Recessionista Hair: Color Me Happy
It wasn’t that long ago that women, myself included, stayed fiercely loyal to their hair colorist’s advised schedule, keeping up bi-monthly appointments to banish gray hairs, every-six-week color refreshers or highlight touch-ups without question. Those days are becoming a distant memory to colorists all over the country, at a time when even the swankiest Beverly Hills salons are noticing that their appointment books are showing some blank spaces each week. It seems that everyone, no matter what their bank balance says, is looking for ways to lower expenses, and trimming down a pricey salon habit is an easy target.
It’s not just a by-product of economic worries, the fact is that beauty companies have significantly upped their game in recent years, too, and the hair color and care industry is no exception. Ever since innovative hair-product companies like John Frieda (the first on the scene) and Frederic Fekkai (a more recent sales blockbuster) introduced their wildy-popular at-home glaze treatments, women everywhere have found that, for a fraction of the price of a salon glazing treatment, they can have glossy, shiny, unbelievably healthy-looking hair in just a few minutes. Similarly, for about one-eighth the price of salon color, the advent of idiot-proof, ten-minute root touch-up kits by Clairol, Revlon, and other beauty powerhouses, allows women to seamlessly stretch out the time between color appointments without having to suffer through an inch of tell-tale roots.
As home hair product companies offer women salon-look options for home use, the hair gurus of the world have had to adapt not only to stay competitive but also to ensure that their clients don’t completely wreck their hair in between professional treatments. Sure, it can be embarrassing, shameful or downright criminal to admit to your longtime trusted hair pro that you took fate into your own hands with a wand full of flaxen highlights in front of your bathroom mirror. But, as long as you are honest with your colorist about what you’ve used on your hair the majority of salon professionals will share some of their hard-earned guidance to keep your locks salon-look lush month after month.
Amateur colorists of the world, rejoice! One example of a hair demi-god paying it forward is Alterna’s Global Artistic Director, Michael Shaun Corby, who shares his hard-earned color expertise with us mere mortals.
Handle With Care
Fortunately for do-it-yourselfers, Corby finds that at-home color has become quite sophisticated. He says, “Years ago, it wasn’t possible to get natural-looking, rich color at home, however, with the high-tech formulas of today, it’s very possible.” Though boxed kits are easier, more professional looking and therefore more tempting to use than ever before, keep in mind that hair is not indestructible. Corby advises that the key to great results is in the treatment of the hair throughout the process, and says “Many people end up trashing their hair with at-home kits, while in the salon the stylist uses professional products that ensure the hair’s health before, during and after coloring.”
So what, exactly, does this special hair handling entail? Corby’s best strategy for salon-quality color at home:
- Before you color, apply a rich, moisturizing hair masque, like Alterna's Caviar Hair Masque. Leave on for 15 minutes. This will deeply hydrate the hair, and make sure hair is healthy and ready for color.
- As soon as you wash out the color, shampoo hair with a mild, sulfate-free shampoo, like Alterna's Caviar Anti-Aging Moisture Shampoo. This will help neutralize the peroxide in the hair, which in non-technical terms means it will actually halt the coloring process, so the hair doesn't continue to absorb color and endure damage.
- Condition hair with a rich conditioner.
Memorize The Color Wheel
Whether you’ve invested hundreds of dollars or ten dollars on your new hair color, there’s nothing worse than watching your hard-earned hue go down the drain, literally, with each washing.
Says Corby, “Hair color, whether it's done at-home or in a salon, easily fades and turns brassy. How you care for your colored hair can make all the difference.”
Anyone who has experimented with home color has undoubtedly battled the brass at some point. Brunettes dread red tones, redheads fear orange, and blondes are determined not to go yellow. The products you choose after coloring are vital to keeping your color true and vibrant. Corby shares that Alterna addressed this very challenge: “Alterna created three different formulas that use opposing pigments on a color wheel, to prevent those red, orange, and yellow tones from appearing.”
If you never took Art 101, the color wheel may be foreign to you, but in hair color terms, here’s all you need to know: “The Caviar Brunette line uses teal pigment to counteract unwanted red tones, the Caviar Red line uses blue pigment to counteract unwanted orange tones, and the Caviar Blonde line uses purple pigment to counteract unwanted yellow/brassy tones,” Corby explains.
Of course, staying reasonably close to your natural color (within one or two shades) is the universal cry of salon pros, and it’s wise to keep the laws of color in mind before you select an at-home shade as well, to avoid any un-natural undertones that tend to scream “Amateur!” to the world. For example, if your medium brown hair naturally has a strong red tint and you desire a deeper neutral brown color, you need to choose a shade without any warmth to cancel out your red/orange tones, usually a name that includes the words “cool, ash, neutral” in the name. And, if you’re confused by nonsense names like “Moonlit Dawn Brunette” then a visit to the company’s website or a call to their toll-free hotline for advice on choosing a shade is a absolute must.
It must also be said that when lightening dark hair, each strand cycles through a range of colors – from red to orange to yellow – before reaching a true blonde stage, and the untrained colorist risks ending up with a head of pumpkin or apricot-hued hair. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)
So, if you’re more apt to rush to the phone to schedule your jury duty service than to return your salon’s appointment reminder call, embrace your inner cheapskate and be thrilled that luxe-looking locks may be just a drugstore away. Count the money you’ll save by going longer between salon visits, but, I beg of you, keep these hair insider secrets in mind before you take matters into your own hands (and bathroom) and remember that when it comes to color, avoiding a mistake is infinitely easier than correcting one!
For product info and hair care tips, please visit:
www.fekkai.com
www.johnfrieda.com
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