Colour advice

[Georgina94x]

I have a client wanting her hair touched up, she doesn't know what was used on her hair she said she looked in a book with a previous stylist and loved it but never noted the colour down all I know is she had it in foils and washed it of herself with her normal shampoo, I'm assuming xp100 because her daughter had her hair done by the same person and that's the brand she used on her, I'm not familiar with that brand so it's a bit of a guessing game on what she had done as she's also saying she didn't have bleach put on then a toner, just wondering if anyone can help. I have attached a photo of what it looked like when the previous stylist done it.

 

[ronray]

I'd say that looks like bleach highlights and like a level 5 lowlight. It's hard to say if there's a base colour, because we can't see the root/scalp area on the picture.
It's then probably been washed with silver shampoo

 

[Georgina94x]

My thoughts exactly but because she's saying it wasn't it's a hard situation. I did highlights in her hair roughly 7 years ago but at first she said it was an all over colour then when I went to do her skin test last night I could tell it was highlights and lowlights that looked like bleach had definitely been used then she admitted she said she had foils but still insisted no toner or silver shampoo, her regrowth is a natural level 6, and if she did have a toner of some sort on it's definitely faded out as she's saying she's feeling quite yellow so I'm thinking she's looked at a colour chart and maybe it was a toner she's chosen, I feel like she doesn't really know or remember what she's asked for previously I'm used to having people knowing what they actually want or have had before.

 

[AcidPerm]

I never ask what a previous colourist has used as you’re never going to know for certain if it’s correct plus it’s likely to have faded by the time you come to re-do the colour. Also, you generally need a different formula for roots as for the previously tinted hair, plus a toner if you’ve used bleach.

Use your own knowledge and experience of your normal colour house to determine your course of action and appropriate formulas. If you’re working mobile, you don’t want to get overwhelmed with buying lots of brands of tint and matching developers. Stick to using brands you know well and adapt as necessary. All the client wants is beautiful hair and if you’re a confident colourist, that’s what you will give them. They really don’t need to know all the finer details and I never offer information on my tint mixes. I make notes in their client records but a client won’t know what’s gone into their ‘caramel blonde’, ‘chocolate brown’, ‘auburn toffee’, etc.

 

[Georgina94x]

Thank you for the advice yeah I'm getting back into it all properly now and it was just mind boggling when she said she had a full head colour then she said she didn't know then i asked if she'd had highlights in and even specifically said foils she said no then when I seen the picture and her in person and asked again what she had done she said she put a load of foils in I knew I was right but it was kind of awkward, specially when she said she wanted "ash brown" then "ash blonde" but also doesn't want white hair or doesn't want to look silver, it baffled my brain to a whole new extent, I don't think I've ever been this confused over hair in my life

 

[AcidPerm]

Yes, we’ve all had clients who say one thing, then the opposite and then want something else entirely.
When I was training, I had a client point to all the blonde highlift tints in the swatch book then whilst the foil highlights were processing, told the tutor she couldn’t wait to see her new brown hair. She never once mentioned wanting her hair changed from bleached blonde to brown!!

I think some clients get flustered because they feel put on the spot when you ask them about what they had done previously and in many cases, they don’t really know but feel embarrassed because they feel they ought to know.

Instead of asking what they’ve had done, start with asking them what are they looking to achieve this time, what they like about their current colour and anything they’d change etc.

 

[Georgina94x]

I've had a few like that in the past but this time round was just a confusing situation, specially when you need to know what service to charge for haha, I had one last week choose a colour I suggested the lighter one but because she seen the word "red" she said no I want it purple but I explained its the same colour you've had just a different brand, she still insisted on the darker one then said she didn't like it at first because it was to dark I know people don't mean to do it but they need to realise if they're adamant they want something going against our advice we can't be to blame entirely, I just want people to be happy and love the end result, thank you so much for your help x