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September 2010
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Behindthechair.com The Color Issue
Perfect Harmony
Forget living single! Sam Villa shows you how a stylist can marry cut and color to achieve a perfect finished result every time.
Sam Villa, founding partner of the Sam Villa® brand and Education Artistic Director for Redken, travels the world to provide great education to stylists of all levels. Wherever he goes, Sam always works hand in hand with a colorist to achieve the best look possible. When you're a stylist on a cut and color team, says Sam there are five things to keep in mind to ensure that the finished look is impeccable.
September 2010
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Behindthechair.com The Color Issue
Perfect Harmony CONTINUED
TIP 1: When using thermal tools on color treated hair, focus on heat, compression and tension. Opt for medium heat (392° on the color setting on Villa's TEXTUR and SLEEKR irons) to gently swell the hair shaft, a longer period of compression to close the cuticle and enough tension to stretch and redirect hair. The heat setting is particularly critical, says Sam. That's because too much heat can cause the cuticle to explode. This weakens the bonds of the color molecules, and causes them to wash away when the hair is shampooed.
TIP 2: Cut hair first and then color. This enables the colorist to map out a plan of action based on the cutting pattern. When hair is cut with disconnection, don't use a color block technique–doing so will expose the disconnection. Instead, place sections above or below the line of disconnection, or in a zig zag pattern, to produce a natural transition of color.
TIP 3: While it's true that darker hair appears thicker, avoid extremes when coloring low-density, fine hair. It should not be too dark or too light. If it's dark, the contrast of the dark strands against the scalp can actually make hair look thinner. If it's too light, there will not be enough contrast between the hair and the scalp, which also causes strands to appear thinner. The best choice? Light, warm shades in neutral hues do a great job of camouflaging the scalp.
TIP 4: When working with high density fine hair, try pumping it up with surface highlights and lowlights. Doing so actually changes the texture of the hair. Also, the lowlights provide contrast against the highlights, and the overall effect is one of additional depth and dimension.
TIP 5: Above all, work together as a team. A clear design plan that includes both the cut and the color design creates the ultimate style harmony. The result is style freshness and strength for any season.
