Darken your blonde

by Hair's How

Tips for easy transition
The road from blonde to brunette can be fraught with danger, so learn from the best: Beth Minardi, internationally acclaimed color expert, color director, and co-owner of Minardi Salon in New York City, and Mia Liguori McHugh, international color artist and director of product development for Scruples, give you the business.

Sometimes a woman may have been coloring her hair blonde for so many years that one day she wakes up, looks in the mirror and sees that something is wrong. Or maybe it´s a change of seasons as many blondes decide to go darker when the weather gets a little colder. Or maybe she sees her natural roots popping out yet again. Then she sees that many celebrity blonde beauties have gone brown: Jessica Simpson, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, Lindsay Lohan and many more. And she thinks, “I´m doing it!” That´s the extent of the thought that lands her in your chair saying, “Take me back natural,” or “Color me brown!” That´s where you come in. You have to do the thinking for her, after all, you´re the professional, right?

Most of these clients are not natural blondes — they are color-treated blondes, so actually many things along the way to becoming a brunette can go wrong. You must tread carefully with this client. But first things, first: Does she really want it? Because once it´s done there´s no easy way back. “I like to ask ‘who else has to like your hair?´ before I do anything. That´s when you find out that the boyfriend likes brunettes or only long hair. Or that her mother will kill her if she´s got dark hair,” advises Beth Minardi. “After all, you as the stylist, want everyone who comes in contact with this client to say ‘Oh, I just love your hair´ not ‘Oh my God, what did you do to your hair?´” So listen first.

Then look at the material you will be working with. How frazzled is it? The more beat-up or damaged your client´s hair, the longer the transition to brunette should be for the health of her hair. “Sometimes, you have to say ‘no,´ because if her hair´s totally burnt, it won´t hold the color and if you sense she doesn´t really want to do it, she won´t (or someone won´t) like the outcome. In either case, it only makes the hair stylist look bad and your ultimate goal is to keep your clients happy, beautiful and coming back!” counsels Minardi. Once you and your client have decided to go for it — and that you can do a good job — read on to be sure you avoid the pitfalls that could ruin your work with these master colorist do´s and don´ts for a beautiful brunette!

“Don´t ever put brown dye on color-treated blonde hair!”

All color experts agree: The all-important first step in taking a client successfully from blonde to brunette is to understand that color-treated blonde hair has been chemically ‘stripped´ of its natural golden and reddish tones, so there is nothing for new color to hold on to. Ever seen the women with ‘greenish´ hair? That´s the un-trained colorist (whether at home or in the salon) who put straight brown dye on blonde, color-treated hair. Without replacing the missing reddish pigment first, you´ll just get green, cautions Minardi. It´s the foundation of a true, beautiful brunette color. “That´s how we came up with Scruples´ new formula, Blazing Low Lights — it´s the only color formula with the filler built-in so you can color in one step instead of the two or more most colorists perform,” explains Mia Liguori McHugh. Try it if you´re nervous about replacing the pigment on your own and if you´re worried about hair porosity, you can choose a demi-permanent or a permanent developer with it depending on the health of your client´s hair.

“Do use low-lights to take a natural blonde gradually darker”

Natural blonde hair quality is much better than color-treated hair, so the color will lie more evenly. Usually, re-pigmentation is not necessary and all you need is a great low-lighting technique. “The blond hairs are your client´s long-time best friends so I always keep them in while using lowlighting to take her blonde a few shades darker. I use non-ammonia, demi-permanent color and I put the darker pieces in foil around the nape, above each ear, in smaller sections spreading further apart as I work my way around her head (but not so much around the face where you want to keep some lightness). This puts in natural gold and honey tones that enrich and deepen a blonde´s natural hair. I love using Wella Color Touch and TiGi Sheer Radiance for placing low lights in blonde hair as these products do a great job of building tone into the strands you select,” explains Minardi

“Do keep an eye on skin tone, eye color, eyelashes and brows!”

