It continues to be one of the most popular colours for fall, and yet it also remains one of the trickiest for clients to keep. Susan Boccia, national trainer for Schwarzkopf Professional, discusses the causes and solutions for fading reds.
1. When covering white or grey hair with reds or fashion tones, the formula usually needs to have a covering shade, which most often is a natural shade. The natural is added to the formula to compensate for the white hair. Without natural, the white hair would be very vibrant, without 100 per cent coverage of white and would most likely be too intense for the average client. The fact that the natural shade is brown; this will reduce the vibrancy on the mid-lengths and ends. This appears to the stylist and client as fading, and, in some cases, the ends will look brown compared to the red at the roots.
2. The best processing time for reds using permanent colour is 45 minutes.
3. Keep in mind, if the condition of the hair is good and not overly porous, it is not an issue to use permanent colour on the mid-lengths and ends. In this case, the formula needs to change as the hair on the mid-lengths and ends is different from the new growth.
4. In cases where there is no white to cover, we always need to remember to treat the mid-lengths and ends almost like a second head of hair. This means changing the formula for the mid-lengths and ends. The choices in that case would be to switch to a demi that matches the tone, or lower the developer and use the same red shade for the mid-lengths and ends.
5. Another option to help reds last longer is to switch to a demi-permanent colour for the mid-lengths and ends. Demi-permanent colours have a different chemistry than permanent color and can be a kinder option, especially when dealing
with porous hair. The processing time when using a demi-permanent colour on the mid-lengths and ends will be reduced to 20 minutes.
6. The last and equally important way to prevent reds, or any colour, from fading is the care products used at home. Hair colour and condition are protected and prolonged with shampoos, conditioners and treatments recommended by the colourist. Professional products use high concentrations of high-quality ingredients. Colour shampoos are also designed with specific or focused ingredients, such as UV filters to protect the hair, which in turn will protect the colour and increase its longevity.
Hair: Rokstar Reds by Tegan Rivera and the Rokstar Artistic Team; Makeup: Nadine Johns-Alcock; Photography: Red Eclipse.
Comments are closed.