Root smudge help

[Nicola456]

Hi everyone. I’m a newly qualified level 2 hairdresser and am after a bit of advice on root smudges.

I work with wella colour. I have used colour touch 2 parts 7/1 + one part 5/1 with 1.9% on a base 7 over level 10 highlights and it turned out beautifully, very similar to the natural colour and blended seamlessly with the highlights. I have also used that formula with less 5/1 on a base 8 over level 10 highlights and again turned out beautifully.

However... I didn’t have any colour touch in those shades so decided to use the same mix but with koleston and pastel developer. To my horror it left a band of green over the highlights can someone please explain why this didn’t happen with CT but happened with KP. After reading through other posts I understand 8/71 + 6/71 seem to be a safer option, can anyone suggest anything else for this situation?

Thank you!

 

[ronray]

Hi everyone. I’m a newly qualified level 2 hairdresser and am after a bit of advice on root smudges.

I work with wella colour. I have used colour touch 2 parts 7/1 + one part 5/1 with 1.9% on a base 7 over level 10 highlights and it turned out beautifully, very similar to the natural colour and blended seamlessly with the highlights. I have also used that formula with less 5/1 on a base 8 over level 10 highlights and again turned out beautifully.

However... I didn’t have any colour touch in those shades so decided to use the same mix but with koleston and pastel developer. To my horror it left a band of green over the highlights can someone please explain why this didn’t happen with CT but happened with KP. After reading through other posts I understand 8/71 + 6/71 seem to be a safer option, can anyone suggest anything else for this situation?

Thank you!

The coverage you get with Koleston vs colour touch are different. With Koleston you get definate coverage and it kind of just spills all its tones out as soon as it starts oxidising giving you an opaque green. Colour touch has a softer way down f delivering colour and just lays tone gently beneath the surface giving you a translucent coverage leaving you with a flat tone, not necessarily green to the eye. Then gloss' or strue semi toners or toning shampoo is even more delicate and it lays a small amount of tone on the surface of the hair giving a transparent coverage. As for fixing this, go over the top now with CT 7/7 with 1.9% and this will leave you with a very natural ash tone, probably close to what you achieved the very first time. It's not very often people get away with applying ash (green) tints to prelightened hair. If I was to do this in the future I'd consider having violet in your formula. Or using 8/71 etc as you mentioned above.

 

[Nicola456]

The coverage you get with Koleston vs colour touch are different. With Koleston you get definate coverage and it kind of just spills all its tones out as soon as it starts oxidising giving you an opaque green. Colour touch has a softer way down f delivering colour and just lays tone gently beneath the surface giving you a translucent coverage leaving you with a flat tone, not necessarily green to the eye. Then gloss' or strue semi toners or toning shampoo is even more delicate and it lays a small amount of tone on the surface of the hair giving a transparent coverage. As for fixing this, go over the top now with CT 7/7 with 1.9% and this will leave you with a very natural ash tone, probably close to what you achieved the very first time. It's not very often people get away with applying ash (green) tints to prelightened hair. If I was to do this in the future I'd consider having violet in your formula. Or using 8/71 etc as you mentioned above.

Thanks so much for your reply, makes much more sense now. I ended up going over it with 7/0 + 7/3 in a mad panic thinking that the gold needed to be put back in the hair which helped, but there was still a green hue left over. The science confuses me slightly, how does having violet in the formula help?

 

[ronray]

Thanks so much for your reply, makes much more sense now. I ended up going over it with 7/0 + 7/3 in a mad panic thinking that the gold needed to be put back in the hair which helped, but there was still a green hue left over. The science confuses me slightly, how does having violet in the formula help?

Violet neutralises any yellow which will then give you a more natural, truer ash tone. It spares you the khaki hues.

 

[Nicola456]

Violet neutralises any yellow which will then give you a more natural, truer ash tone. It spares you the khaki hues.

Of course! I almost always use a violet toner for level 10 so makes sense to use violet when going darker. Would 7/96 + 8/71 or 7/96 + 6/71 (for more depth) work? Thank you!

 

[ronray]

Of course! I almost always use a violet toner for level 10 so makes sense to use violet when going darker. Would 7/96 + 8/71 or 7/96 + 6/71 (for more depth) work? Thank you!

Exactly! Yes they will work fine. 8/71 is very nice as it still adds warmth which is what you need when going darker same applies with 6/71 obviously, but it doesn't leave the hair warm, it's almost like prepigging and depositing 6/1 at the same time.

 

[ronray]

Of course! I almost always use a violet toner for level 10 so makes sense to use violet when going darker. Would 7/96 + 8/71 or 7/96 + 6/71 (for more depth) work? Thank you!

Exactly! Yes they will work fine. 8/71 is very nice as it still adds warmth which is what you need when going darker same applies with 6/71 obviously, but it doesn't leave the hair warm, it's almost like prepigging and depositing 6/1 at the same time.

 

[Nicola456]

Exactly! Yes they will work fine. 8/71 is very nice as it still adds warmth which is what you need when going darker same applies with 6/71 obviously, but it doesn't leave the hair warm, it's almost like prepigging and depositing 6/1 at the same time.

Thank you so much for your help, it’s all a lot clearer now!