Cassandra color correction extraveganza

So to start my week, we had a beautiful young girl come in with a color gone awry. She had gone into a shop she had been offered a discount to take her ombre-blonde hair SLIGHTLY darker. This is not what happened.  Her previous hairdresser had taken a darker color, applied all over to the mid section of her hair, then combed the color through to almost her ends to keep her "ombre" effect. In a case where the client wanted a significant color change, this would have been a good method to use. However, for this particular situation, the client wanted to incorporate more of her natural light brown hair into her blonde hair. Had she come to me originally asking to go slightly darker, I would've foiled in some low lights, but not all hair dressers are created equal. I contemplated foiling through her fresh dark hair to bring back some blonde, when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Because her hair was still fresh with color, I could probably extract most of it with Pravana's Color Extractor Kit. Below is how my journey went.

Step One: Color Extractor

If you've never used Pravana's color extractor kit, you have not lived. This is the ULTIMATE product when a color process doesn't quite go the way you planned. There are a few other products on the market advertised to have similar results as the Pravana set does, but just like hair dressers, not all products are created equal. 

The Pravana Color Extractor Kit is designed to strip artificial hair color without causing the damage that bleach does. It typically works better the fresher the color is, but its always a good first step to try before a bleach bath. The kit comes in three steps, they are all labeled. 

First, you want to shampoo the hair, I used Purelogy Hydrate Shampoo.

Now that the hair is clean and damp, you'll want to mix equal parts of step one and step two in a color bowl together, and with a color brush, apply the product all over the head at the shampoo bowl. Be aware of the scalp, as it tends to strip lighter than the mid sections will. After I applied the product, I capped her and sat her under the dryer for 20 minutes. Then I brought her back to the bowl and rinsed her thoroughly for 3 minutes, then using the Clarifying Shampoo that comes in the kit, I washed her for 5 minutes, I did these two steps a total of 3 times, after the 3rd, I applied straight 20 volume developer to her hair to prevent her hair from oxidizing over night and her hair going back to dark. I did this for about 3 to 5 minutes then rinsed. After washing Cassandra one more time with the Pureolgy Hydrate shampoo and conditioner, I brought her back to the chair and blow dried her, hoping for a miracle. 

Lucky for me, Cassandra was in love with the new base color I was able to give her with just one application of the color extractor. If you are not so lucky with your results, you can follow the same steps listed above for 3 applications; so don't lose hope if the 1st isn't perfect,

Now, being the perfectionist that I am, I wasn't completely satisfied with the overall look. The new base color was gorgeous, it reminded me of the color Blake Lively had when she was that strawberry blonde. I just felt like she was still lacking some dimension, some pop. We were on a tight schedule so I asked her to come back later in the week so I could add some more blonde, and she was all for it.

Step Two: Perfect

She came in and I did a full foil using the ombre- back combing method, to create a beautiful diffused ombre with NO harsh lines. I used Redken Flashlift bleach with 40 volume developer and lifted her to a natural golden blonde. It turned out amazing, and she couldn't stop repeating, "This is better than I could've imagined." And in that moment, I felt a wave of satisfaction. I dolled her up with big, loose curls and sent her on her happy way. It was definitely a good week.