After being a natural level 7 redhead her entire life, MODERN’s Web Graphic Designer Alisha Kurtz wanted to do something dramatically different with her hair. Alisha started scanning Pinterest boards and Instagram for ideas until she made her final decision—to go violet!
With a little help from Master Colorist and PRAVANA Educator Ashley Berg, Alisha's virgin hair was transformed over the course of eight hours into a dazzling violet with lavender accents. “There is a huge difference between Alisha’s before and after pictures,” says Berg. “My inspiration for Alisha's lavender hair was based upon her desired results. She came to me knowing that she wanted some lavender in her hair and was open to whatever other suggestions I had.”
Alisha and Ashley Berg before Alisha's transformation!
As you can see in the slideshow (below), Berg spent a majority of the process lightening Alisha’s hair. “Alisha is someone who was blessed with very thick hair, so when all was said and done, we ended up putting about 120 foils in her hair our first round!” she says.
Berg’s desired result was to lift some strands to a level 7 and other strands to a level 10. After this was achieved, she applied a customized violet and lavender mixture to all the pre-lightened hair. "At the same time I was lightening her hair, I applied her base color which melted into the pre-lightened pieces."
Berg adds, “This is an industry where we meet new people on a daily basis and we have to remember to keep our minds open and be as creative and accommodating as possible to our clients. Our passion for what we do translates through our color brushes, our shears, our round brushes, etc. Often times you hear clients say they tried to go home and replicate what we did, but they couldn't get it as perfect as we do. As beauty professionals, we always add our extra special finishing touch that only we have. I have become known as the girl with the purple hair and it’s a nickname I am very proud of! Having violet hair has become my signature trademark and I cannot picture having anything else! I always tell everyone to live life beautifully, so why not live life colorfully beautiful!?”
HAIRCUT:
STEP 1: Alisha's previous haircut had no layers and was pretty long. Berg decided to cut off approximately three inches and blended in long layers to help give her final haircut more body and fullness.
PREP:
STEP 2: Berg sprayed PRAVANA NEVO Intense Therapy Leave-in Treatment on Alisha’s hair before the coloring process. "You can use this product before, during or after a color service," says Berg. "I used it on every section of Alisha's hair, especially where I was using lightener. I wanted to keep the hair conditioned while coloring it at the base and de-colorizing it at the ends. The Intense Therapy helps keep the hair conditioned and will not dilute the color or lightener when either of them are on the hair."
APPLYING BASE COLOR AND LIGHTENING:
STEP 3: Berg applied a barrier cream around Alisha's hairline and on her ear so the haircolor wouldn't stain her skin. "I use PRAVANA Detail Shine and Define Wax to help prevent color staining on any of my client's foreheads. It is also a product you can use to smooth any flyaways in the hair," she says.
STEP 4: Berg applied the base color (see step 5) on the top five inches of Alisha's hair and melts it into the lightened pieces on the ends. Berg wanted to make sure she kept the lightened pieces in foil so they could oxidize properly. "I made sure not to fold the foils because I did not want to cause a bend in the hair,” she says.
STEP 5: "I went through and applied Alisha's base color with equal parts of PRAVANA Chromasilk level 5 Violet (5.7 or 5V) and also PRAVANA Chromasilk level 6 mahogany (6.5 or 6M) with 10 volume developer. I processed the base color with 10 volume developer, as well as, her ends with lightener at the same time. Since I had to lighten Alisha's existing color I used two different formulas for my lightener. My first formula was done with PRAVANA Pure Light Power Lightener and 20 volume. My second formula was Pure Light Power Lightener and 40 volume developer. Since we were going for an ombre look with a deep base color blended into violet with accents of lavender throughout, we had to lighten the ends of her hair to a level 7, while the lavender pieces had to be lifted to a level 10."
STEP 6: Alisha’s base color processed for 30 minutes. The pieces of hair with the PRAVANA Pure Light Power Lightener varied. After Berg saw the desired blonde tones, Berg washed everything out, then blow dried.
STEP 7: After the initial round of lightening, Berg decided to go back in and pick out the pieces she planned on putting lavender color on. “I had to lighten them again in order to obtain a very clean level 10.”
STEP 8: After the pieces reached their desired lightness, Alisha’s hair was shampooed and dried again.
STEP 9: Berg then created a customized violet and lavender mixture. This included: PRAVANA Pastel Luscious Lavender, Pastel Mystical Mint, a touch of Violet Vivids, and a lot of clear. "Any time you are mixing PRAVANA colors together, it is very important to remember they must go on clean, dry, pre-lightened hair and are never mixed with developer. They process at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. It's also very important to keep in mind when diluting any PRAVANA Vivid tones down, Vivids clear is your go to! Since Vivids are direct dyes and pure pigments, a small amount of color to a big amount of clear goes a long way."
STEP 10: Berg applied the violet mixture to the hair and also picked out the random pieces to make lighter. "The violet mixture processed while I did further lightening on the lavender pieces. After the 30 minutes we rinsed and shampooed the entire head. After that we dried the hair completely and I put the lavender mixture on last," she says.
STEP 11: Berg then styled her hair with a 1-inch wand and sprayed PRAVANA NEVO Manipulator Mist on each section before curling. PRAVANA NEVO Lived-In Powder Potion was used at her roots for volume. The style was finished with PRAVANA NEVO Super Shape hairspray and PRAVANA NEVO Model Behavior.
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