The Haircolor Hot List

New Products, Collections and Innovations That Will Change the Way You See, Do and Care for Color…for Good!

This is truly a golden age for haircolor. And by that, we don’t mean that you should grab your favorite 6G and get busy. We’re talking about a true Renaissance in the dispensary—a spate of innovative new technologies, formulations, shades and color support products that are vaulting professional haircolor to a new level. The result? Healthier hair. New vistas of artistic freedom. Unlimited ways to delight your clients.

The upshot? Be excited. Be very excited. Because professional haircolor has never been so…well, colorful. Here’s what we’re talking about.

Intense Color That Stays Put
PRAVANA ChromaSilk VIVIDS Locked-In

Now it’s easier than ever to express yourself with vivid and pastel color! The formulas in the new PRAVANA ChromaSilk VIVIDS Locked-In collection are designed to hold tight exactly where they’re applied—no transferring onto other strands or into other colors. They provide total precision and placement control, which leads to a whole new world of color options. Stripes! Bespoke patterns! Vibrant colors nestled into blonde hair! They’re all doable. No surprise—PRAVANA Guest Artist, Danny Moon, loves them, and used them to create this graphic color design!

Click here for PRAVANA’s Vivid Color Blocking How-To!

Creative Colors That Do It All!
Kenra Color Creatives

Kenra Professional is all about simple perfection, so before they put their name on a range of direct dyes, they had to be flawless and easy to use. Done, with new Kenra Color Creatives. Kenra Professional Senior Artistic Director, Robb Dubré, handpicked the eight shades—Magenta, Violet, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Red, Hot Pink and Teal, and added White for good measure. “We picked the most universal and complementary shades,” he explains, “that can be intermixed to create a universal palette.” Robb adds that these hues do it all—they mix well without muddying, the tones are true and they’re equally effective full-strength or blended with White for a sheer effect. Another plus? “I’ve worked with direct dyes for years,” says Robb, “and they seem to vanish so quickly. Process these with heat and the durability is superb.”

Here are Robb Dubré’s Kenra color formulas for this peony pink look:
Prelighten: No Ammonia Lightener + 20-volume developer
Tone: 1 oz. SV Rapid Toner + 2 oz. 9-volume activator
Foundation: 2 drops Creative Violet + ½ oz. Creative White
Accent: 1 oz. Creative Violet

After prelightening and toning, create a triangle-shaped section at the top of the head. Outside of the triangle, apply the Foundation formula to the scalp area of all strands and diffuse, omitting the ends. Within the triangle, apply the Accent shade in a horizontal skip slice pattern, and apply the Foundation shade between the foils.

Neutralize Brass with a Bottle
Joico Color Balance Blue Shampoo and Conditioner

For a long time, blondes have had the upper hand when it comes to color-balancing hair care—there are plenty of violet-toned formulas to restore cool tonality. So the folks at Joico figured, why not offer the same type of solution for highlighted brunette clients to repel the dreaded “orange?” Hello, Color Balance Blue! Joico Celebrity Colorist and Spokesperson, Denis de Souza, explains, “These formulas help prevent color from fading on my brunette clients—including Mila Kunis, Lucy Hale and Jenna Dewan-Tatum. It eliminates those unwanted warm, brassy, reddish tones that creep up on clients as the weeks go by!” Now your dark haired beauties can lighten without fear of brass!

Freehand Freedom
Wella Professionals BLONDOR FREELIGHTS

Hair-painting is the hottest highlighting technique in the universe, and now it’s easier than ever, thanks to an innovation from one of your favorite lighteners! Wella Professional BLONDOR is a perennial Stylist Choice Award winner for Favorite Lightener and the sequel—BLONDOR FREELIGHTS—gives you more freedom than ever to place lightener exactly where you want it. Celebrity Colorist, Jennifer J. (Scarlett Johannsson) is a fan, and explains, “Hair-painting results can range from very subtle, natural and youthful, or can be dialed up to become very creative and expressive. I love creating stone-washed blonde colors, for example, which FREELIGHTS does beautifully!” Skip the foil, skip the Saran Wrap, skip the swelling and just start painting with FREELIGHTS!

Click here for a Wella Professionals BLONDOR FREELIGHTS How-To!