All of the above play a large role in how your brunette creation will turn out. Go too dark and your client will just look pale and washed-out, plus she´ll be shocked, so be careful, advise both colorists. McHugh uses a client ‘self-tour´ process to help her clients see how the color tones affect her face shape, eye color, skin tone, personality, and hair cut. “Many of my clients have three to six colors of low lights to bring an array of tones for a more natural transition. And I can visually change the shape of her face and accentuate features depending on where I put the colors. I can place the colors I put the colors. I can place the colors boldly or very subtly depending on her personality. If hair is thick or curly I change how thick the slices are,” explains McHugh. You can also use nature as a guide, adds Minardi. “I look at each strand of hair and decide, based on the shape of the head, how I will either weave or slice a low light. Not all strands are painted ‘root to end´ because in nature hair does not present a uniform depth from root to ends. Natural hair is usually a bit deeper at the root and a bit lighter at the end of the hair shaft.”

“Don´t use permanent dyes on fried hair!”

The more damaged the hair, the more you should stay away from ammonia which results in alkaline-based permanent dyes, advises Beth. “They will literally melt your client´s already-compromised hair, so tread lightly. My best results are achieved with an acidbased, demi-permanent color solution because it is gentler on the hair. I love my Shades EQ for this reason. And healthier, shiny hair makes a more gorgeous brunette!”

“Do sneak in the change gradually!”

The best way to test the waters on whether your blonde client truly wants to go brown is to take it slowly. At Minardi Salon, they specialize in a color transition where the change happens gradually, over a period of three months. This way your client is not shocked by her dark hair, pale skin or un-matching eyelashes and eyebrows. “What I like to do with my blonde clients is to provide medium and dark blonde low lights in her blonde base on the first visit. This will make the blonde shade look a bit darker, but without frightening her, her family, or her co-workers! During the next re-touch, I weave in dark blonde plus light brown low lights for another subtle darkening. On her third visit, if she loves it and gets a great response from family and friends and she still wants to darken further, I weave in brown low lights so the hair color is even more deepened. We are just gradually ‘sneaking in´ the deeper strands. On the fourth month, we can heavily low light and glaze the hair to a final brown shade even though I always leave in a few golden pieces. This way, she´ll only look “a little” different each time but not so different she doesn´t recognize herself! This is also the healthiest way to take blonde hair brunette successfully,” explains Minardi.

“Don´t play mind games”

Women and their hair play a constant mind-game. You just never want to do something so terribly drastic that you can´t fix it if she absolutely hates her choice! Tell it like it is and use your client´s hair health as a guide in the product formula and process you will use to try to satisfy her urge toward brunette. As a stylist, you have to do what you know you can control and you need to guide your client in what is healthiest for her hair, advises Minardi. That´s your job!

“Do beware the 3-headed woman: blonde, gray and her original hair color”

Another variation on this beast is the woman who just demands to go from blonde to brunette in one visit. This presents a challenge worthy of the master colorist, cautions Minardi. “First, I treat any gray at the root. Simultaneously, I will stain the hair shaft with the missing pigment using a no-lift color like Shades EQ. Here´s my ‘triple glaze´ invention that I teach in my color classes because it yields such a gorgeous, shiny, healthy head of brown hair: I stain the hair first with golden orange/red, second with redbrown/ beige and finally with the brown shade. It takes about one hour and 45 minutes because each glaze needs to be washed, rinsed and dried before the next is applied. But, since it´s in an acid base, I am not damaging her hair more and I am unifying the three different heads into a healthier one!”

“Don´t neglect the cut”

Both colorists agree that cut is a key component in deciding color placement. “This brunette color trend is really fun!” says Minardi, “I think the trend represents a return to romanticism: Soft, loose waves. Long, wavy layers. Nothing flat or geometric.” McHugh agrees adding, “and glamour is back...with a vengeance!”

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