
Rodrick Samuels on The Silent Work, Modern Beauty Education and Why Empathy Wins
MODERN SALON sat down with Samuels to discuss the book, beauty education, mentorship and the habits that help beauty professionals thrive.
Samantha Ploskonka (@samploskonka), a John Paul Mitchell Systems National Educator and Freelance Hairstylist based at Salon Mix in Atwater Village, Los Angeles, California says, "I tend to have a lot of what I refer to as 'reverse ...

Samantha Ploskonka (@samploskonka), a John Paul Mitchell Systems National Educator and Freelance Hairstylist based at Salon Mix in Atwater Village, Los Angeles, California says, "I tend to have a lot of what I refer to as 'reverse ombre' where dark needs to be blended down. Whether they were blonde and decided to grow it out or if it's like the photo below, a color correction due to an ombre mishap at another location.
"Luckily, she was already pretty light and okay with that level. Because of her previous damage, I did not want to use any more lightener! She had 2" of regrowth at a level 2, a 4" band of a level 5 (red brown it seemed) and an un toned level 7-8 from the mids-ends. When she came to me, she just wanted a more neutral and blended effect starting with a level 5 at the base so her upkeep wouldn't be a challenge."
Here Ploskonka shares more about the correction:
Formulas:
Formula 1: Paul Mitchell The Color 1.5oz 6A + .5oz 5NA + 2oz 30v cream developer
Formula 2: Paul Mitchell the Color 1oz 5NA + .25oz 7NA + 1.25oz 10v cream developer
Formula 3: Paul Mitchell The Color 1oz 6NN + .5oz 5A + 1.5oz 20v cream developer
Formula 4: Paul Mitchell The Color 2oz 7A + .5oz 7P + 2.5oz 10v cream developer
STEP 1: Starting at the base apply formula 1 to lift her to a level 5 and soften her base.
STEP 2: Cover the band with formula 2 to cancel out the red.
STEP 3: Starting in the back nape, apply formula 3 in a lowlight manner using foil, but instead of traditional lowlights, saturate from formula 2 down to the mids and feathered the color down leaving the ends free to stay light. "Instead of folding in foil packets, I sandwiched another on top to keep my sections clean and for ease of checking my work as I go. Where I wanted to see more light, I didn't feather down to the midshaft, I just feathered down about 2" from formula 2 to blend."
STEP 4: Once the whole head is complete, remove the foil and apply formula 4 to the hair that hasn't been colored, in this case, all the bright yellow orange. "The key to this application would be blending with the lowlight and making sure to saturate so there are no spots."
STEP 5: Process for 20 minutes and then rinse and shampoo.

MODERN SALON sat down with Samuels to discuss the book, beauty education, mentorship and the habits that help beauty professionals thrive.

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