After taking an oil painting class and watching endless amounts of Periscope videos, colorist Amaris Yanez (@By_Amaris) developed a new perspective on coloring hair.

"I wanted to do a look that involved complementary colors versus tone on tone looks," she says. "I used my model’s interests and flair during the brainstorming process. She wears bold lipstick and fun patterns. She also loves Reggae music. I immediately pictured the sun going down on the beach and its rich jewel tones throughout the sky and greenery."

With this in mind, Yanez knew exactly what she was going to do for her client's color!

Challenges:

"Sofia was coloring her hair with black box color for two years," says Yanez. "She was not getting regular trims. Her texture is naturally thick and coarse. I suggested she start using the Olaplex No.3 and the ColorProof CrazySmooth masque about three months prior, during our first color appointment. This time around, she wanted a big change and thankfully that also meant in the length. I took off 5 inches that were dry and drab."

"Using the foil and the meche strip helped provide better lift. However, some areas did not lift as light as others due to her color history. I went back through each section and resaturated the stubborn areas. I had to use two different toners at the shampoo bowl to balance the undertones. During the color application, I placed the cooler, deeper hues closer to the root for a better blend and to counteract residual warmth. I applied the other brighter colors mostly to the midshaft and ends where the hair was lighter. The entire process took about 7 hours."

Recommendations:

Consultation: "Have a thorough understanding of your canvas and your tools. This will allow you to better determine technique, tools, and the type of color needed for the best results."

Time: "Mark out enough time and be prepared for anything! For my model, I had warned her that because of her color history we may not be able to go as bright as we expected. I prepared myself by having a wide range of colors from deposit only (which work best on level 7 and lighter) to vibrant permanent colors at a level 5 and 6."

Application: "I suggest applying the color to dry hair so you can make sure you are saturating each color thoroughly. For the placement, try to be mindful of your clients natural fall. Place colors that are more complimentary to their skin tone in the fringe and sections that frame the face. Most importantly, have fun!"   

THE STEPS:

1. Cut off 5” of dead hair.

2. Apply 1/2 oz Olaplex + 3 oz water and let air dry during formulation/mixing.

3. Section hair into 4 quadrants off the natural part.

4. Starting at the bottom, take 1/4” thick 3” wide diagonal slices.

5. Start painting each slice in a balayage style. Feather upwards. In the slices closest to the face paint closer to the root. In the back quadrants stay about 1.5-2” from the root.

6. Saturate lightener completely from mid shaft to ends.

7. Place an Embee Meche strip below the slice and a foil on top of the slice.

8. Move upwards, bricklaying each section.

9. When finished applying, go back to the front and check for even processing. Reapply lightener to dry, dark areas.

10. Process, rinse and tone.

11. Blow dry.

12. Section hair off the part again. 

13. Take 1” horizontal partings for the color melt. Let the hair fall and assess where you will place your color.

14. Use paddles to saturate and blur the color on the pre-lightened pieces. One side of the paddle per color.

15. Use fingers for extra blend between hues.

16. Process.

17. Rinse with cold water and apply Olaplex #2 for 10 minutes.

18. Rinse, shampoo, and apply a masque

19. Blow dry and giggle with joy when you see the colors blooming.

FORMULAS:

Lightener: 

1 oz Schwarzkopf BlondMe + 2 oz developer (start with 30 vol, end with 40 vol) + 1/8oz Olaplex

Toner: 

Kenra Rapid Toner in SV and Redken Shades EQ in 08GN/06GN on the orange/red areas

Color Melt:

Pravana Vivids Violet

Pravana Vivids Wild Orchid + Kenra Creative Pink

Redken Hi-Fusion Yellow + Orange (4:1) and 10 vol

Schwarzkopf Pearlesence 6-23 and 10 vol

Redken Shades 07CC over previous highlights