5 Things That Hairstylists Forget (And REALLY Need to Remember)

 Every day I see so many customers come in who are all at different places in their careers. Some people are super slammed, crazy busy, and booked out for two months. Then you get the people who haven't done hair professionally for 14 years but need help formulating for their new friend who wants to go (my least favorite word) "mahogany". And then there is everyone in between. I have come to realize that no matter where each stylist is at in their career, there are so many key things that people either forget or do not know about in this industry. Here is a list!

 

 

1. Color CAN NOT lift color. I don’t care who you are, what level peroxide you use, or what color line you use….. It is impossible for hair color to lift through previously colored hair. The only thing you can do when putting color over color is darken, deepen or add shine or intensity. This goes for hi-lift colors as well. Color has already been deposited and melanin is in place. The only way to get it lifted (lighter) is to use a lightener (bleach) or color remover.
2. "Color Safe" does not mean anything. No hair color is going to last forever. The sun, water, and free radicals will take their toll on your freshly colored locks. The only way to extend the life of your color is to shampoo as little as possible and use a sulfate free shampoo. If the ingredients list Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate, you are using a detergent that is used in auto degreaser and carpet cleaner…. Ponder on that. Do your research though, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate look similar but are COMPLETELY different! (I am planning a big blog post about sulfates!)
3. Dandruff vs. Dry Scalp. They could not be any more different. Too many stylist over recommend dandruff shampoos. Most people just suffer from dry flaky scalp where as the Pyrithione zinc in dandruff shampoos is actually an anti fungal agent that will do nothing for their dry scalp or possibly make it even more angry! I have also seen some people recommend purifying or chelating shampoos. These will just throw off the skins PH balance and possibly make it worse as well. This is defiantly a future topic to discuss but I would suggest some essential oils or Framesi's Dry scalp fluid and shampoo.
4. Mixing a Demi or Semi permanent hair color with anything other than the recommended volume peroxide will not make it "More Permanent". The deciding factor for hair color to be permanent or not is in the actual tube or bottle of color itself. If there is ammonia (or a derivative, usually MEA) in the actual color, when mixed with a peroxide the ammoniated color is able to penetrate the hair shaft and alter the melanin inside. Anything that happens in there is "Permanent". Demi or Semi permanent colors hang out on the cuticle or penetrate just a tinsy bit, but due to the lack of ammonia, even if you mix it with 30 volume, its not going to do magical things and break the law of hair color. 
5. Unless you are cooking a turkey or doing a keratin/smoothing treatment, NO ONE should be setting their flat iron to 450 degrees. That is just crazy talk. I straighten my afro at 390 and even that is pushing it! A setting that high is just melting your ends, frying your hair color right on out and most likely burning your fingers. If you have to use a glove to protect your hands…. You probably shouldn’t be putting it in your hair.