Break The Base in 7 Minutes? Here’s How It Works

Quick Service Idea: Lift & Tone At The Same Time!

Looking for practical techniques to keep your service ticket high while getting clients in and out of your chair ASAP? Look no further!

We’re taking it back to the basics and teaching you everything you need to know about base breaking: What it means to break the base, who the ideal base-breaking clients are and pro tips you can’t get anywhere else.

Base Breaking Basics:

Let’s start at the beginning: a base break is a quick way to lift the hair a half level to one level. Also called base bumping or base adjusting, this technique can be used to quickly lift hair in many situations:

• To blur and blend an existing line of demarcation
• To soften regrowth without booking a complete retouch for a foil or bleach-and-tone client
• To tone a foil client’s highlights while softening their roots

Here’s How It Works:

Let’s say your blonde client comes in for a routine haircut and asks if there’s anything you can do to freshen up her roots. As we know, not all blondes want to visit the salon for highlights every six to eight weeks! She walks in with about an inch of regrowth—what would you do?

By offering a base break, you can get the job done in 10 minutes or less. Here’s how Schwarzkopf Professional® Senior National Trainer Ian Mayer-Marszalek (@ianhairspray) tackles this process step-by-step in the salon:

Step 1: Start by rinsing your client and begin your haircut wet. 

Step 2: When you’re finished with the cut, apply Formula A to wet hair about an inch from the scalp (or to where your client’s regrowth ends). To ensure blend, comb the product downward. 

Pro Tip: Ian likes to apply his base breaker at the chair with a bowl and brush. This makes it feel more like a full service to your client versus applying it quickly at the bowl.

Step 3: Process for seven minutes, rinse and style as desired.

Click the beaker to get the formula!

• Formula A:

  60g Schwarzkopf Professional® BLONDME® Bond-Enforcing Base Breaker Cool + BLONDME® Premium Developer 6% (20 Vol.) (1:1)

How To Formulate To Avoid Unwanted Warmth

Not only is this service great for quickly softening regrowth, but it will also tone your client’s preexisting highlights. Ian loves Schwarzkopf Professional®’s NEW BLONDME® Bond-Enforcing Base Breaker because it lifts virgin hair a half level to one level without causing warmth. So, you’ll be able to lift and tone—at the same time! Score. 

Dimensional Highlights Paired With A Base Break—Get The Steps Below! 

This technique is also perfect when you need to tone and base break a dimensional balayage client. Ian starts by hand painting highlights before taking his client to the bowl to tone and base break at the same time to save time.

Step 1: Start by hand painting highlights with Formula A using diagonal forward partings. Saturate through the ends.

Pro Tip: Use a beauty blender to help erase lines of demarcation. Ian used a Schwarzkopf Professional® Color Melter Sponge to blend his lightener.

• Formula A (highlights):

  Schwarzkopf Professional® BLONDME® Bond Enforcing Clay Lightener + BLONDME® Premium Developer 12% (40 Vol.) (1:2)

Step 2: At the bowl, apply Formula B with a bottle applicator, saturating 2 to 3 inches from the scalp outward with your hands. This will break the virgin hair and tone your client’s fresh highlights simultaneously!

• Formula B (base breaker):

  60g BLONDME® Bond-Enforcing Base Breaker Cool + BLONDME® Premium Developer 6% (20 Vol.) (1:1)

Step 3: Process for 7 to 8 minutes.

Pro Tip: Ian uses his Tint Brush to wipe away excess product and pushes the hair upwards to see if it’s finished processing. “What I’m looking for is to see if I have any warm reflection at all compared to what the client came in with,” Ian explains. If you do, that means it’s time to rinse!

Step 4: Rinse and style as desired.

Have any questions? Watch the full tutorial below to get all of Ian’s tips!