10 Years of Black Box Color to Beautiful Blonde

Haley Garber (@beautybyhaleygarber), an upstyle specialist and a member of the MODERN SALON Artist Connective, is known for her elegant updos, intricate braids, and pretty pastels.  But in a recent post on Instagram, she shared some of her nitty-gritty haircolor work. 

"Taking a step away from my styles today for something geared for my color people," Garber says. "Mindee (my client) first came to me in May 2017. She found me from a photo of some vivids I had done online. She had been using black box color for 10 years and her hair was very dull and flat, and prone to damage when she first came in."

 Garber says her client, thankfully, was very realistic  and knew she wouldn't go from box to blonde in one sitting. 

"We did three rounds of color remover that first day and brought her one shade lighter. I’m pretty sure she was with me for about five hours that day. She’s been very consistent with coming to see me every 6-8 weeks and each time she brought a photo of a slightly lighter hair color. Which meant each session we went a little heavier with the balayage."

Here is the process this patient--and very professional--hairdresser took to get her client to her desired shade:

PRODUCTS: Lightened with Trionics Haircare, Scruples, Pravana and styled with AG Hair

FIRST VISIT:  "I used the Pravana Color Extractor 3 times, rinsing each time with a 10vol rinse to ensure that the color molecules wouldn't revert back. I then used  Pravana 7.3 all over, keeping in mind it would drop at least 2 levels on her hair given how porous it was. We ended with an all over 5.3 that day. She was with me for about 5 hours."

SECOND VISIT: "We began to do root coverage with 5.3 and balayage with 20vol. Toning with Pravana Violet and a dot of Moody Blue for a rich caramel color."

THIRD VISIT: "We did root coverage with 6.3, a heavier balayage with 20vol again."

FOURTH VISIT: "We did root coverage with 7.3 and a heavier balayage with 20vol."

FIFTH VISIT: "Since with each visit she brought me a photo of a lighter and lighter blonde, by her fifth visit we did a very heavy balayage with Scruples Lightener and Trionics Lift Thru. Toned with Pravana Ash and Beige."

SIXTH VISIT: "We did the same (no root color, all over blonding) and hit her target color. Same toning formula. Since then it has been root touchups!"

END RESULT: "Her hair is healthy, strong, soft, and BLONDE. Blonde takes time especially when coming from such a darker shade and even more when there’s box color involved. But it isn’t impossible. Trust your stylist and trust the process, we can get you there. I deeply appreciate all of my clients for having this trust with me. I want you to have healthy beautiful hair."