Blonding and Glossing: 8 Tips To Keep Clients Loyal To The Foil

Balayage might be trending on Instagram, but foil highlights and platinum blondes are the moneymakers and what keep your clients coming back religiously every four to six weeks. These eight tips will up your game and keep your clients loyal to the foil!

We grabbed these tidbits at Joico’s Global Destination Education, where about 1,000 hairdressers spent a week in Punta Cana with the Joico team for education and inspiration. In one class, Joico artists Denis de Souza, Zoe Carpenter and Melissa Duguay walked us through what it takes to create rich, healthy hues using LumiShine, Joico’s line that comes in both a demi liquid and a permanent cream. Keep reading for their tips!

Products Used

Demi-Permanent Color

LumiShine™ Demi-Permanent Liquid Color

Joico

Hair Color

Joico LumiShine™ Repair+ Permanent Crème and Demi-Permanent Liquid Color

Joico

Lightener

Blonde Life

Joico

Haircare

Blonde Life Brightening Veil Hair Treatment

Joico

1. Lift safely through bands with this advice.

First of all, platinum clients must be seen for a retouch every three to four weeks if her natural level is a 6 or below, Zoe said. “Anything after that becomes a color correction because there WILL be a band.” So when that happens (because it will…) how do you lift through the band? Here’s advice from Zoe:

• Lift through TONE, not level. So think about lifting through the red stage, the orange, stage, etc. to achieve that pale yellow—don’t think about lifting from a Level 6 to a Level 10. Watching for tone versus level will prevent you from removing the lightener too quickly.
• To eliminate a band, first apply lightener to the base. Wait for the base to reach the tone of the band, THEN apply lightener to the band. This way, it will all lift evenly.

2. Help a client visualize what warm versus cool colors will do to her complexion.

This genius idea from Melissa will help you convince your warm-toned client that icy silver isn’t for her. “Have two pieces of material in the salon—one gold and one silver,” she said. “If you bring that silver piece of material up to her face, she’ll see it instantly. If it’s not supposed to look good, it will not.”

3. Try “skinlights” for a contoured blonde with pops of lightness.

Skinlights are Zoe’s technique for adding dimension where it matters most—behind the ear to spill down over the collarbone, or right at the jawline to accentuate that area. She places the first foil directly on the skin so that the highlight brightens the face. Watch Zoe’s skinlight technique here!

4. Use the right formula for the job.

LumiShine’s high-lift line is amazing for the appropriate client. If she’s already a blonde and wants highlights, go for it. But if you want to lift three or more levels, reach for Blonde Life Powder Lightener (for up to nine levels of lift!) or Joico Vero K-PAK Cream Lightener.

5. After highlighting, tap the root with a gloss formula for a more natural look.

This little trick not only tones down the highlight at the root, but makes the grow-out more natural, said Denis.

6. Fold extra foil at the base of each foil packet for added insurance against bleeding.

Denis folds a band of foil around the base of each foil for a no-budge foil packet that won’t bleed at the root. “Yes, I use a lot of foil—but when you have a high-demand clientele, you have to do what it takes to achieve perfection,” he said.

7. Try these glossing formulas for healthy, luminous blondes.

Zoe spilled her three go-to glosses for a variety of blondes, all created using LumiShine Demi-Permanent Liquid Color:

• Champagne Platinum: 10NG + Clear
• Beige Blonde: 10NWB
• Khaleesi Platinum: 9V + Clear

8. Ensure the client uses proper at-home care.

Obviously the right products will maintain the client’s blonde investment, but if she’s still on the fence about purchasing, tell her this: “Wearing blonde hair out in the universe every day is like wearing a white T-shirt and white jeans,” Zoe said. There’s no way you could keep such an outfit clean day in and day out—so don’t expect your blonde to be perfect unless you treat it right. Zoe recommends the Joico Blonde Life line (a shampoo, conditioner, mask and brightening veil) to maintain tip-top blondes.