Starting college in a week

[Bethanyj94]

Hi

I am just wanting some help before I go into there. I am very anxious as this all seems very daunting and I feel like there’s a lot I am going to have to learn before even trying to get my head around it!

Anyway I have been recommended on open day to enrol on level two hairdressing which I have. This involves colouring and cutting, I have signed up to this due to feeling no direction after leaving school although hair and beauty seems to be my only interest after a year of doing something else did not work out.

I am going to be working with l’oreal it seems and I have a few questions if you don’t mind that I would love to pick your brains about as I am excited to learn and not look silly in with stupid questions. I have been doing some research and the different products has completely blew my mind! So here I go...

Can you bleach on top of coloured hair?
Why do you colour and then cut?
Is it always best to tone hair after colouring?
What to do if something goes wrong?
Can you colour on top of bleached hair?
Do you only tone freshly bleached hair or can you colour it?
Can you mix colours?
How do you get the hang of all the colours and levels?
How do you learn all the processes and ways in a year?

I am so sorry! I am just so scared because I am going into the unknown with this . Hope the questions were not too stupid!

If you have any tips or words of wisdom please share as I am completely bricking it!

Thanks and have a fab day!

 

[ronray]

Hi

I am just wanting some help before I go into there. I am very anxious as this all seems very daunting and I feel like there’s a lot I am going to have to learn before even trying to get my head around it!

Anyway I have been recommended on open day to enrol on level two hairdressing which I have. This involves colouring and cutting, I have signed up to this due to feeling no direction after leaving school although hair and beauty seems to be my only interest after a year of doing something else did not work out.

I am going to be working with l’oreal it seems and I have a few questions if you don’t mind that I would love to pick your brains about as I am excited to learn and not look silly in with stupid questions. I have been doing some research and the different products has completely blew my mind! So here I go...

Can you bleach on top of coloured hair?
Why do you colour and then cut?
Is it always best to tone hair after colouring?
What to do if something goes wrong?
Can you colour on top of bleached hair?
Do you only tone freshly bleached hair or can you colour it?
Can you mix colours?
How do you get the hang of all the colours and levels?
How do you learn all the processes and ways in a year?

I am so sorry! I am just so scared because I am going into the unknown with this . Hope the questions were not too stupid!

If you have any tips or words of wisdom please share as I am completely bricking it!

Thanks and have a fab day!

Bleaching on top of coloured isn't straight forward sometimes, and is often considered a colour correction / removal, but as long as the hair is in good condition there's no reason not to bleach over coloured hair. Unless the hair is coloured with the likes of Henna. Then that's a contraindication(which you'll learn more about on your course).
You colour the hair first, because then you rinse /shampoo etc, cut and blow dry. Imagine how time consuming it would be to shampoo, cut, dry, colour, shampoo and dry again. After all in this industry time is money, so don't waste valuable time taking unnecessary steps.
As a rule you tone hair after lightening or during a colour change to correct the tonal qualities. You wouldn't tone the hair before colouring/lifting it this wouldn't prevent unexpected/unwanted tones.
If something goes wrong with say a colour then I would say, don't panic, take a minute to calm down and collect yourself, refer back to your colour wheel and or lightening curve and go back to the beginning, and work out why it went "wrong" or why you didn't achieve what you were expecting. If its cutting then stop as soon as you've realised you've made a mistake, don't just keep cutting. Again take some time to collect yourself and gather your thoughts, think about how you're going to rectify the problem, how you're going to avoid it in future and also take it on board that that may not be the wrong way of cutting hair, it may just mean it's the wrong technique for the result you're aiming for. You will have plenty of theory, and practical lessons using blocks before your let loose on clients. If you're ever unsure of something or need help during a cut or colour then ask yiur tutor for some help, that's what they are there for.
You can colour over the top of bleached hair, although there is a correct way to do this and an incorrec way to do this. The correct way will often start with a process called prepigmentation (this will be covered in your course).
When toning vs tinting is concerned, it differs from brand to brand, some call it toning only on bases 8+, some call it toning based on the developer strength we use. I personally will always use a lower developer and typically a semi or quasi colour to tone / re colour hair which is what you'll be taught in college.
Mixing colours is something that comes with time spent, knowledge learnt and experience gained. If you're creative this will be something that will interest you. Generally in most brands you can mix any shades within the same range, but not across ranges. So you definitely wouldn't mix L'Oréal with wella. You wouldn't mix L'Oréal majicontrast with L'Oréal INOA. But you coukd mix two shades of majicontrast together, or two shades on INOA together etc..
How you process and retain the colour theory taught to you will determine how or when you will understand how the levels and different processes work. Some students and visual learners so you will learn by watching a tutorial or by someone's else demonstrating the technique, others are more practical learners so, you may not really get the colour wheel or any of the colour theory until you start using colours and can see how it works and that's absolutely fine.
Don't panic, remember you're a beginner, you are there to learn and become a professional. Don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how silly you think it is, no matter how obvious the answer might be, because if you don't you could potentially be stumping your own growth. I guarantee you're not the only person feeling this way about starting and I can 100% guarantee that you won't be the only one with questions in the class room. If you don't understand something don't be afraid to ask for a more in depth explanation, or for a different approach to explaining that section. There's always going to be something that you will understand on the very first go, and then maybe other things that you will not fully understand until years down the line, but that's how learning and evolving works. As long as you're dedicated and enthusiastic you will will love the course I'm sure.
This is a very long message I understand, but I hope I have answered all of your questions, without confusing you further. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[AcidPerm]

In my experience, it’s best to go into knowing nothing and then listening carefully, watching the tutors (and YouTube) and reading the hairdressing textbooks for all the theory underpinning the practical training.

