Kirsten gets hair color for the first time!

When Kirsten contacted me and asked me to color treat her hair, I was ecstatic. I was so honored that she trusted me with such a big decision. I asked Kirsten what she was unhappy about with her hair so I could gain a better perspective of what she was looking for. She said she wanted something lighter and shiny: a good starting point for the formulation process. When I already know what a current clients natural hair color looks like, I start formulating immediately. That way, when I do the consultation, I have key questions in mind to make sure that what I am envisioning matches what they want.

The Consultation…

Kirsten arrived promptly for her appointment and I was so excited to get started. One of the most important parts of a consultation is to find out what a person wants and to interpret their vision. When asked what she thought about color on her hair, she answered, "lighter and brighter, and natural looking." I agreed and the next step was to find out if she was warm or cool toned - the wrong color choice wouldn’t look good if I put a warm tone on a person who is a cool tone. Kirsten is definitely a cool tone, so the next step is to determine her natural hair color level with a natural level finder by Redken. I like their color for the natural and shinning cool tone they have when they’re applied properly.

The Formulation…

Knowing Kirsten is a cool tone, I set off to formulate her color. Since Kirsten wanted a color that grows out naturally, we decided a shimmering sun kissed look would be best, so I chose 3 colors for a a tri-dimensional look. The first color was one shade lighter than her natural color, the next shade was two shades lighter, and the last shade was 4 levels lighter than her natural level; this would be a seamless transition during her growth process in the coming weeks. Finally, I added a color enhancer in chrome to give all the colors a very cool finish (As a colorist, I knew that I would be able to compliment the warm tones that would come up during the lightening process. It would be just enough to control those warm tones without loosing the lighter and brighter color that we would be putting into her hair.)

The highlighting process…

I used a highlighting technique with foil that would have a natural result and allow Kirsten’s hair to grow with out a noticeable difference. I carefully placed each foil according to her hair growth pattern. When placing foils in this structure, color will grow out efficiently and look natural during the coming weeks and months. I processed Kirsten’s color in the foils for 45 minutes and followed with a shampoo and conditioning treatment with Moroccan Oil products. When done, a blow dry and style then the big reveal. She loved it! The result was a natural sun kissed look with fabulous shimmer and shine, just enough to be seen without being overwhelming.  See for yourself with the photo above!

Big Sexy Hair products I used in Kirsten's hair

The makeup goodies for Kirsten's new color photoshoot

The final recommendations…

I recommended that Kirsten see me again in 8 weeks for a touch up and another cut to clean up the ends and layers. I had a wonderful time doing Kirsten’s first color treatment and the look on her face when she was done was worth a thousand words.  See Kirsten's thoughts here.

Do you remember one of your client’s first coloring experiences?