Advanced physical chemistry, biochemistry and cometology! From the potions master (moi): If you have what they call "resistant gray," try this: wet your hair down with your developer (hydrogen peroxide in cream base or clear, 20-40 volume) and THEN take ten minutes to round up your color, mix it with your developer (peroxide) and put on your gloves, THEN, when about ten minutes have passed, apply the color. The cuticle of your hair shafts will have "opened" and oxidation of the melanin will have started -- even gray hair shafts will soften and the color will bond well. I have found that Wella seems to work the best, at least for me; some others work fine for some but may fade for others, and the red colors are tend to fade a bit regardless of brand. Allow 30 minutes for development of color: the hydrogen peroxide developer opens the hair shafts, softens the melanin and is the catalyst to start the color reaction in the ammonia/color mixture which is fairly stable until combined with an oxidizer like H2O2. "Lift," or lightening, occurs for about 15-20 minutes; deposit of color occurs in the remaining final minutes of the 30 minute cycle since color was applied. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a hair stylist. But I can do a color job equivalent to the colors on the chapel ceiling of the Sistine! Better living through chemistry!
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 08:46:05 +0000