Tone is everything
What makes great color? Tone, shadow, depth, shine and reflection.
The art of beautiful haircolor is about working on a healthy canvas.
Yes canvas, like any artist haircolor requires a canvas, in this case it’s a human head of hair as that canvas. This canvas has many textures and to those who create the art of living color each fabric has its own challenges and rewards.
Above all things the fabric must be in the best condition as possible. If the hair is over processed, stressed out, over colored, over worked, not properly taken care of or if the hair has health issues then color won’t be that luscious shiny reflection we covet.
As a hair color artist the most important part of successful coloring is to have reflection and dimension. There are a lot of people who come into a salon and automatically request “no gold, no red, no copper, and no brass” In the world of color that is the annihilation of the color wheel. It means this type of client leaves the professional with little to no option, it’s almost a setup of failure for both the salon and client.
If a basic color wheel is made up of Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange, Green, Violet then all that is left for this client is a drab cool palette of blue and green. Brown is made up of varying degrees of red yellow and blue, take way the red and yellow what’s left? BLUE
What the client and some salons don’t realize is that each hair depth a person has comes with its own set of red, orange and yellow pigments. This is the inner working of all hair. The perception of so many of these clients is sadly off. They see everything as red. Show them golden brown they see red, show them auburn it’s red, and show them chocolate its red. So them any warmth or reflection and they see red. Many times I will ask a client what they mean, I’ll ask do you mean red like an apple or red like an orange. The answers always amaze me. Or we can be looking at golden blonde or brown and they see red, they will say no red. I’ll ask do you see lemon, orange or candy apple when looking at golden blades and red and those answer will amaze me. Perception and lack of color understanding is amazing. Its our job to educate and reteach them the color precpetion.
How about skin tone, eye tone, lifestyle, and fashion? How about listening to what the salon professional sees and can offer as beautiful reflective shiny options. Fact: warmth reflects drab does not. Almost every model in any medium has warm reflective haircolor.
Only at very dark levels of brown do we see icy mocha or espresso type colors but they are near black and have incredible shine, or we see icy smoky almost silver/gray platinum blondes and cool pastel effect colors, however these are not the norm. This represents less than 1% of what most salons do unless their area and target are edgy young trendy.
SO why are so many afraid of warmth or see warmth in almost everything and why does everything appear red to them? Perception and life’s experiences. Once upon a time there was little to choose from in the world of haircolor. The few color lines that existed were drab green based old lady colors designed to cover gray or hide the natural tones of warmth produced by Mother Nature.
This type of client and color represented an entire generation. This generation grew old, had children and they passed on their habits and perceptions. The age range is 80-55. The younger generation embraces all that is natural youthful and warm. Youth and natural ness ooze with warmth and reflection.
Excellent and beautiful haircolor is created by an artist with an eye for all that is you. Your skin, your eyes, your personality, your fashion, and your lifestyle.
Haircolor should not be a limited demand of tonal cornering by those who are fearful of what a professional can offer. Nor should it be what I call bartender coloring where the client comes in and orders a drab yucky unflattering color.
The salon experience is about your consultation and what they can create for you. Your entire personality and mood can change with the right haircolor.
The most satisfied clients are those who trust and listen to their hair professional, they always leave happy shiny, reflective and beautiful.
Try it some time.
What makes great color? Tone, shadow, depth, shine and reflection.
The art of beautiful haircolor is about working on a healthy canvas.
Yes canvas, like any artist haircolor requires a canvas, in this case it’s a human head of hair as that canvas. This canvas has many textures and to those who create the art of living color each fabric has its own challenges and rewards.
Above all things the fabric must be in the best condition as possible. If the hair is over processed, stressed out, over colored, over worked, not properly taken care of or if the hair has health issues then color won’t be that luscious shiny reflection we covet.
As a hair color artist the most important part of successful coloring is to have reflection and dimension. There are a lot of people who come into a salon and automatically request “no gold, no red, no copper, and no brass” In the world of color that is the annihilation of the color wheel. It means this type of client leaves the professional with little to no option, it’s almost a setup of failure for both the salon and client.
If a basic color wheel is made up of Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange, Green, Violet then all that is left for this client is a drab cool palette of blue and green. Brown is made up of varying degrees of red yellow and blue, take way the red and yellow what’s left? BLUE
What the client and some salons don’t realize is that each hair depth a person has comes with its own set of red, orange and yellow pigments. This is the inner working of all hair. The perception of so many of these clients is sadly off. They see everything as red. Show them golden brown they see red, show them auburn it’s red, and show them chocolate its red. So them any warmth or reflection and they see red. Many times I will ask a client what they mean, I’ll ask do you mean red like an apple or red like an orange. The answers always amaze me. Or we can be looking at golden blonde or brown and they see red, they will say no red. I’ll ask do you see lemon, orange or candy apple when looking at golden blades and red and those answer will amaze me. Perception and lack of color understanding is amazing. Its our job to educate and reteach them the color precpetion.
How about skin tone, eye tone, lifestyle, and fashion? How about listening to what the salon professional sees and can offer as beautiful reflective shiny options. Fact: warmth reflects drab does not. Almost every model in any medium has warm reflective haircolor.
Only at very dark levels of brown do we see icy mocha or espresso type colors but they are near black and have incredible shine, or we see icy smoky almost silver/gray platinum blondes and cool pastel effect colors, however these are not the norm. This represents less than 1% of what most salons do unless their area and target are edgy young trendy.
SO why are so many afraid of warmth or see warmth in almost everything and why does everything appear red to them? Perception and life’s experiences. Once upon a time there was little to choose from in the world of haircolor. The few color lines that existed were drab green based old lady colors designed to cover gray or hide the natural tones of warmth produced by Mother Nature.
This type of client and color represented an entire generation. This generation grew old, had children and they passed on their habits and perceptions. The age range is 80-55. The younger generation embraces all that is natural youthful and warm. Youth and natural ness ooze with warmth and reflection.
Excellent and beautiful haircolor is created by an artist with an eye for all that is you. Your skin, your eyes, your personality, your fashion, and your lifestyle.
Haircolor should not be a limited demand of tonal cornering by those who are fearful of what a professional can offer. Nor should it be what I call bartender coloring where the client comes in and orders a drab yucky unflattering color.
The salon experience is about your consultation and what they can create for you. Your entire personality and mood can change with the right haircolor.
The most satisfied clients are those who trust and listen to their hair professional, they always leave happy shiny, reflective and beautiful.
Try it some time.
