In Rainbows: A Color How-To from Our Facebook Contest Winner

How far do your clients push their color? In a world (or appointment book) of highlight retouches and basic color refreshes, it’s a rare and liberating experience to encounter a client willing to let you do whatever you want to her hair—but that’s exactly what happened to stylist Laura Richardson of Twisted Scissors in Abilene, KS. Laura entered this look into our nontraditional color contest, and she won by a landslide of votes!

“The client who wanted this look comes in quite often and lets me work my magic on her with vibrant colors,” Laura says. “I had been thinking about doing an all-over vibrant colored piece for some time!”

When creating this look, Laura says her client didn’t take a peek at all until the very end. And how did she react?  “Pure amazement!”  Laura says.

Want to create a look similar to Laura’s? Put on your creative cap and get going!

Formulas: Laura used the following colors from Pravana Vivids:
Magenta
Red
Yellow
Green
Blue
Violet
2 parts violet + 1 part magenta
1 part red + 1 part yellow
3 parts yellow + 1 part green

Application:
1. Touch up the regrowth with Matrix V-Light 30-volume.
2. Apply 2nw in Redken Color Gels to the bottom two inches of the hair. Continue for the entire perimeter of the head, and process under heat until the blonde at the root lifts.
3. Wash with Redken Extreme Shampoo and dry the hair. 
4. Once the hair is completely dry, section off the bottom 2-inches of hair and apply vertical block panels of five Pravana Vivids formulas. Apply the color as you please; Laura went with random distribution.
5. When working on the rest of the hair, section it as you would for a half head of highlights. Then, section-by-section, take a small slice, apply a color, and follow by weaving the next section and applying a different color. Continue alternating slices and weaves, applying color at random, until the entire head is complete. Tip: Use foils on every section to keep the color separated and prevent bleeding.
6. Process the color under cool heat for an hour. Rinse with conditioner only.

Laura’s advice:
-When it comes to working with bright colors, Laura suggests sectioning off the colored sections and only applying conditioner to those sections. Wash the rest of the hair normally, and try to use cold water to prevent bleeding.
-When you’re done rinsing your client, get her to the dryer as quickly as possible. “The less the colors get sit on top of each other while wet, the less bleeding occurs,” Laura says.
-Space it out! “I have learned that if the hair is freshly bleached, bright colors do not last as long as bleached hair that has had a chance to breathe for a week or so.”
-Be precise. “Straight and even sectioning always ends up on your side, take the time to make it perfect!”

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