Expectations vs. Reality
Sharing Hair Colour Knowledge to Fulfill Your Pinterest Inspired Hair Dreams
As stylists, our primary goal is to send you out of the studio with the hair you dream of, though sometimes your Pinterest-inspired colour is not always possible in a single session. We know you have been dreaming of that pastel pink and we hate to disappoint you. We believe that sharing knowledge on the hair colouring process will help us both achieve your perfect hair colour and keep you leaving our chairs with a smile. Here’s why it often takes us hours, if not sessions, to achieve exactly the colour you’re going for.
The type of service you require will determine the length of time it takes to process. You may require a single process (all-over colour), a double process (lightening the hair before colouring), or partial/full foil (highlights/lowlights), these processes will take varying lengths of time ranging from a 1 hour 30 minutes to 3 hour appointment. Length of hair also affects the amount of time you will spend in the salon.
Here are typical timings you can expect, however your stylist will always determine the amount of time it takes to achieve the look you desire. (Keep in mind, these do not include time required for application, washing, cutting, blow drying and styling.)
SINGLE PROCESS: 20-30 minutes
<50% grey: 25-35 minutes
>50% grey: stylist will use a twenty volume developer* and either
increase processing time to 45 minutes
add a filler** with a low volume processing solution for 30 minutes
DOUBLE PROCESS: 80-150 minutes
first, hair is lightened with lightener: 20-30 minutes to apply
processing: 20-60 minutes, depending on the level we hope to achieve
next, hair is rinsed; sometimes a toner (semi-permanent colour) is applied to hair to enhance or neutralize pre-lightened colour, then blow dried: 20-30 minutes
single process colour is applied: 20-30 minutes
PARTIAL FOILS: ~45 minutes
FULL FOILS: ~1 hour
*developer is the processing solution added to colour or lightener, enabling the lift and deposit of colour - higher volume/ammonia content = more lift. These levels of lift only apply when discussing colour.
0-1 level of lift: 10 volume for 20 minutes
2 levels of lift: 20 volume for 30 minutes
3 levels of lift: 30 volume for 40 minutes
4 levels of lift: 40 volume for 45 minutes
**Filler is a pure tone put into hair that is significantly lighter than the colour desired in order to add depth and richness.
When using lightener, the volume and processing time depends on how porous or damaged the hair is and how many levels of lift are desired. We can achieve more than four levels of lift with lightener.
To put these numbers into perspective, a darker, coarser hair will take more time and potentially more sessions to achieve a lighter colour. If in doubt, never hesitate to clarify with us. We are happy to help you learn about the colouring process to keep you leaving our studio glowing.