Transforming Gray: Pro Tips for Colorists - Part 1

 Before. 20 years ago, my hair would be on the floor and if you sneezed, it would fly off. But now I can, I could put a level seven on this and have Giselle ashy blonde hair, and it would stay there and it would be shiny. Have you ever wanted to be that colorist in your salon? You know the one that everyone turns to when they need help or they need a second opinion, or maybe you love doing color, but you're tired of cycling through the same view formulas all the time.

I. Or maybe you're already a successful colorist, but you wanna love color corrections the way that you love to highlight. Or maybe you're just like us, constantly curious, determined to understand the why and the how behind everything you do. I think it's safe to say that most of us got into this industry because we wanted to be creative, but running through the same couple formulas all the time isn't creative.

It's running on autopilot. If you're the type of colorist that creates a deeper understanding of the rules so that you can break them with intention, this is the place for you. If you're ready to go beyond memorized formulas and uncover the why and the how, behind every technique and tool we have. Stick around.

I'm Melissa Franco. I'm Dustin David. We are working colorist and educators who work with clients every day. So when it comes to color talk, we talk from behind the chair, not from behind. A ring light. This is Hair md. Welcome.

We're gonna start our episode off with our gray hair, pet teens. I know Dustin has some. I do too. So let me hear yours. Oh my gosh. So well, people are always trying to change the formula or darken the formula when they're trying to cover. Gray and darker isn't necessarily better, particularly when you're working with gray hair.

A lot of times your stylists will keep formulating darker and darker and darker, and you end up with black hair when really, that's probably the worst thing that you can do when you are trying to cover gray. Right. He says that because it's like, yeah, they might have had black hair when they were young, but that's not their color.

It's not their natural color anymore. You know, sometimes you have like a dark haired person with just a few strands, but generally when they have all white hair and it starts to pull really dark, it's, well, then you get that zipper straight down the, yeah, there's a zipper straight, right down the part line, and it's like the darker you go, the more.

Prevalent it is. Or sometimes like a squirrel tail laying down the side of their head. Like squirrel. Yeah. Not good. No. When it's such a hard line too. And we're gonna talk about that too. Ways to prevent that hard line other than, you know, just going lighter because I know that so many clients are always so resistant to that.

Especially when they were dark. When they were young. Yeah. When they started out as dark as like you, I, I think that some of the methods that are. Or that I try to go for are something that's going to be somewhat of a more translucent coverage. Yeah. Um, and a lot of people think that's bad 'cause it's not covering per se, but the reality is it, it softens that blow as the hair grows out.

Yeah. I mean, if you're gonna have dark hair and your natural color is now. Platinum, platinum, white. You want it to be a softer outgrowth. So those hard lines are, that's another pet peeve of mine is the hard lines. Yeah. 'cause other, unless they're gonna come every other week, which some of them will, but you know what?

When they do, I actually have a trick I like to do for that. And it is, instead I like to get the full coverage, but I also don't like the zipper, which is a fun term. Um, I'm gonna use that. Um, I also don't like that. So what I do is I actually. Don't process it the full amount of time, I'll get the stain. So it kind of stains it a little more and then it turns into, as the two weeks go on, the more translucent and then it kind of prevents the banding that you get when they do come in, you know, when they come in every two weeks and it's just inevitable.

You could be using like a level eight and their hair's black anyway. Yeah. And not only that, it's so, such little color to get on there on the route, it's like. There's gonna be overlap and then you end up with like this band, and it does help prevent that. I have found. Um, so I, that's a trick I only use on people who come in super often and that really just want that brown hair.

It's like I am using a level seven, but you're right, they are like, it's black A seven. Tell me some of your pet peeves. My pet peeve, I've been waiting when they, when people and, and I mean I've done it too. Use too much pigment in the color. Like I get it. We want to cover, I get it. You don't wanna see any gray.

Your client doesn't wanna see any gray. I understand. Not all gray hair is resistant. You don't need that much pigment all of the time. You don't, it, it's a lot and it just looks like shoe polish and the light isn't reflecting off of it anymore. It's not shiny anymore. It makes me crazy. I don't love to see gray hair peek through, but also it's, it's often times when your whole formula is six and N.

It's too much pigment. Well, it translucency. If you, it's covered. It just may not be all exactly the same color. Right, right. Isn't the worst thing that ever happened. No. Again, it grow. It has a better outgrowth. It's gonna be your client too. Like some people are just like that, but there are ways to cover it more opaquely, while not making it too dark and, and obviously with opaque, that's just where my, my pet peeve comes in.

