1.) Color can not lift color!! This means hair that has been colored before can not be colored again. In order to change the color of this hair, the previous color must be removed ( bleached) out and then It can be colored again.

2.) Bleach and Haircolor are not one in the same! Haircolor lifts and deposits color into the hair. It must be left on the entire time indicated by the color brand and will stop working if left on longer. Leaving haircolor on longer then intented can result in a darker then desired result as the lifting process has ened and all that is left is the deposit.
Bleach lifts the color from hair in stages (black, to brown, to red, to orange, to yellow, to pale yellow.) Unless it drys, bleach will not stop working until you stop it. This is why it is so easy to damage hair or get uneven results. You have to work quickly. The spot were you first applyed the bleach will continue to lighten as you work through the rest of the hair.

3.) The color on the box is almost never the color you hair will come out to be! When you pick out a swatch at the salon, that is almost never the color we use. That only lets us know the color that you would like your hair to be and then we mix the color according to what your hair will need to get there. The color your hair is, your natural color and the underlying color in your hair all contribute to what the end result will be. This alone could be a whole nother 2 page thread so the most I can tell you is dark hair ( anything from a 1 to a 4) will always pull red or brassy tones when going lighter. Knowing that it would be wise to use a color with the words cool, ash or natual on the box to nutralize the redish or brassy undertones.


4.) If color has been removed to go lighter, it must be put back in to go darker! If you ordered a platinum blonde stock with the idea you can always color it darker, you have to take into consideration that the hair had been lightened first. If you want to take that 27 down to a 1 you have to put back in all the colors that have been removed first. To get to blonde you have to go remove black, then brown, then red, then orange to to yellow (blonde) So to get back to black, you need to put back in orange, red and brown. This is called filling. You can do this with a semi permanant color and you can use a shade that had words like redish copper brown. Apply the filler color first and then color with the shade you were trying to achive. This is very important. Im sure we all have that blonde haired friend who bought the black rinse and ended up with green hair !


5.) When in doubt, call a profesional! If you dont know what your doing, just dont do it! I know you ladies have paid too much money to have to thow away your lfs due to experimtel color mishaps! This isent even half the color chapter but it is a start. I have given you the basics so please use them wisely.

Helpful hints

Cigerette ashes mixed with a littel water will take the color stains right off your skin.

When bleaching a whole head, use a lower volume in the back and a higher volume on the top to give yourself more room for error.


Reds fade the quickest but yet are the hardest to get rid of. Think twice before going red. Dont do it if you will want to go blond later or want a lasting color that you wont need to refresh after a few shampoos.


Use semi or demi permanate color when going darker as to put the least amonunt of stress on the hair and preserve the life of your unit.



Types of haircolor

Permanent: This color lifts the natural color and deposits in the desired color. Must be mixed with proxide devloper in desired strenth (volume) to acheve desired degree of lighting. Does not wash out although it can experiance fading. Best for lighting virgin hair

Demi Permanent: Depost only, no lift. Must be mixed with one strength non proxide devloper. As fade resistant as permanent color but will fade out gradually. Best for toneing, filling, coloring hair darker, refreshing faded color or making a color more vibrent. can not make hair lighter.

semi permanent/ rinse : no mix, no lift color. Ready to use right out the bottle. Fades out completly. Best for filling, toning, going darker and temporary color changes.