The Basics of Hair Coloring

If you know the color wheel color becomes easy... It may sound a bit odd but your hair is a mixture of 3 colors; red, yellow, and blue. These are the primary colors. Secondary colors are orange, green, and violet. If you look at the "wheel" a color opposite (directly across) will "negate" that color. This means if your hair is a orange color - blue will make it a brown/black color. If you hair has a yellow tone, violet will cancel it out.  As a color specialist I can help you come up with the perfect formula for gorgeous hair.

One of the most important elements of hair coloring is determining the hairs' "underlying pigment" (the hairs' natural color.) When you chose a color in a swatch book, your hair may not come out that color because of the underlying pigment in your hair. Please feel free to email for a more customized color formula.

Underlying color + Artificial color = Final result

Levels of Hair Color
1-Black
2-Very Dark Brown
3-Dark Brown
4-Brown
5-Medium Brown
6-Light Brown
7-Dark Blonde
8-Light Blonde
9-Very Light Blonde
10-Light Platinum Blonde


Types of Hair color

Temporary - color lasts from one shampoo to the next and is deposited on the outside of the hair shaft. Semi-Temporary - color lasts up to 4-6 shampoos. Usually contain no ammonia and does not have a developer.

Semi -Permanent - color usually contains little or no ammonia and utilizes a low peroxide developer (under 10 vol.) the color lasts about 6 weeks and fades gradually back to the natural shade.

Semi-Permanent - color usually contains some ammonia and uses a developer of 10 to 20 vol.

Permanent - color formulas change the natural hair color. They require maintenance to new hair growth after 4 to 6 weeks. (For the purposes of this guide we will be discussing Permanent colors and methods of processing only.)

Goldwell NN series-made for hard to cover grey.

How it Works Before any permanent color can be deposited into the hair shaft, the cuticle, or outer layer, must be opened. The insoluble formula then reacts with the cortex, or middle layer, to deposit or remove the color. The color is available in a variety of forms; creams, gels or tubes, or shampoos. These will not permanently change the hair color until they are part of an oxidation chemical reaction.

The Oxidizing Agent or Developer is hydrogen peroxide in one of various forms and strengths. It is the catalyst or cause of the chemical reaction which allows the formula to permanently alter the hair's color. The strength of the developer - is determined by the desired results and the manufacturer's directions. I recommend using the dedicated developer from the line. Goldwell Topchic and Goldwell Colorance each have dedicated developers.

10 Volume - Color deposit with only slight lightening.
20 Volume - Maximum color deposit as for gray or white hair with lightening
30 Volume - Strong lightening action  and will lift up to three levels of lightness with less color deposit.
40 Volume- Maximum lifting action up to 4 levels of lift
Bleaching Boosters, such as Goldwell blonding creme - can be added to increase lifting action. Consult manufacturer's instructions . Too much developer and the color may not have good highlights, cover poorly, not lift to the correct level and fade more quickly.