look on their faces when they look in the mirror for the first time! As for a web site for pros there are a few, but I have not found any with much interaction, or maybe I just haven't found the right one yet. william