That is what it is. You know, if your client wants that, but it doesn't need to be a level five. No. And I think that never, is it okay to use just straight end coverage? I mean, I think that you should always add something else. Yeah. To round the formula out. 'cause oftentimes, even if you're covering solely white hair.

There still needs to be some other additive in there. Well, and that's kind of a fun thing. I don't know if anyone, and I, I kind of wanna try this at some point, is get all these different color lines and just get their basic seven six n, eight n and color it onto white hair and just see like, what does your inch really look like?

In my experience with dabbling in color lines, you can kind of see that too. I mean, if you're using a straight N or someone has been using a straight N, right? But when you look at that, you can see that it's either a greener base or a sort of more warm yellow base. You can really see where the heaviness lies in the rounded color.

Because as we all should know, the these end formulas have all of the pigments in there so that we can create brown, if you will. So that's a good segue into another thing that's hot on my heart. So I have heard a lot of color lines recently in the last 10 years that have been the smaller color lines who charge less, which is fine, promotes superiority over mainstream color lines because every single one of their colors covers gray.

And I think that's great that the seven in your color line will cover gray. It doesn't mean you're gonna like it. It's still basic color theory, right? You're still putting seven RR on white hair and what is that gonna make you are layering. You're not completely covering all the time unless you have like most opaque color ever.

Which again brings me back to my big old pet peeve of too much pigment, and that's kind of my beef with some of those lines is if every single color covers gray, 'cause it's not always about the well-rounded brown. A well-rounded brown is good, but that's not enough. Either because it does need that added pigment load that a gray coverage tool will have, and if every single color in your line is doing that.

I personally feel like that's too much pigment for most situations that aren't gray coverage. Part of that formula when they create a gray coverage tool is the ammonia content. It does require more ammonia. To penetrate into gray hair. Gray hair has wake. I mean, we've all seen it, right? The really coarse gray hair and you just can't cover it.

You can't even get the color to sit on top of it, you know? And that is what a gray cover, especially a resistant gray coverage tool like an n. N is for that is to lift the cuticle and. Do a better job doing that. And it's really hard to penetrate into those hairs. So your gray coverage tools do have extra ammonia content.

It's not for every situation. Like if I wanna shift my brown to be a nice, lovely, warm brown, um, that's all I'm getting. Copper. I don't need a gray coverage tool to do that. That is my spiel. So that I think is an also kind of a, one of like in is was saying we have. The ammonia is within the color part.

It's not in the developer. And sometimes using a heavier load of the color part of it. And they would say that if you're having an issue, don't add more n per se, but double the color and take down the uh, developer. So if you're using less peroxide and there's more of the ammonia within the color, it can help to swell that cuticle and allow those pigments to go in and oxidize, get a more alkaline solution.

That's really, it's, it's not that your formula needs ammonia, it's that it needs an alkalizing agent, and for most color lines, they're using ammonia. There are some out there using other things. That's another topic. That's another topic another day. That's another topic for another day. We'll do that. Um, yeah.

Stay tuned for that. You know, and there's a time and a place for that, but it's not in most situations. But that's all it's for. It's not because you need amo, it's, you need something that makes it alkaline. So that it will lift the cuticle. And that's also only something that's important to know is that's really only for the outgrowth, the hair that hasn't been colored yet.

So once you've, once you've found your formula and once you've found a coverage solution for your individual client, whether that be a difficult gray to cover or not. The remainder of the hair that's already had this processing doesn't need that. And that's what's important about these color lines that have such heavy downloads.

'cause once you're already open, the cuticle and it will absorb more. So that's where you get these sort of hot roots, where the roots will be. Too light and the ends will start getting too dark or the overlapping of the color 'cause they come frequently. Yeah. It keeps putting the ammonia back on the hair and it keeps making it alkaline.

Quick pause. If you're liking this episode, please do us a favor and share with your friends and leave us a rating review on wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps us be able to continue to bring you more episodes, just like that. If you want more resources, you can always head over to hair md pod.com.

And download free PDFs and other resources that we have listed there that we love as colorists and that we know will help you too. Okay, let's get back to, it actually is a good segue into something that you do a lot of it's treating you kind of treating every square inch of the head as its own situation, not the whole head.

Is the same amount of gray or resistance of gray or color for that matter? Well, and there's different types of hair on the head, right? So I often do a formula that I call. Either a hairline or in front of the ears because that le hair has a tendency to be softer than the rest of the hair on the head, particularly right in front of the ear, um, around the temple area.

And so when you're using the same formula on the front. On that and as well as the back, it can have a tendency to look really dark. This is again, where the client is seeing it, so it's important to me to address it that way so they don't come back and complain that you can see the white right away 'cause that hair turns at least.

