BASIC COLOR PRINCIPLES

HAIR STRUCTURE

Understanding The Inner Structure of Hair

CUTICLE

Is the external layer composed of cuboidal (cube like) cells that lay flat as they ascend the follicle. At the same time they overlap each other like shingles or roof tiles.

CORTEX

Is the thickest layer of the hair strand. It consists of keratin fibrils surrounded by a matrix of protein and cross-linked by disulfide bonds.

MEDULLA

Is the inner most layer. It may be intermittent, leaving off and starting up again, or in fine hair, entirely absent.

THE CUTICLE

The cuticle cells membranes are comprised of three major layers:

The A layer, a resistant layer with high cystine content (more than 30%) The exocuticle is also rich in cystine The endocuticle is low in cytsine (3%)

The cuticle layer on an individual strand can range from 4 to 12 layers, The cuticle layers provide protection of the inner core as well as provide strength and flexibility.

Normal wear and tear on the cuticle naturally occurs during dry combing, thereby chipping away at the cuticle edge in small pieces, leaving sharp fragmented edges. These edges impact comb-ability and smoothness

THE CORTEX

Occupies the greatest proportion of the hair’s cross-sectional area (75%) Accounts for 90% of the hair’s total weight Consists of elongated cells filled with cystine cross-linked and hardened cells Provides the hair with its flexibility, elasticity, strength, resilience and color

The cortex of hair’s fibers are formed from elongated cortical cells packed tightly together and are positioned parallel with the direction of the fiber.

THE MELANIN

Melanin is responsible for not only the color of hair, but also plays a key role in skin, eyes and whole body.

Melanin pigment provides hair with its natural color The majority of melanin is located in the cortical layer of the hair shaft. Hair color depends on quantity and quality of melanin that is located at the cortex level

During keratinisation, melanin is infused into the protein that becomes the hair strand, in the form of pigment granules, or melanosomes.

Natural hair color tone will depend on the type of melanin or combination of all. The lightness or darkness of the hair depends on the amount of melanin in the hair. There are three types of melanin within the hair. They consist of the 3 primary tones that make

color.

THE MELANIN

The three types of melanin are: EUMELANIN, TRICOSIDERIN, and PHEUMELANIN

The natural tones of hair are made up by these three melanin in varying percentages.

EUMELANIN

Is a black/blue melanin. It is responsible for dark skin tones and hair as in people of African origin. This type of melanin move through the stages of decolonization relatively quickly exposing red tones.

TRICOSIDERIN

Is a red melanin. It is responsible for warm, copper in the skin and hair as in Native Americans, Latin Americans or red heads. It moves through the stages of discoloration at a moderate pace generally exposing warm orange or gold tones.

PHEUMELANIN

Is a yellow melanin. It is responsible for the blonde tones in people of European origin. It moves through the stages of decolonization at a slower rate thereby exposing strong warm yellow tones. As a rule, it is impossible to live without melanin and yellow melanin can never be removed.

TEXTURE

Hair texture is described as the diameter of the hair strand. Coarse, medium and fine are used to differentiate between large, medium and small diameters. Texture has an effect on haircolor because the hair’s natural melanin pigment is distributed differently in the different textures. Each diameter also has a different resistance to the haircolor chemicals have on the hair shaft.

FINE ATEXTURED HAIR

Lacks body, but is easily molded Pigment is grouped more tightly together When depositing color, finer hair can take on darker result Lightens quickly and easily: therefore, a gentle lightener will produce the best result

MEDIUM TEXTURED HAIR

Is bouncy and has good body Will have average responses to haircolor products Hair around the face-line tends to be finer than hair father back on the head

COARSE TEXTURED HAIR

Is thicker in appearance and has firm full body More pen grouping of hair pigment due to the larger diameter in the hair shaft When depositing color, you will have a slightly lighter result Greater resistance to lightening because there is more structure to the hair When lightening, a stronger lightening product may be needed

TENACITY AND POROSITY

Closely related, Tenacity is determined by how much the cuticle resists penetration. PorosityIs the hair’s ability to absorb and hold moisture? Tenacity and porosity affect how haircolorProducts will react on the hair.For effective color penetration on tenacious, non-porous hair, maximum processing time isRecommended. Grey hair is often very tenacious and generally requires maximum processingTime. Different degrees of porosity can also exist on the same head of hair, ranging from nonporousat the scalp area to very porous on the ends.

