Color Melting Techniques and Braiding With Nick Stenson

Just after styling the Super Bowl Halftime dancers who rocked the show with Lady Gaga, we caught up with Matrix Artistic Director Nick Stenson in Cancun, where he gave us an exclusive Facebook Live covering color melting techniques and on-trend braids. Watch the beginning for his color melting tips and second half for three braid how-tos…or just watch the whole thing because it’s all GREAT!

Want more education from the AMAZING Matrix Team? Check them out onstage at COLOR, Cut & Style 2017 in Austin, Aug. 20-22! 

Takeaway Color-Melting Tips
Perfecting your color melts can be tough, but after watching Nick break it down, suddenly it seems easier than ever before. Here are a few quick tips for melting color seamlessly from the video above.

• Start strong at the base. Fully saturating the new growth area will give the finished color a more dramatic effect.
• When blending color, you want the hair to be fully saturated all the way down the head. If you don’t fully saturate, the color could come out hollow in certain spots. This is worse than seeing lines of demarcation. Wondering why? Because when you’re using creative colors, your melt is going to be bold, but if there is a hollow spot in the color, you’ll be able to see the original prelightened shade, and seeing a patch of blonde in a magenta color melt is no good. 
• Always use a side-brush technique to create a completely seamless blend/melt of color. 
• Don’t be afraid of “diluting” the color when you start side-brushing and blending. You want the colors to be diluted as they move from one shade to the next. This will ensure there are no lines of demarcation