Two levels darker than what the rest of the hair looks like. And it's not even that like they're complaining that it's too dark. It's just that they're complaining that, that they can see it white again. And it's like, you did a good job covering it. That's not the problem. But like nobody wants to be dark.

Like some people do wanna be darker around the face, but most older women in general, and men, they don't wanna be darker on their face like that just. Creates darker shadows and, and it's just not flattering. Well, yeah, it definitely like enhances wrinkles. Yeah. When you're framing something in dark, all of a sudden you see the dark lines and a, a lot of people who have gray hair that are trying to cover it have also dark lines on their face.

Right. Most do. I mean, that's just the reality of what's going on. Like if you have some gray hair, like you are not, some do 13. But no, that's not the concern there. You know what I mean? Well, and if you're young enough and you have gray hair and you don't have any wrinkles, it's kind of cool. Yeah, right?

Yeah. Right. So using a lighter formula in front of the face and around the hairline, not only can keep the hair looking even on the head, but also stop it from looking dark. Particularly around the face, even if you're not having that problem with it being darker than the rest of the hair, it is sometimes better to have it lighter there anyway.

Right. And as far as changing the formula on the every square inches, a lot of my clients from the occipital bone down to the NA don't have any gray hair. Right. And so it's like they don't necessarily need. Gray coverage, gray coverage, which can, which again, if you're using a non gray coverage tool and a hair that doesn't need it, it just gets really shoe polish.

It just doesn't reflect light anymore. It's just, it's the wrong color really. I mean off. It can make it too warm looking. A lot of times I change the formula because it can look too warm. Or there's certain percentage of gray hair that doesn't need really even gray coverage. I mean, even for with a formula, a lot of things, even though it doesn't say it covers gray, it does something to it enough to not have to see it anymore, but that way you're not affecting the other hair around it.

Right. Another trick that I like to do with gray hair is using the, if you're only trying to cover gray and not affect. Hair around it 'cause anywhere between 10% and 50%. That gray coverage formula can kind of mess up the rest of the hair color, especially when it's high contrast. Yes. So I try to use something that is the least, the least alkaline that I can with still being able to at least blend that gray, right?

Because then it won't affect their color. If they don't want to change their natural color, they don't want to go lighter and they don't want to have sort of burnt sienna versus, you know, natural Matt Brown. You have to go with something that's going to be much more a weekly, we call it like a. De I permanent or even a direct dye, something that has staining capabilities but won't necessarily lift the hair or like an acid-based color.

Yeah, right. Could work really well for that, especially if it's not a super high percentage of gray or if it's very sporadic through the head. Right. Although I do kind of feel like sometimes when it's really sporadic, those ones seem to be so resistant. Oh yeah. It is. Like, what is the deal here? It's like, like there's four strands, but like you will never cover them.

They're cut. Yeah. You, you can even try to spot treat sometimes when they're like really in there because if you put alkaline on the rest of the hair, it will affect it and it. All of the rest of the hair fade. Right. Um, so, and it's weird because you'll have like this soft texture and then you'll have these sort of like wiry witch hairs, like poking out through, because they're just so coarse.

They are a different texture. It's not just about. Melanin at that point. It's completely different hair and it has all these extra cut layers covering it up, like surrounding it and cocooning it. It's crazy. It actually does have additional layer. That's why it's so much harder to penetrate it and, and get the color to grow inside the hair.

Okay. I have a question. Okay. In my mind, the unsolvable problem, but we're gonna try anyway. Okay. People who have the dark hair. Like, like your situation, right? Where it's like really dark, but then there's like some white pieces and they wanna go lighter, but not blonde. Blonde. Well, just making dark hair lighter is its own thing.

Like I said earlier, if unless you want burnt sienna or like a really warm copper brown, your hair is very dark. My hair's very dark, very similar. Once you start lightning it just a little bit, it starts turning into. A warm color that we don't want. Ultimately, if that's the solution to that is to double process.

It is to go all the way light and then bring it back down, or at least several levels lighter. You have to, at least if you're, you're still gonna be brown, you still have to bring it up almost past orange. Yeah. Which is, it's. It's not unreasonable, and we have the tools to do it. Yeah. And so you have to manage people's expectations.

I tell them they can have whatever they want, but there's, you can't just single process it to get there. Uh, well, you mean I'm thinking even to be a warm brown. Right? If you have gray, because what happens is, unless you wanna be like copper, extra copper, extra copper, the problem I have run into is when there's the color that you need to put onto the dark hair.

