The "Please Help My Hair" Journey From Box To Pro Perfection

"I am very proud of the work I did on my client, Trisha," says Anna Fredericks (@annastuartstyle) of Regis Salon in Horseheads, New York. "Trisha came in to the salon very disappointed with the texture and overall look of her hair. She had been using store bought color for over 10 years and was finally fed up with how much maintenance it was to upkeep her platinum blonde style. She was showing me how damaged and brittle her hair was and looked so discouraged with herself for letting it get that way. Trisha looked me straight in the eyes and said 'Please, please help my hair! I can't look at it one more minute!' I thought she was going to start to cry. With my hands on her shoulders looking at our reflection in the mirror, I said to her with a big warm smile 'Trisha, I will do my very best to help your hair.' I could feel her breathing a sigh of relief. Her trust was now in my hands."

Fredericks began with a strand test "to see what I was going to be working with. I let her process for the appropriate time and noticed her hair was just fine to start applying the filler color. She processed and I washed her out giving her a good head massage to keep her relaxed. I take her back to my station and remove the towel. She sees that it is orange and says  'Even though this is a hideous shade of orange, it already looks better!'

"The next step is the important part that my client is relying heavily on me for. During our consultation I took out a few swatches of haircolor and quickly found 2 shades that, when mixed together, would be very close to her natural hair color.  I also kept in mind what the filler color would turn out to be. I applied the final color and chatted with Trisha some more while she processed. She was growing very nervous and excited to see the outcome. I took her back to wash her out, this time focusing on a deep conditioning treatment. I finished up and took her back to my station again. This time, I turned the chair away from the mirror so she couldn't see her hair. I removed the towel, added some smoothing serum and proceeded to rake the product through her hair. I inspected her hair and loved what it looked like wet. I began to dry her and noticed she was trying to peek and see her hair. I told her be a little more patient as I wanted to show her new look when I was done. She agreed and let me continue. I finished drying her and then quickly added some curls at the end. I sprayed her with some hairspray and asked her if she's ready to see what I did. She, without hesitation, says 'YES!' I turned her around and she was shocked. She got up and stared at herself in the mirror. She was smiling and playing with her hair. Before I could ask her if she liked it, she says to me 'Oh, I love what you did! My hair feels so soft! Thank you so, so much!' It's moments like this that make me strive to be the best stylist I can be!"

Here Fredericks shares the details for the HOW TO:

Step 1: Using all Matrix ColorSync, fill the hair with 6RC.

Step 2: The final color: 3/4oz of 4A and 1/4oz of 4NW with 10 volume. "Her hair was thick and long so I had to double the formula."

"The process took exactly 4 hours from consultation to the curling the last section of hair."