Color Upgrade For the Curly Girl

Oana Ciofu (@hair_by_oana) of Divas & Dudes Hairdressing, Wexford, Ireland, asks “How excited do I get when I have a curly hair girl in my chair? Very! If you didn’t know I’m a curly girl myself, not as curly but enough to leave my clients the impression they are in good hands.”

Ciofu points out that bleaching curly hair can be damaging if not done with a professional eye. “Bleaching ‘raises' the hair’s cuticle to remove the color pigment from the hair shaft, which also removes moisture. The hair will become dry, brittle and porous if it’s not done properly.”

In the consultation for this makeover, Ciofu explained that the color would have to be low maintenance and that home maintenance would be a must. “This client wanted to be lighter but not an all over color. The hair was not in the best shape so I had to be very careful. The moisture level, porosity and the texture was my indicator before I jumped in the steps”:  

STEP 1: Prep hair with Truss Professional K Recovery. “This treatment repairs the interior cortex of the hair, while restoring the exterior of the hair strand. Curly hair doesn’t say no to any treatments.”

STEP 2: “The color was missing the dimension and had no life to enhance the curls.” Start in the front, using a zig-zag pattern with a very light tease to keep the baby hairs out from the foils, leaving almost 50% of the hair untouched. Color used: Truss Professional Blanc Blonde and 8 x powder with 10 volume around the face and continued with 15 volume for the top and sides. “For the length and ends where was already lighter I used Truss Professional Air.Libre + 8 x time powder and 5 volume. Continue in the back in the same way using diagonal sections. 

STEP 3: Check foils and remove the lightener from the processed strands using a towel. “My tip to keep the hair healthy is the Truss Professional Deluxe Prime. This protein spray restores devitalized, fragile, damaged and chemically treated hair.”

STEP 4: For additional brightness, and to freshen up the hair left in between the foils, apply color with hands using Air.Libre, designed for open air, + 8x powder and 20 volume. “The main ingredient in this bleaching powder is collagen to keep the hair young. This will restore hair elasticity and flexibility.” Process for 15 minutes.

STEP 5: Root tap using Joico LumiShine Demi-liquid  7N(20g)+8N (20g) for 20 minutes. To the ends apply Truss Deluxe Prime Champagne Blonde. “It’s an intensive treatment for blonde and highlighted hair, used to neutralize the warm tones without dehydrating the hair.”

STEP 6:  Apply Truss K Recovery in the “curly girl method” and blow dry with the Dyson blow dryer.