That will make it not bright as a basketball hook is going to make the gray hair blue, which to be fair sometimes helps your situation because I feel like it makes it brighter. I feel like blue hair makes the orange brighter. I'm like, if it's orange, I mean, well, I mean, it's gonna be I, it's true. I mean, basically you're gonna have to use a high lift tent and that's gonna turn it.

Like, and then it's just gonna make the orange look more orange. It's just a thing. And so that's why I was curious if you had a No. Pre lightening's really the only, it's literally the only answer. But again, we, with, now that we have bond multipliers and things like that, yeah, it makes it a lot easier and um, it makes the hair in much better condition.

Unfortunately, it takes a really long time. You have to be really careful, huh? Especially the way you like to do bond multipliers. Well, 'cause it works. I mean, the hair's on my head right now. I'm wearing platinum blonde hair because of that. Yes. I mean, before 20 years ago, my hair would be on the floor and if you sneezed it would fly off.

But now I can, I could put a level seven on this and have Giselle ashy blonde hair. And it would stay there and it would be shiny. And you're right though, it just is a large time commitment, especially if you're not working with support staff. You know, like for a stylist who doesn't work with any type of like salon help assistant or whatever, it can be very, it's time consuming.

It's, it's not cost effective for anybody, you know? I think that it's expensive for the client, right? And you can't really do much in between. Right, because you have to watch it. It's not something that you can time, if you're going to like a level seven, you don't need to lift to 10 plus it needs to go eight, nine, and then you need to watch that.

So when you're lightning, the hair somewhat depending. It really just depends on the level that you're working with on a client. I think one of the most important things to remember about gray coverage is treating each client individual, depending upon the texture of their hair, the density, the amount of gray that they have, and where the gray sits on their head.

You know, rather than slapping one thing on. Putting it on where it's necessary. You know, a lot of times I'll do hairline colors on people because it's really just their only, their hairline that's gray and the rest of their hair. I just leave it and that way it remains somewhat natural. When I've seen you do a lot where they have one spot on the top that's white, they have a formula for everything.

They have a hairline formula, and then they have a white spot formula because it's just different. It just requires something different than the other parts of the hair. That's allowed. You don't need to cut, formulate the entire scalp for that one white spot. I think that's a big thing that people do is.

Once they have gray, they formulate one color for the whole head. And what the problem is, is because all the different colors on someone's head, it then comes out that way. I call it the Calico effect. You know, you get a little bit of gray coverage on this, a little bit of warm pulling on this side. A little bit of too dark in front of the ears.

So you got, nothing's exactly right. Well, a lot of people have much finer hair around their whole hairline. The back too, you know, it's just gonna. Take the color differently. That's why I always, I always see these things online where they're like, I have a client coming in. What should, what formula should I use for this?

And I'm just like, no one can give you a magic formula for that. There is no magic formula every, again, every person is individual what they need, and you don't know that unless you see it. Right. Um, yeah. It's a very, it's a very tactile situation that you do and understanding what. The ultimate outcome is, and also explaining to the client maybe their best options.

I mean, other thing that I do, even if you are covering the gray and they want it covered, Grecian formula, shoe polish style, changing the shape of their hair can really help that. Taking someone, and if they have their hair parted down the middle or parted down the side very severely to take away that zipper or that squirrel tail, I like to say that's just laying on their top of their head.

You can interrupt that by like making a side bang or a full bang, and then you don't necessarily see it automatically. I did that today, actually. I didn't color at all. But like she was kinda on a time crunch and she had just one side over her hair, just really white, like right in the front. And we don't even fully cover color it.

We just, I highlight it, but it's, she's not all the way gray, so it's like I am highlighting it, but I guess I'm low lighting it too. But I'm using color light, I'm using permanent tint. I'm not using liner. And she was kinda on a time crunch today and I'm like, just switch your part over and it will look great.

I don't know why gray hair always wants to come on the side that they part on. But it seems to be that way. I don't know why, but just switching her part to the other side, it literally looked like we colored her hair. She will get through, but can she handle. Having a different part. I don't know. I, I mean that's, that is the biggest problem.

That's the biggest problem. Again, managing someone's expectations. You know, they think that their hair's not covered, but it is, I mean, isn't it better that it's not gonna grow out in two weeks if it's looks lighter? Like say, if you don't process it all the way and each time they come in, it gives it an opportunity to.

One depth, but also it shades that root. So that concludes part one of our gray coverage chat. If you got something out of today's episode, the best way to support us is to share with your friends and leave us a rating review. It really helps us out. We will have a part two for this gray coverage talk, so please tune into that.

If you liked this one, we know you'll love that one too. Thank you for listening to Har MD and we will see you soon. All right. That's a wrap.