Thursday 24 March 2011

Going Blonde - just like magic???

"I'd like to go blonde please" is a request I hear many times from clients. They think I can wave a magic wand and when I explain it's simply not easy to do (near on impossible) they seem to think my skills aren't "up to it"

I am so {SO} pleased to see that Katie Price addressed this issue beautifully on her latest show Katie on Sky Living. Watching late last night on catch up -as we call it- (sky plus) I could have squealed with delight (but there was a snoozy husband beside me) as I could see that the story unfolding in front of me was one which would do the hairdressing industry endless favours.

A massive icon such as Katie Price is well known for her utter devotion to image (I know it is her job but nevertheless) and she was definitely a woman with a bee in her bonnet wanting to change her hair colour from black to blonde.

Stylists would tell clients, this cannot be done in one go. For me, I have recommended to clients that they start with a few highlights and they will look kind of orange and build up and up until after a few months (if they visit the salon every 6 weeks) they will start to see some blonde resemblance. This is not an exaggeration or a lack of skill. It's Science!!!

Bleach lifts colour out of hair.
Tint adds colour to hair.
Black is tint.
So everytime you top up your roots with black and think "I'll just pass that through the ends for a nice bit of shine" you are adding another layer into the core of the hair. Consequently, the bleach will need to remove those layers of colour that months and months of tinting have added.

Katie showed her hair at various stages and you could clearly see a rainbow type effect from root to end of the hair as the several applications of bleach were beginning to strip the colour out.
Needless to say she was using TOP salon experts for this and they were obviously and expectantly struggling. It's an impossible task-really-not one that can be achieved in normal circumstances within the couple of weeks that Katie managed to achieve it.
I think I recall that it took 19 hours of bleaching and while Katie was training for the marathon she confessed that her natural hair was a combination of cotton wool and chewing gum now. This is what happens when you loose the condition of the hair and by using back combing and heat treatment on the hair for her photo shoots she will do well to get her experts to use the best conditioning treatments on the hair. Breakage will happen and there will end up more extensions than anything.
After trips to LA to have more colour correction and extensions added for more blonde colour (plus lots of hat wearing while avoiding the paps) you could clearly see that Katie was 100% committed to the cause of changing hair colour.

It also cost her over $11,000

Why?

Because the products used are expensive, and the skill and expertise of the stylists comes at a price. Often people complain that it's expensive to get your hair done. Have you tried doing it yourself? :o) I have seen the result of people who try it at home.
We goto college for years and continue to learn constantly and this truly is a skill that takes much practise.


Your hair is the outfit you never take off.
Invest in it, look after it and just think before you decide to dye it from blonde to dark! Going back is not quite so easy.......Katie spent lots of money, loads of time (had to laugh at Gary saying he was exhausted after spending hours in the salon watching her - tho his hair was a fantastic cut! WHO did that?) and she was very very patient indeed. I must say, in this latest photo, her look works fabulously!
I LOVE IT

So, Katie; it was all worth it and thank you for educating people that these things are not achieved easily, no matter how much money, where you fly, the best experts you can give to this delicate operation! But I love this colour!

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2 comments

  1. Very well written, I remember when i first met you and my hair was totally black i hated it as it was in such bad condition, well now with all your help and expertise i absolutely love my hair and it's very healthy, so it does pay to wait and listen to those that know best.
    Barbara x

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  2. Thank you so much for this lovely comment! We have come a long way x

    ReplyDelete

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