Hair Color Correction | Correcting Unwanted Red Undertones | Creating Golden Blonde Hair

A while back, I received a call from a potential new client.  Her name is Janeth and she had found me on the internet.  I’m Laura, a hairdresser from The Mane Hair Studio (at Sola Salon Suites) in Torrance, CA.  One of the best independently owned and operated South Bay Hair Salons and Hair Color Correction Specialists.

Janeth before from front

Although the original color translated pretty on Janeth. She wanted to be a lot blonder.

Janeth had recently been to another hairdresser requesting hair color similar to Jennifer Aniston and was disappointed by the results achieved after that service.  Upon further investigation over the telephone, I found out that Janeth’s natural hair color is a very dark shade of brown, almost black.  I explained to her that becoming a blonde when your natural shade is so dark is time-consuming and costly.  She was ready for both the time in my chair and the price that comes with it.

Janeth Top of Hair

Janeth sent me this photo in a text message after our first telephone consultation.

After several minutes of telephone consultation, I asked Janeth to send me a photograph so that I could see the current state of her hair color.  From the photo I received, I was able to determine that I could help her meet her goals and made an appointment to see her the following Friday.

The first hairdresser had achieved the results shown in these two photos.  After receiving the photo of the top of Janeth’s hair, I explained that she could expect to be with me for 3 to 4 hours.

Janeth’s natural hair had already been lifted. In other words, her hair color now had exposed warmth of deep red undertones with stripes of golden highlights.  This created a complex puzzle for me to work with, as I was now about to re-create the wheel so to speak.

Now that Janeth was in my chair, she explained that she had a new goal.  It was to achieve a color similar to Beth Ostronsky (which is almost a platinum blonde and achieved with a traditional foil highlight, therefore, it has a softer appearance as it grows out).  I can only speculate, but, I believe that Beth’s natural hair color is probably a light brown. I explained to Janeth that achieving the same results from her current hair color was going to be challenging to say the least.  This new goal might have to be long term.  But, I would happily help her work toward that goal.

This is what Janeth’s hair color looked like after 3 hours of hair color correction.

Janeth after from the back

Janeth after close up

Before, during and after my services, I explained many things to Janeth about maintaining her hair color using the proper shampoos, conditioners and styling aids, as well as, her need to return for regrowth touch ups every 5-6 weeks.  In addition, we talked about potentially making her even blonder in the future.  As a result, maintaining the health of her hair by adding regular trims to her routine will be very important too.

I will also begin to plan a long-term goal for her hair care maintenance.  For example, maybe we can simply retouch her roots with a high lift tint next time I see her.  My future approach will be based on several things, how often she comes to see me, her goals at the time, what it takes to meet those goals and her budget.

Hair Color Correction | From Cool Red to Neutral Blonde | South Bay Hairdresser

One of the biggest challenges hairdressers face is hair color correction (for example, taking clients from box red’s to blonde). It’s time consuming and can be expensive. But, getting it right makes it well worth it.  This blog is dedicated to the box color girls and women that are in need of a change. Those that are ready to come back to a professional to get the job done right. When done well, color correction can have minimal damage and look great.

Recently, my new client Donna was one of these women. Here’s a photo of Donna from our initial consultation.

Our initial consultation.

She explained that she had been a red head for about 10 years.  She had been coloring her own hair, using do it yourself cool reds.  In addition, she had recently had hair extensions.  The nearly black color on the bottom of her hair (shown in the picture), had come from matching the extensions.  Although, the extensions where gone, the dark hair color remained.

Donna was ready for my help and was willing to go through the necessary steps to become a blonde.  She seemed rather knowledgeable on the subject and understood that this would be a process, not just a simple fix.

There are many different hair color removers on the market.  For Donna, I decided to use Rusk Eliminate.  It works great without damage.  I followed the package directions mixing steps 1 with 2 and applied and processed it twice.  With each application, she spent several minutes under the dryer.  I followed those applications with step 3, to make sure the dark red pigment wasn’t coming back.   At this point, I was confident that I had achieved the lightest result I could get.