NON-POROUS / TENACIOUS HAIRNon-porous hair has difficulties accepting color molecules; therefore tends to resist theColoring process. Some degree of porosity may need to be created for a successful hairColoring service. Pre-softening or pre-pigmenting of grey or resistant hair may be necessary foreven coverage.• Often described as resistant• Has a glassy look and feel• Does not accept moisture quickly• The cuticle is smooth and compact and reflects more warm tones

POROUS / NON-TENACIOUS HAIRMechanical and environmental influences affect the hair cuticle and will create a slightly abraded, rough hair fiber resulting in a loss of its flexibility, body and shine.Hair may be lighter and more faded out toward the ends. Some variation in color depth and tone from strand to strand and from the scalp to the mid-shaft and ends may exist.• Accepts moisture readily• Has a dull look and feel and a more open cuticle• Porous hair is easier to lighten and often accepts hair color faster• It is also more susceptible to fading

OVER-POROUS HAIR

• Will accept moisture very quickly• Hair looks dull or flat and reflects more cool tones• Porous hair will appear lighter in color and rougher in texture• Generally longer and older hair that has been exposed to multi-chemical services• Responds differently to a hair color product than the new hair closer to the scalp• A strand test will determine the different responses

DETERMINING POROSITY AND TENACITY

Hold several strands of hair away from the scalp by the ends. With your fingers, lightly rub the strand from the hair ends down to the scalp area. This will help to identify any variations in the surface texture.• If the hair ends feel smooth and slick to the touch, it indicates the cuticle is

closed tight and the hair is non-porous or in a resistant state• If the hair is extremely shiny or glassy, it is also tenacious• If the strand feels rough to the touch and there is friction, the hair has some degree of porosity• If the hair is dull in appearance, it is non-tenacious

FORMATION OF HAIRThe formation of the hair as it grows from the follicle is a genetic trait and is described as being straight, wavy, or curly.Formation directly influences the end result of any haircolor.• The smoother the hair, the more light reflection• Curlier hair will diffuse light. Hair colors may not reflect as strongly as it does on straighter hair forms• For excessively curly hair, a more intense or stronger tone may be used• The texture of your hair is controlled by the size and shape of the follicle.• Besides the shape of the hair follicle other Straight, Wavy or Curly hair factors are:• Viewing a cross-section of hair reveals that straight hair tends to be round, wavy hair tends to be oval and curly hair tends to be kidney-shaped.• Roots that have the same keratin cells distributed all around the follicle form straight hair.• Wavy and Curly hair is formed by an uneven or varied distribution of keratin cells, with more cells on one sidethan the other at various stages of growth. The fluctuations in cell growth cause wavy or curly hair to grow in one direction and then the other.

• A basic rule in hair color is that cool tones neutralize warm tones and warm tonesNeutralize cool tones.• The cooler the tone of color, the more effectively it can eliminate warmth

• It is easy to identify the warm and cool colors if you understand color principles

CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURAL HAIR COLOR NATURAL HAIR LEVEL AND TONES

• Natural hair color is determined by melanin and the proportion of pigments• Natural hair color is characterized by the tonal value that corresponds to the color that is reflected from the hair and the level which refers to the lightness or darkness of the hair• The natural colors (basic colors) all originate from brown, which in turn, comes from a mix of the three primary colors

The Law of Color is a system of understanding the relationship of color. When combining colors, youwill always get the same result from the same combination.• Equal amounts of red and blue mixed together will always make violet• Equal amounts of yellow and blue mixed together will always make green• Equal amounts of red and yellow mixed together will always make orangeThis system is called the Law of Color because these relationships have been tested over and over and have proven to be true.In order to fully understand the art of hair coloring, you must first fully understand thebasic Law of Color.

Optically, color is a reflection of light. When a beam of white light strikes a prism, it is separated into six different colors that can be seen with the naked eye.

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue VioletThese colors are divided into two groups: Primary and Secondary

PRIMARY COLORSAll primary colors are pure colors pigments (colors that can not be created by mixing colors together).All colors both natural and artificial are created by the three primary colors; Blue, Red and Yellow.BLUE: COOL PRIMARY TONE• Adds cool tone, depth and darkness to any color• Largest molecular size and the heaviest pigment concentration• Closest to the outer cortex, positioned just below the cuticlelayers• First to leave the hairRED: WARM PRIMARY TONE• Makes a color richer and warmer in appearance• Second in molecular size and positioned deeper in the hairshaft than blue• Difficult to lift due to high levels of sulphur• Holds the internal strength of the hair• Second pigment to leave the hairYELLOW: WARM PRIMARY TONE• Makes a color lighter and brighter in appearance when addedto color• Found deepest within the hair shaft• Hardest to remove from the hairEXAMPLE:• Equal portions of blue + red + yellow = a neutral tone(brown)• Unequal portions of blue, red and yellow with:1. Blue as the dominant color will create a drab tone2. Red as the dominant color will create a reddish tone3. Yellow as the dominant color will produce a golden tone

SECONDARY COLORSColors that are created by mixing equal parts of primarycolorsExample:Blue + Red = VIOLETRed + Yellow = ORANGEYellow + Blue = GREEN• Green and violet both have blue in them, so theyare cool tones• Orange has red and yellow, so it is a warm tone

