Color Guide

Definitions:

Basecolor: Color applied at the root area or all-over before a dimensional/creative color technique is done.

  • Single Process Regrowth means touching up the roots only and color-balancing the ends with a gloss.
  • Single Process Full means applying the permanent or demi-permanent color past just the regrowth or through the full length of the hair. 
  • Tintback: A Tint-back is when you are taking you hair from being bleached-out (as in a Double Process Blonde, Very Heavy Bleached Highlights or a Very Light Single Process Blonde with a high degree of porosity) back to you natural color or to any darker color than you presently are. This process might require several steps, because you might have to layer the underlying pigment back into the hair step by step. 

 

Highlights: Highlighting hair means isolating select strands in the hair and treating them with a haircolor or lightener to make them lighter than their base/natural color. Highlights can add dimension by contrasting with the rest of the hair and are created with foils,  or brushes used for “painting on” the color.

  • Foil Highlights: Are isolated strands of hair that are lightened and placed in a foil. Using foil allows for more control in placement and a higher lift (more blonde) because the strands are finer and aluminum is a better conductor of heat. Foils are generally used for very light blondes and cooler/ashier tones. 
  • Balayage / Hair painting: Balayage (from French: to sweep)  is a hair coloring technique which is designed to create a very natural-looking highlight which grows out without developing a noticeable and obvious line of demarcation at the root. When hair is colored with the balayage technique, the highlights are painted on by hand in a sweeping motion which moves from the base to the tip of the hair.
  • Painting ends / Tip Out: Is an add on service when in between foils, we balayage the ends of the hair that is left out of the foil to create a lighter/dimensional result. 
  • Hairline Highlights: are an add on service when lighter pieces are added to the hairline via several foils or painted on. 

 

Lowlights: Lowlights are created by using color with foils or painted on to darken specific pieces and create dimension. Generally low lights will be 2-3 levels darker than your basecolor or your existing highlights. This can be used for a more natural look or create accents within the hair.

 

Glossing / Toning: Involves using a semi or demi-permanent color to enhance, enrich, change, match, tone down or intensify natural or color-treated hair while harmonizing contrast.

  • Root Shadow: A root shadow refers to a hair coloring technique when a darker gloss/toner is applied to the root which creates darker roots at the top of your hair and transitions into a different, usually lighter shade down to your ends. This provides the illusion of your roots casting a shadow on the rest of your hair. Root shadows create a color melting effect which creates a more natural appearance when highlighting hair.
  • Root Smudge: Is the more subtle cousin of the root shadow, when the darker root gloss is more subtle and not brought down as far as the root shadow
  • Money Piece Toning: A money piece is a beautiful, face-framing effect offering a pop of light or color and dimension. Money piece toning is when we gloss the money piece a different shade or tone than the rest of the hair.

Multi-Service Processes  (Which take some extra time to achieve)

  • Compact Foil: or the Platinum Card Technique is when every hair on the head is foiled. It is a great way to achieve an even global blonde tone. It is very time consuming and often used for big color transformation and corrective color. It takes approximately 3+ hours just to foil the head.
  • Babylights: Babylights are accomplished much the same way as traditional foil highlights. The difference is in the placement of the highlights and the amount of hair captured between each foil. Hair is sectioned very finely—just a few strands at a time—to achieve a naturally-lightened-by-the-sun effect.
  • Teasylights: Teasylights gets the most lift while still mimicking the look of balayage. Also using foil for heat, the hair is teased up for soft diffusion and wrapped. Just remember to be patient for the brush out process after shampooing.
  • Foilayage: is a painting technique done in foils that will mimic the look of balayage. When heat from the foils is involved, the hair can lift lighter than being painted on in open air processing.

 

  • Double Process Color: A hair lightening service where lightener is applied all over the hair, lifted to a light blonde then toned with a semi-permanent color (gloss). Generally used to achieve all over light blonde and platinum looks.
  • Double Process + Vivids: A double process service with the addition of a vivid tone. Generally using more than one gloss application to achieve.

Treatments

  • Bondbuilder (Olaplex): Bond builders work to create new bonds or reconnect damaged ones, making your hair even stronger than it was before coloring. Bond reinforcing products also repair and smooth the hair’s cuticle, giving your hair natural shine and softness.
  • Milbon: This professional 3-step deep conditioning treatment immediately improves hair’s texture, leaving it silky-smooth and soft. Formulated for fine, normal, and coarse hair, this service is perfect for all hair types. Results last up to 5 weeks.
  • Malibu: Whether removing mineral build-up or artificial pigment from hair, Malibu treatments create a clean canvas to help achieve a great color result.

 

Terms: 

  • Lift: Lift is the chemical process of lightening the color of the hair. Different haircolor formulations have different lifting abilities.
  • Tone: Tone, in haircoloring, is the term used to describe a specific color—”golden” blonde, “coppery” red, “ash” brown. Colors are divided into warm tones and cool tones.
  • Dimension: Dimension is a function of the range of tones in your hair. A head of hair that is all one color is said to be “flat” or lacking dimension. Your stylist can add dimension to your hair with highlights or lowlights.
  • Contrast: Contrast is a value applied to highlights. High-contrast highlights are much lighter than the surrounding hair and provide a dramatic look. Lower contrast highlights result in a more natural look.
  • Warm: Warm is a tonal value that can apply to blonde, brunette, and red shades. A color is said to have “warm tones” if it tends toward yellow, orange or red. Warm colors include golden blondes, auburn brunettes, and coppery
  • Cool: Cool is a tonal value that can apply to blonde, brunette, and red shades. A color is said to have “cool tones” if it tends toward blue, violet or green. Cool colors include platinum blondes, ash browns, and plum reds.