Before and during a hair color correction, there are many choices that the client and hairdresser make together.   We could have taken this correction in many different directions.  One approach would have been to simply highlight over the brassy orange hair that I’d achieved after using Rusk Eliminate.  Doing this would have resulted in a warm blonde hair color.  This approach can also be quite beautiful depending on the skin tone of the client.

However, I explained to Donna that she would need to give her hair a rest for about a week before we could continue.  She decided that she would rather be a neutral to warm shade of brown, than to live with the brassy result for a week.  In addition, in the end, Donna wanted to have a more neutral blonde hair color,  rather than a warm blonde.

Results achieved after appointment #1

I advised Donna to give herself a couple of really good deep conditioning treatments before our next appointment.  This would be in preparation for the highlighting service the next time I saw her.

This is what Donna’s hair looked like when she returned to me the following weekend.

As you can see during the week that Donna was conditioning and waiting for her next appointment, the neutral brown shade that I had put on her faded to a great base from which to start my highlight.

At this point, I did a traditional bleach weave on Donna with foils.  The result was a beautiful neutral blonde with very little warmth.

Results achieved after Donna’s 2nd appointment

I spoke to Donna the other day.  She’s almost ready to come back in for her first regrowth touch up.  She understands that for her, being a blonde requires maintenance.  She has continued to give herself deep conditioning treatments.

I had advised her that Joico’s K Pak Reconstructor is an excellent deep conditioner for these types of situations.

When I see Donna next, we’ll decide what route is best .  Some of the brass will have come back and I know she still wants to be even blonder.  There will be choices to make and budgets to consider.  But I’ll be there for her, to help her hair color dreams come true.

Dream Catchers Hair Extensions | Qualified Technician | Greater Los Angeles | South Bay | Torrance, CA | and Orange Counties

ImageI am so excited to have added Dream Catchers Hair Extensions to my list of services.  Dream Catchers Hair Extensions are permanent and reusable hair extensions that I can add to your natural hair using their micro cylinder technology.  That means that there is no wax, glue, sewing or heat used in the process.

With proper care and maintenance, they can be used over and over and can last from several months to a couple of years.

Here are a couple of before and after photos of my client Lily.

ImageLily will come in to see me for maintenance about every 4 – 6 weeks.  This will ensure that her Dream Catchers stay in optimum condition.  Therefore, allowing Lily to get the most use out of her permanent and reusable Dream Catchers Hair Extensions.

If you have always dreamed of having long, luxurious hair.  What are you waiting for?  Call Laura at 310-200-7242 to make an appointment for your complimentary Dream Catchers Hair Extension consultation and be on your way to the hair of your dreams.

How I choose the right haircolor for your skintone

Did you know that before coloring your hair, it’s important to choose the right hair color for you, based on your skin tone?

  • This is something that I consider, as a professional colorist, during every hair color consultation.

Let’s say you come to see me for that fantastic new shade of color you saw on your favorite celebrity in a fashion magazine.  Before you can talk me in to creating that look for you, I analyze whether or not it will work for you.  This analysis is based on your personal skin tone, in addition to considering your personal taste and budget. 

Is your skin tone “warm” or “cool”?

To determine a warm skin tone, I ask myself a few simple questions:

  • Do you have brown or dark eyes with olive, golden or dark skin?  If the answer is yes, you are likely a warm hair color candidate (i.e., golden tones like, caramel, bronze, copper) in a darker shade than your skin, will very likely look great on you.

As an example, notice my lovely client Manju standing in the natural sunlight.  I created beautifully bronzed hair color, that is darker than her own complexion.  It’s a perfect match for her, don’t you think?


To determine a cool skin tone, I ask myself these simple questions:

  1. Do you have blue or green eyes with fair skin?  If the answer is yes, you are likely a cool hair color candidate (i.e., ash blonde and cool browns work best).

As an example, notice my lovely client Lily.  She has a beautiful combination of light and dark ash.  Like with many rules, some are meant to be broken, so she looks great with a bit of gold in her color as well.

There are many considerations when determining the right hair color for you.  So come in and see me and let me, give you, The Royal Hair Treatment.

Look for future editions of  http://www.theroyalhairtreatment.com/ blog.   Thanks for taking the time to check it out!