Medium apricot blonde wanting to go medium natural blonde

[donatas]

First of all I am only a student so please bare with me. At my school we are learning color with Clairol and their numbering system is very odd, here goes:

1 - BLACK
2 - DARK BROWN
3 - MEDIUM BROWN
4 - LIGHT BROWN
5 - LIGHTEST BROWN
6 - DARK BLONDE
7 - MEDIUM BLONDE
8 - LIGHT BLONDE
9 - VERY LIGHT BLONDE
10 - LIGHTEST BLONDE (HIGH - LIFT)

My girlfriend decided she wanted a natural reddish blonde. She is naturally a level 5N but with a VERY strong underlying orange base (unusual huh?)

My formulation:

1/2 an ounce of Miss Clairol 73RG (orange-gold based dark apricot blonde)
1/2 and ounce of Miss Clairol 71RG (orange-gold based light apricot blonde)
of course this made medium apricot blonde

I processed this on her virgin hair with 20 volume developer for 45 minutes for maximum lightening as her hair is very resistant. The color came out absolutely gorgeous, the exact shade we were aiming for but she is not as satisfied with red hair as she thought she would be. She's wanting a medium natural blonde color now. With the orange tones this is probably going to be impossible. Maybe I could tone her back to a 7NG. Here's the formula I'm thinking of using:

Miss Clairol 42D (green based medium ash blonde)

I'm thinking or processing this with 10 volume developer for at least 15 minutes or until all the orange has been toned out. I'm hoping that this will achive a 7NG. But what worries me is that the strong ash base in this formulation is going to make her hair one shade darker. Should I consider using a level 8? Clairol doesn't manufacture a level 8 green though? I'm afraid if I use a blue based as it is only going to soften the red, not completely get rid of it. Any advice from anyone who is experienced with Clairol's line? For those of you who aren't here's a link to their online swatch book.

Miss Clairol Swatches

I'd very much appreciate fead back from experienced hairdressers who are familiar with Clairol's coloring produts although I'm sure that most people out there aren't

 

[liana kay]

i havent used clairol but your theory sounds good . can you mix the blue 8 and the green 7 together? i think that you need the green . if its too dark you could always hi lite it a little

 

[minky]

Hi donatas , you could do a few test pieces first mixing the different shades ,
you could also try the two different strengths of peroxide on the some of the test pieces ,
then she can see what colour shade she prefers

 

[donatas]

OK but I'm still nervous about the strong ash base darkening the color, maybe I should use a level 8?

 

[minky]

OK but I'm still nervous about the strong ash base darkening the color, maybe I should use a level 8?

Test piece them with the level 8 too
and see what is best
it will take all the guess work out of it
hth :hug:

 

[donatas]

OK I mixed the Miss Clairol 42D Moon Gold with 24D Soft Mist (a blue-violet based light blond) and her hair came out a perfect 7N with gold tones. Thanks guys.

 

[minky]

Hi, donatos thank you for the Miss Clairol swatches they look really nice actually
and I love the names of them

I think I remember using these a long time ago
do they sort of mix up to a gel when you add the developer ?

Miss Clairol Swatches

I was just looking at the colours you used

glad it all went ok for you :hug:

 

[donatas]

It mixes up as a gel when you mix it with Clairoxide, when mixed with Pure White it makes a runny creme (I just use it with Clairoxide there isn't really that much difference in the consistency either way). Needless to say you'll have a hard time doing foils with this, it's best for just an old fashioned full head application.

It's a shame they don't make a thicker formula for high-lights, there are so many great shades in this line. There are 62 shades total I think and you can whip up any color known to man with them.

 

[minky]

Ahh yes
they seem to be the ones I remember using ,
but I think they came in small glass bottles with
lined ridges on the back of them and a little metal cap
I remember they used a lot of the apricot and the lighter arctic and wheat ones too
plus the darkest black ones for certain clients as it really is a good strong black if I remember correctly

pity they havent made a thickener for them yet :hug:

 

[donatas]

It's been around for forever and ever and ever, my mom's hairdresser was trained with this back in the 60s and she says they haven't messed around with the formulations too much since then. Besides Wella Color Charm I think it's the only line that still includes TRUE green based ashes. These are a boon for dark haired clients. I used the 32D on my sister's hair (naturally 4G) once and it came out a perfect dark bronze blonde like Madonna's hair during her "Ray of Light" phase. You just can't do this with lines like Paul Mitchell, Redken, Goldwell or what not, they're ashes just aren't that drab. I guess nowadays many people consider ash a really drab beige.