Understand box colour.

Hello Slap Addicts

I was in Boots and I over heard a couple of lovely ladies in their late thirties trying to choose a hair colour. Words like well whats a 5? What does RV mean? Will it lighten my hair?

As usual I had to say something. I can't help it. Just the other day I heard a young girl talking about a possible phone contract. I butt in and told her of a better deal so she ended up declining the offer and checking out the deal I suggested. I'm sure its irritating to some. But maybe for the odd few, I do offer some help.

So back to my two lovely ladies in boots...
They both had dark hair colour already on their hair. One was concerned about greys and one was concerned about damage to her hair.

After offering some advice on what a 5 meant and what was a permanent and what wasn't and a cheeky chat about at home balayage, it got me thinking, BLOG!

I trained as a hair dresser back in 2008. Frankly I hated it and after working in a South African salon for a few months I gave it up came back to England and trained to be a Dental Nurse instead.

As much as I didn't enjoy working in the salon environment I never lost my love for hair and beauty.
My mum and her friends still ask me for a quick trim here, or slap on a colour there.

One of the first things you have to learn when training to be a hairdresser is the colour wheel and how colour actually works. You also learn about Depth and Tone.

So here we go....

Depth is how light or dark your hair is. 10 being very very light blonde and 1 being black. Its around 7 that hair starts to look blonde.

1 Black
2 Very Dark Brown
3 Dark Brown
4 Medium Brown
5 Light Brown
6 Dark Blonde
7 Medium Blonde
8 Light Blonde
9 Very Light Blonde
10 Lightest Blonde


Tone is the shade you see when it hits the light. Think of it like your foundation or eyeshadows, you get warm tones like red and cool tones like blue and green. Tone of hair is like that. You will commonly hear ash - thats cool, neutral and warm - think red and orange tones.

Usually box hair colours will have a number followed by a description or letters.

So you may see 5RV, that is a light brown shade with a red violet tone. It will be quite a red purple brown. The lighter the depth the brighter the tone if choosing a red or purple or even green.

If you see a 7A that will be a blonde with a cool ashy tone.

Thats all well and good but you also need to apply that colour to what ever shade you already have on your hair.

What if you're a bit too red and want to neutralise it?

Thats where the colour wheel and understanding that comes in.

The opposite colour on the colour wheel will counteract and neutralise the opposing shade. So a green tone ( ash shade) will cancel out red tones in the hair. If your blonde hair is looking too yellow you need to find a violet tone to reduce the yellow. Thats why you see a lot of purple shampoos for blonde hair. They help to achieve and maintain platinum blonde shades. 

Now you will have to spend a few minutes maybe with a friend in natural light analysing your hair before you go and purchase a colour. 

I think half of the errors occur when we try to do things in haste. I know I've just looked at a box and thought she looks good i'll have that. I haven't looked at the number system, my own hair or even if its a permanent or semi permanent hair colour. 

SO what does permanent and semi permanent mean?

When colouring your hair its going through a chemical process.

The hair if you are european is made up of 3 essential layers. 

The medulla, the cortex and the cuticle. 

As you can see from the diagram the medulla is the central part of the hair shaft, the cuticle is what you and I can see, its the outside and the cortex in under the cuticle and surrounds the medulla. 

Who knew in that tiny strand of hair was three layers! 

Quick Fact - If you have afro caribbean hair you will not have a medulla. 

When colouring your hair different types of colour penetrate differently. 

A temporary hair colour will come out after a  wash or two. These come in sachets, mouse, chalks and sprays. These will not lighten your hair. They will only deposit colour as they sit on the cuticle. 

Semi permanent colours last between 6- 12 washes. These again have no peroxide or ammonia in them so they will only deposit colour. These will not lighten your hair.  They can be great for adding a tone to your hair but won't be effective in covering grey. 

Demi permanent or Quasi colours. These last between 12-26 washes. These do have a developing agent in them which means they can lighten the hair one shade. I wouldn't assume they will lighten the hair. Some of the colours work differently. Some do penetrate the cuticle whilst other stain it.  They are not as damaging as permanent. These are my colour choice. They will cover grey hair. If you're 50% grey I would choose a permanent instead. Its important to remember that you can get regrowth with these.  Some products claim you won't but from personal experience I know you can. I have brown hair and use these to change the tone of my hair. Within 3 months I feel I need a freshen up. However, I will stretch it up to 6 months as I'm trying not to process my hair.  

Permanent colour. These do what they say in the tin. They can lighten hair a couple of shades but as with all of the above they predominantly deposit colour that penetrates through the cuticle in to the cortex. You will need to grow this colour out. It permanently changes the shade of your hair. If over used you can get colour build up (where is looks really dark on the ends and lighter at the roots) and you can cause damage. These colurs are great for covering grey hair. 

Bleach and highlighting kits. This is what's most tricky to do at home. 

Lightening your hair is a process that can be very unpredictable. 

I have naturally mid brown hair. Most people think it looks quite dark. Put a blob of bleach on and I promise you it goes white in what feels like seconds. My hair lightens very quickly. But some hair takes longer. Also, not everyone's hair will turn white in one application. It takes a lot of skill and patience to achieve platinum hair. I know Kim K says she went from brown to blonde in one go... I don't suggest you try that at home. Seriously, DONT be a plonker. You could seriously damage the hair causing it to break off. 

When you are at the salon the colourist has control over the strength of the solution used. They can analyse your hair and determine how strong they should make the solution. When purchasing a home kit you get what you are given. Another point to remember is that quite often after having some sort of highlights the colourist will apply a toner to the hair to minimise any unsightly tones. I know I've had toners to stop my hair from looking too brassy. If you are bleaching at home the kits you buy will not include a toner. I'm sure you've seen or maybe even had some orange hued highlights? I do remember the boys at school channeling their inner Eminem and sporting a rather bright scalp. 

My advice to everyone is treat your hair with love and caution. 

If you are trying to colour correct take the time to analyse your hair and seek advice. If it seems too complicated then it is! I suggest going to a salon, even if you have to wait a bit longer to save up. 

Messy buns and french twists are great at disguising disasters, or if its really awful maybe get a hat?

Pay attention when applying colour. Always read the manufacturers guidelines and if it says do a skin test... DO A SKIN TEST. 

I hope this was helpful. 

Good luck!