I had a family filled weekend and it was really great...
But I'm feeling some guilt and I need to share it with you!
CREAMY MILK CHOCOLATE...
I just happen to live VERY close to a Shoppers so I threw on one of my BF's massive sweatshirts over a pair of leggings and pulled my pink little rain boots on and ventured over...
As I stood in the Candy aisle I could hear 2 young girls in the "Home Hair Dye" aisle, discussing which colour they should "do."
I was trying not to listen, but it was hard not too!As a Professional Hair Stylist, I could tell by over hearing their convo that their home hair dying idea was going to be a major disaster!
I felt like it was my duty to try and help them to prevent their hair from going GREEN, or even worse a causing a CHEMICAL HAIR CUT! *a chemical cut is NEVER pretty!
Only problem is, I didn't want to come across as a creeper... I'm also kinda shy in these situations!
By the time I built up the courage to walk up to them to give some guidance, they had already decided on what they were going to purchase and were at the till... I figured - Perfect timing, I need to cash out too, I will get in line behind them and make small talk about it.
So there I am in line and the cashier says to the 2 girls, "Optimum Card?" they handed it over and continued their excited conversation... I tried to get their attention by giving them a smile and wave but they just looked at me like I was insane... I felt SO stupid!
They ran out out of the store SO quickly in excitement, before I got a chance to really get there attention and help them out!
I FEEL SOOOOO GUILTY!
I can only imagine what has happened to their hair...
So here is my way of rectifying my lack of persistence in helping these 2 young girls... I hope they held off on colouring that night and somehow stumble upon this post!
Okay, as a salon owner this post is TOTALLY bad for business but it needs to be done!
I have a few issues with home hair dye kits but I understand that for some, the price and ease of using something at home is more appealing than going to a salon.
A few guide lines for doing your own colour!
Colouring Virgin Hair:
- I suggest using a temporary colour. Using a temp will make it easier to change your colour when you get bored.
- Temp colours, NO MATTER WHAT THE BOX SAYS, are only temp if it is a DARKER colour than your natural!
- Any time you lighten your hair, it is permanent! You are REMOVING pigment from your hair rather than ADDING pigment to your hair.
- If you have VERY dark hair naturally and are trying to lighten your hair be VERY careful with what you choose to use. Naturally dark hair has a high concentration of red undertones whether you see them or not! If you lighten the hair with a product that is "warm" in colour than you are adding even more red, orange, yellow tonality as you lift the darkness out! This can result in a brassy colour.
Colouring Non-Virgin Hair:
- Colour CAN NOT remove colour! This means, if you are trying to lighten your previously coloured hair, you can NOT do it with a lighter colour of hair dye. You will have to use a LIGHTENING system. *When you come to the hair salon, we lighten your hair and then TONE it with a TONER. (A blue toner to remove yellow and orange tones leaving the hair neautral, a honey or warm toner to even out the lightened hair leaving it warm and sandy, or a COLOURED toner to cover any inconsistencies in the hair shaft with a lighter but still not BLONDE colour.) You can do this at home by purchasing the lightening system and ALSO a box of dye in your DESIRED colour. This way, if you lighten your hair and it isn't even, you can use the box of DESIRED colour to dye it to that colour.
- Going Darker is hard to mess up!
There is a LOT more to the science of colouring, but this post is getting LONG. I am always here to help, so feel free to ask questions!
If you really love your hair, see a hair stylist - they generally know how to colour your hair the best way with the least amount of damage!
Hope this helps!
Xo
Great post and awesome advice! I'll leave the colouring to you the experts ;)
ReplyDeleteomg great post!!!!
ReplyDeletethe fact that you feel so guilty shows what a great person you are :) it's tough to jump into a conversation with strangers and give them advice, but I'm sure if you prefaced it with "I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm a professional hairstylist and I couldn't help but overhear your convo..." they would probably appreciate the advice! Anyway - don't feel guilty - you shouldn't do anything you are not comfortable with!
Great advice on home dyeing - I stopped doing the box dye a long time ago, but I'll def pass this on to my sister who occassionally picks up a box.
Keep it up chica! :)
- Anjali
Great advice Emily! I've done box colouring before, and there have definitely been some ups and downs. I wish I had this kind of advice before I picked them up. It would save my hair the torture! Haha.
ReplyDeleteI've been giving my hair a break from colouring so it's probably half virgin at this point, but I'm itching to get highlights for summer. :)
Love this post!
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing - if I hear someone in the home dye isle making a bad decision, I feel like it is my duty to explain to them how not to destroy their hair.
After an outing in Wal-mart a while back, I wrote a similar post to yours. Mine was from frustration, since the girl would NOT listen to me and thought I was being rude for trying to explain to her that using store bleach to lift over processed dark brown dyed hair and go blonde was not a good idea. People! You can never win, but at least you can try to educate. :)
Great advice.
@Joy - Thanks.. Hope my post will just get better and better!
ReplyDelete@Anjali - Thanks and def pass it on to your sis! Save her the agony of a bad dye job that's hard and pricey to fix!
@Arianne - Highlights would look STUNNING on you, especially for summer! But don't stray too far from your natural colour!
@Davida - That is exactly why I was nervous to approach them! One time I was walking in Yorkville and this Lady was walking infront of me with her skirt tucked into her tights... I caught up to her and told her (I would want someone to do that for me!), she gave me a dirty look and stormed off! No thank you, or even a smile! It made me feel like I had done something WRONG, when really i was just trying to help out! Now I am always hesitant to help a stranger even though it's in my nature to do it!