aww thanks so much for sharing.i trained years ago and so much has changed.
a fellow geek on here was saying highlifts you have to look at the natural starting base as they lift and tone, so if you coloured a level 7 you would use 12/1 blue ash,Yes???
white hair coloured between 5 and 7 leaves a golden hue, used with 20 vol. then tried 15 vol and 10 vol lower peroxides showed less golden ,but were a bit translucant. my hubbys always goes golden on white areas i mix 5/0 and 6/1 20 vol and lower, still has warmth in. tried /00 there a bit better but still that slight glow in the light, can white hair have hidden pigment in.All clients it happens to were naturally very dark bases.
12/1 - so you're a Wella girl I am guessing?
If you think of a highlift tint as a level 10 tint with a sprinkling of bleach in it (that's not how they're made by the way, but the chemical make-up is very similar) you start understanding them a bit more. So let's call it "10 and half point 1" instead of "12.1" - after all, there is nothing lighter than a base 10, right?
On some clients with a natural level 7 hair you could apply a regular 10.1 and it would be beautiful. On others, it would go 'warm' - yet they both start off with exactly the same undercoat, so therefore, relying on the natural undercoat alone doesn't make sense. You are far better thinking about the undercoat you need to lift to in order to achieve the best results (even with highlift tint) and go from there.
Check the hair type, texture and tenacity for an indication of how difficult it will be to remove the natural underlying pigment and you'll be OK. If you don't do this, you may as well just apply 12/1 to every new level 6 client and hope for the best - never knowing exactly what you'll get ("will it be brassy / will it be OK?"). Some of my colour bills are £200+ so I couldn't get away with that, hence checking the the 3T's (Type, Texture and Tenacity) at the start of the service help me decide if I need to bleach and tone or if a hi-lift tint will be satisfactory.
Everytime I do that though, I am thinking about what it will take to get a pale yellow undercoat and whether I want to enhance or neutralise it when I get there - wherever I'm starting from. Hope that helps a bit.
Regarding the grey/white problem - some people's "white hair" isn't truly white at all. It still contains very small amounts of pheomelanin is some instances (usually in people who previously had very dark hair) and is undetectable to the naked eye. Their eyebrows usually give a clue - do they have the odd dark hair mixed in? If so, the chances are that their hair will contain pheomelanin in small amounts (especially if they are under the age of 65), and this can be oxidised with peroxide and tint. The best way around it is to colour as usual using a double natural base and then around 5 minutes before removal mix an ash colour at the same level with warm water and apply over the top of the colour - it will only be absorbed by the warm pigment and rejected by the artificial hair pigment.
The other things working against you are environmental factors (smoking etc) and one which many people forget - the colour pigments used in shampoo, styling products and conditioners - such as waxes which are yellow in colour, or cream coloured shampoos. These can build up on the hair and produce a 'brassy cast' too.
Hope that helps.
xx