I felt that some of the students who started out knowing some stuff, actually knew less than they thought and made silly mistakes because they hadn’t really paid enough attention when they were supposed to.

The whole point in studying is to open yourself to learning and to enrich your existing knowledge and understanding of something, whatever course you enrol on.

The most important aspect is to enjoy the experience!

 

[Bethanyj94]

In my experience, it’s best to go into knowing nothing and then listening carefully, watching the tutors (and YouTube) and reading the hairdressing textbooks for all the theory underpinning the practical training.

I felt that some of the students who started out knowing some stuff, actually knew less than they thought and made silly mistakes because they hadn’t really paid enough attention when they were supposed to.

The whole point in studying is to open yourself to learning and to enrich your existing knowledge and understanding of something, whatever course you enrol on.

The most important aspect is to enjoy the experience!

Thank you! I am just stressing because I don’t want to look stupid!

 

[Bethanyj94]

Bleaching on top of coloured isn't straight forward sometimes, and is often considered a colour correction / removal, but as long as the hair is in good condition there's no reason not to bleach over coloured hair. Unless the hair is coloured with the likes of Henna. Then that's a contraindication(which you'll learn more about on your course).
You colour the hair first, because then you rinse /shampoo etc, cut and blow dry. Imagine how time consuming it would be to shampoo, cut, dry, colour, shampoo and dry again. After all in this industry time is money, so don't waste valuable time taking unnecessary steps.
As a rule you tone hair after lightening or during a colour change to correct the tonal qualities. You wouldn't tone the hair before colouring/lifting it this wouldn't prevent unexpected/unwanted tones.
If something goes wrong with say a colour then I would say, don't panic, take a minute to calm down and collect yourself, refer back to your colour wheel and or lightening curve and go back to the beginning, and work out why it went "wrong" or why you didn't achieve what you were expecting. If its cutting then stop as soon as you've realised you've made a mistake, don't just keep cutting. Again take some time to collect yourself and gather your thoughts, think about how you're going to rectify the problem, how you're going to avoid it in future and also take it on board that that may not be the wrong way of cutting hair, it may just mean it's the wrong technique for the result you're aiming for. You will have plenty of theory, and practical lessons using blocks before your let loose on clients. If you're ever unsure of something or need help during a cut or colour then ask yiur tutor for some help, that's what they are there for.
You can colour over the top of bleached hair, although there is a correct way to do this and an incorrec way to do this. The correct way will often start with a process called prepigmentation (this will be covered in your course).
When toning vs tinting is concerned, it differs from brand to brand, some call it toning only on bases 8+, some call it toning based on the developer strength we use. I personally will always use a lower developer and typically a semi or quasi colour to tone / re colour hair which is what you'll be taught in college.
Mixing colours is something that comes with time spent, knowledge learnt and experience gained. If you're creative this will be something that will interest you. Generally in most brands you can mix any shades within the same range, but not across ranges. So you definitely wouldn't mix L'Oréal with wella. You wouldn't mix L'Oréal majicontrast with L'Oréal INOA. But you coukd mix two shades of majicontrast together, or two shades on INOA together etc..
How you process and retain the colour theory taught to you will determine how or when you will understand how the levels and different processes work. Some students and visual learners so you will learn by watching a tutorial or by someone's else demonstrating the technique, others are more practical learners so, you may not really get the colour wheel or any of the colour theory until you start using colours and can see how it works and that's absolutely fine.
Don't panic, remember you're a beginner, you are there to learn and become a professional. Don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how silly you think it is, no matter how obvious the answer might be, because if you don't you could potentially be stumping your own growth. I guarantee you're not the only person feeling this way about starting and I can 100% guarantee that you won't be the only one with questions in the class room. If you don't understand something don't be afraid to ask for a more in depth explanation, or for a different approach to explaining that section. There's always going to be something that you will understand on the very first go, and then maybe other things that you will not fully understand until years down the line, but that's how learning and evolving works. As long as you're dedicated and enthusiastic you will will love the course I'm sure.
This is a very long message I understand, but I hope I have answered all of your questions, without confusing you further. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask. Good luck and enjoy!

OMG thank you very much for the time you took to respond to me! I really appreciate your help and guidance. I think this forum is amazing and you’re all very helpful.

Have a lovely day!