BY ASHLEE NORMAN @ashleenormanhair
Who hates tinting between foils? Why not just cover the grey after the highlights have been shampooed, in the same step as shadow rooting and toning, by using permanent color to color melt? You might be thinking, "But doesn't toning with permanent color create too much exposure of warmth in the natural base, or leave a dark band that needs to be lifted out later?" Hear me out—what would happen if you mixed toner softener into your formulas? It's like a conditioner with a 4.5pH and it does two things:
- Drops the pH of the permanent color so you get a softer lift and less exposure of warmth
- Makes the deposit of the color more translucent so you get dimensional coverage of greys and it highlights and prevents an opaque line of demarcation
My model's hair is a coarse natural level 4 with 25 percent white/grey hair and tinted level 4 mid-ends.
After lightening with @oligopro lightener, I used @schwarzkopfusa TBH permament haircolor color melt.
Color Melt Formulas
Roots: 5/06 & 6/16
Mids (Hairline Shadow): 7/06 & 8/19
Ends: 10/19 & 8/69
Mixed 1:1:1 20-volume developer and tone softener
I know, you're thinking, “But, she has tinted ends and color can’t lift color.” This is true—but, it can affect it. It can't destroy the artificial pigment molecule, but it can push some out of the cuticle. Also, in this case the model was using a demi-permanent, which deposited tint but did not oxidize the natural pigment, so you can create the appearance of one level of lift with a base breaker on some tinted hair.
See the video below, and for more education like this, head to IBS Las Vegas on June 20 and 21.