Grey coverage can be challenging when you still want brightness or vibrance for your colourful salon clients. So often hairdressers sacrifice the tone to get the coverage or vice versa. If we lean towards mixing up the brighter fashion colours we can lose the 100% grey coverage that’s actually needed. It is like walking a tight rope whilst trying to juggle combs, bowls and a coffee. Literally like a circus act.
I want to help you with some practical advice for colour loving hairdressers in this episode. If you’ve been struggling with inconsistent colour, then this is the podcast for you!
Show notes for the podcast episode 56
hairdressers must have a technique timing strategy for success
I am going to share with you my exact process for achieving grey coverage with hair painting for natural redheads and fashion colour clients. There are 3 key themes discussed in this podcast;
1. Creative fashion colour loving clients get greys and we must know how to offer great colour results without the sheer translucent tones that are so often the trade-off for something fun
- One of the many facts about redheads is that their hair will never turn grey. The pigment in their hair that causes it to be red will just fade over time, causing their hair to turn blonde or white, but never grey.
- When Hair Painting for natural Redheads that feel they are going grey or their hair is dulling with age, it’s important to not just grab for a full head tint as the first solution.
- Now, this is where colouring or Redheads can get very tricky because they can feel emotional about losing their brilliant glorious hair as the ageing process occurs. Tread carefully and cover grey with natural tones to keep Natural Redheads hair glorious without looking like it has been coloured. I like to suggest some warmer highlights and lowlights mimic what their youthful hair looked like and felt like. That would probably include an intense 7 level copper, and a light golden tone created with a gentle bleach or blonding cream and perhaps a level 6 auburn… but don’t assume! Ask them what they would like to see a return to their hair colour. And ask with kindness because their crowning glory is changing. Treat with gentle kindness.
2. Redheads can be fashion colours or classic grey coverage colours and there are just 3 formulas to choose from when doing this type of colouring.
When I say fashion colour I am talking about anything that a colour brand would call a fashion colour, for example, red reflects, violet reds, orange tones and anything else without a natural or base colour in the tube.
These are the only 3 formulas you need to know
- Client has 0-25% grey – Formula must contain > 25% natural base in colour mix
- 25%-50% grey – Formula must contain 50% Natural Base / 50% Fashion
- 50%-75% grey – Formula must contain 75% Natural Base / 25% Fashion
3. Double Process colour techniques are the best option for FAshion Colour Grey coverage
- Supporting points This allows you to paint the base in and then add some brightness or extra tone if needed with the second layer
- Or if you have not quite perfected the coverage aspect and you have glowing greys that are translucent there is an opportunity to cover the greys with the double application
- Tell grey coverage fashion clients that their hair works best with double process colouring. Takes the heat off you and your client to assume something has gone wrong if you add another layer. And if you don’t need to do a 2nd layer why not consider adding a direct dye into a moisture mask for that extra zing and customisation that your creative clients will love.
Keep scrolling below for all the important links so that you can join me live in my new online program Hair Painting for Redheads & connect on my social media.
