How-To: Pure Platinum and Dramatic Dimension

If your client wants to go platinum, it’s gotta be pure. And if it’s dimension she wants, dramatic but blended is always your goal. At least, that’s what Malintzin Sanchez from Salon LaPage in Dallas believes, and we couldn’t agree more. Check out her creations above—and see how she made both of them come to life.

How-To: Pure Platinum

Redken Color Formulas
Formula A (highlight): Flash Lift Lightener + 20-volume developer

Formula B (balayage): Blonde Idol Freehand Lightener + 40-volume developer + 1/8 oz. pH-Bonder

Formula C (root color): ¼ oz. Shades EQ 07P + ¼ oz. Shades EQ 09N

Formula D (glaze): ¼ oz. Shades EQ 09V + ¼ 09P + ¼ oz. Shades EQ 000 Clear + 1/8 pH-Bonder 

Starting Level: Natural warm 6/7

Application
1. Start with a full foil highlight using Formula A.

2. Then, to create an even brighter end result, balayage using Formula B in between foils. Then rinse.

3. Apply Formula C at the root, bringing it about a ¼ inch down the head. This will make for a slight shadowed look and a softer new growth line. Let color sit for 5 minutes, then rinse.

4. Apply Formula D globally to eliminate any rawness from the balayage and to ensure a cool outcome.

5. Finish the process with pH Bonder #2 and Redken’s Soft/Extreme Chemistry System.

Beautiful color happens because the colorist understands placement and knows how to use the products at hand. And for Zin, her go-to, can’t-live-without-it color is Redken Shades EQ. “It’s amazing for so many reasons, it goes on easy and has lasting results, plus it evens the hairs porosity, conditions and adds shine,” she says. “My specialty is balayage/ombré so toning is a huge part of that service. To remove any unwanted tones, I always use Shades EQ.”

How-To: Dramatic Dimension

Color Formulas
Formula A (roots): Redken Color Fusion ¼ 5GB + ½ 4N + 20-volume developer

Formula B (balayage): Redken Flash Lift + 30-volume developer + ¼ oz. pH Bonder

Formula C: ½ oz. Shades EQ 08N + ¼ oz. Shades EQ 06GI + ¼ oz. pH Bonder

Formula D (glaze): 1 oz. Shades EQ 09V + ½ oz. Shades EQ 07P + ¼ oz. pH Bonder

Starting Level: Natural Level 3 with 50 percent gray and previous color

Application
1. Cover your client’s gray and lighten the base using Formula A. Let this process until desired level is achieved and then rinse. Zin went up two levels from her starting point.

2. Prep the ends of the hair with Redken’s Extreme Chemistry System and rough-dry.

3. Using Formula B, balayage the prelightened pieces onto a foil to get more control and to make sure the hair is fully saturated. 

4. Between foils, tone the hair that was left out of the lightening/balayage process. This is where you create your dimension and break up any hard lines from the previous color.

5. Rinse and glaze the entire head using Formula D.

6. To finish, apply pH Bonder #2 and use the Redken All Soft and Extreme Chemistry Systems to restore moisture.  

“Shades EQ is demi-permanent and more forgiving,” says Zin,
“so for my younger crowd of clients who enjoy going from light to dark
and from dark to light it’s the perfect product—and it fades off so naturally.”