The Color Wheel

TERTIARY COLORS• Colors that are made by mixing equal parts of a primary color with a secondary color• Colors that are created by mixing equal portions of a primary color with their immediate adjacent secondary colorNEUTRAL COLORS• When all three primary colors are present, a neutral color is created

PRIMARY COLOR SECONDARY COLOR TERTIARY COLOR TONAL FAMILYBLUE GREEN BLUE-GREEN ASHBLUE VIOLET BLUE-VIOLET BROWNRED ORANGE RED-ORANGE COOL COPPERRED VIOLET RED-VIOLET MAHOGANYYELLOW ORANGE YELLOW-ORANGE WARM COPPERYELLOW VIOLET YELLOW-VIOLET BEIGE

COMPLIMENTARY COLORSColors that are positioned on opposing sides of the color wheel divide the wheel into warmand cool. When complimentary colors are mixed together, they neutralize each other.

Blue + Orange = Neutral ToneRed + Green = Neutral ToneYellow + Violet = Neutral ToneWARMCOOL

FORMULATING HAIRCOLORWhen coloring hair only three options are available; depositing darker, lightening the hair, or coloring at the existing level.Although depositing darker tones seems easier than lightening the hair, both applications require an understanding of natural

underlying pigments for optimum results. The first step to a successful end result is to determine if you are looking to enhance thenatural underlying pigments or neutralize the underlying pigments. One of the most important rules to remember when coloringhair is that the natural hair color must always be treated as warm. This is identified on the underlying pigment chart:Notice that all of the natural tonal values present as the hair gets lighter are warm tones (red, orange and yellow) this means that atcertain levels cool tones can be very difficult to achieve.LEVEL TONE TONAL FAMILY UNDERLYING PIGMENT1 BLACK DARK DARK RED BROWN2 BRUNETTE DARK MEDIUM RED3 DARK BROWN MEDIUM MEDIUM RED BROWN4 BROWN DARK RED5 LIGHT BLONDE MEDIUM RED ORANGE6 DARK BLONDE MEDIUM ORANGE7 BLONDE MEDIUM ORANGE GOLD8 LIGHT BLONDE LIGHT YELLOW GOLD9 VERY LIGHT BLONDE LIGHT YELLOW10 ULTRA LIGHT BLONDE LIGHT PALE YELLOW

EXPLORING THE LIGHTENING PROCESSLightening is the process of partially or totally eliminating the pigments that give natural color to hair. An ammonium or alkaline agent is responsible for activating the oxidation process. This action releases oxygen and is responsible for oxidizing the melanin in natural hair. In other words, lighten the hair. The natural pigments are eliminated, leaving visible

under tones that correspond to a variety of underlying pigments as identified in the previous table.When the lightening process is started, initially the granules of pigments that are responsible for dark tones are eliminated.Secondly, the diffuse pigments are eliminated until reaching a pale yellow tone. At this point, there is no natural pigmentation present. This process is present in both decolorization (bleaching) and lightening with an oxidizing color. Whenthe natural level of the hair is lightened with color or a decolorizer (bleach), we refer to this as lifting 1, 2, 3 or more levels.For Example:• Lifting the hair by 1 level: hair beginning at a level 4 will result in a level 5• Lifting by 4 levels: hair beginning at a level 5 will result in a level 9• In both cases we need to consider the natural underlying pigment at the target level• Level 5 will project a Red/Orange underlying pigment• Level 9 will project a Yellow underlying pigmentPlease note: Not all hair will travel through all 10 stages of lightening to reach pale yellow. Each individual hair color starts the lifting process at a different stage. Only black hair could potentially pass through all 10 stages of lightening although this is not recommended and severe damage and/or breakage could occur.

LIGHTENING APPLICATION TECHNIQUE

Here we cover the most interesting part of coloring due to the fact that there are more clients who wish to lighten their hair than darken it. Here are some important rules that should always be kept in mind:• Artificial color will not lighten another artificial color• Any previously colored hair that is being lightened will require either a color wash, or lightening with a decolorizer (bleach or powder lightener)• Guidelines for neutralizing or enhancing underlying pigments must always be considered• The level of lightening is the level that is obtained when the hair is decolorized• The underlying pigment directly affects the choice for toning and balancing the tonal value of the hair after decolorizing.Therefore, referring to the color wheel from the previous section and the table below will help to identify the applicable rules for each end result.• To enhance the underlying pigments you will be working with colors on the same side of the color wheel. This is generally the warm side of the color wheel.• To neutralize or soften the underlying pigments, you will be working with the complimentary colors on the opposite side of the color wheel opposing the unwanted pigment. This side of the color wheel has all of the cool tones.