Natural Level: 6N and 40%-60% grey)
Formula A: Goldwell Topchic 40ml Lotion 6% (20-volume) + 40ml 7N@RR
Formula B: Topchic 40ml Lotion 6% (20-volume) + 40ml 6N@RV
Formula C: Topchic 40ml Lotion 9% (30-volume) + 40ml 8N@KK

NN Coverage That Doesn’t Go Flat
Goldwell Topchic and Colorance @Elumenated Naturals Grey to Gorgeous

When celebrity colorist, Rona O’Connor (Debra Messing, Brooklyn Decker, Brooke Shields, Lucy Liu) puts new haircolor to the test, her standards are beyond high. So Goldwell breathed a sigh of relief when she pronounced the new @Elumenated Naturals Grey to Gorgeous collection a winner! “I’m always looking for the best grey coverage,” Rona says, “and I always have to add a natural to my formulas, especially my reds, and then you get ‘root glow.’ These formulas balance the brighter pigments and offer predictable, consistent results.” Recognizing that no single grey client wants the same color results, Goldwell created a service guide that offers a variety of outcomes—from high-fashion red to natural brunette blending to silver enhancement. The range features revolutionary color technology that marries next generation oxidative dyes with high performing, high-shine direct dyes that work on the outer layer of hair to create spectacular vibrancy while covering grey. And yes, we know what you’re thinking—don’t the direct dyes fade quickly? “Not at all!” says Goldwell Artistic Director, Rebecca Hiele. “The direct dyes actually link with the oxidative dyes to prevent premature fading.”

Luscious highlights in a hurry! This base color was achieved with Aloxxi Chroma 5GV and then highlighted with two New Dimensions shades—Dimension .31/gold ash and .44/intense copper—both with 40-volume developer. No toning needed!

Speed Up Highlighting Without Compromising Quality
Aloxxi New Dimensions Highlighting Colour

You know the drill. Lift. Rinse. Tone. All the while, tick-tock, tick-tock—time is money! Now you can get the whole thing done in one step with the new Aloxxi New Dimensions Highlighting Colour. These formulas are perfect for virgin hair, and get this—they also lift color! Choose from five shades—natural, gold ash, intense copper, intense red and violet red—for a variety of effects. According to Aloxxi Artistic Adviser, Marilyn Cole, these formulas are free of textile dyes that leave heavy deposits, they leave hair shiny and silky and you can mix and match to create custom shades.

Two IGORA ROYAL ABSOLUTES formulas—8-140 + 9% IGORA ROYAL Oil
Developer and 9-560 + 9%—were applied in alternating foil slices to achieve this youthful blonde on a natural Level 7/65% gray.

Modern Coverage for Mature Clients
Schwarzkopf Professional IGORA ROYAL ABSOLUTES

Have you ever compiled a wish list for your gray clients? If so, it might have looked something like this: 100 percent coverage, loads of shine, healthy condition, more heft and body and shades that make mature complexions look more youthful and last like crazy. Well, the relaunch of IGORA ROYAL ABSOLUTES ticks all the boxes. “We added ingredients that seal and fill the cuticle, so you get high shine and the hair feels fuller,” says Schwarzkopf Professional North American Color Director, Rossa Jurenas. “And the shades—like beige gold—are soft and nuanced with tons of reflection, which is critical for mature clients.” And to help you with your consultations, pick up the IGORA ROYAL ABSOLUTES Color Consultation Tool, which helps you assess eye color, complexion and natural haircolor when formulating for the best results.

Terrence used 1 oz. ProRituals Brightener Bright Violet 0.22 + 1 oz. ProRituals Hydrate Conditioner and applied it directly to this model’s hair to achieve this intense violet result. Hair and photography by Terrence Michael Renk; makeup by Carrie Brown for Bodyography.

A Different Bright
ProRituals Brighteners

Robanda’s Global Artistic Director, Terrence Michael Renk, was frustrated with bright direct dyes. He loved the vibrancy, but felt that they faded too fast. In talking with his chemists in Italy, he discovered that they were working on a new breed of permanent brights—which produce long-lasting color with intensity. Now ProRituals Brighteners are available in the U.S. of A, in three shades—Bright Red, Bright Violet and Bright Orange. These formulas can be used to intensify existing permanent color formulas, enhance prelightened or natural hair and in some cases, even lift and deposit. They can also be muted with conditioner for lighter results or mixed with shampoo for color refreshing. “Apply the red with 40-volume on a Level 6,” explains Terrence, “and you’ll get three levels of lift with a bright red result. Plus, the color will remain intense for at least six weeks!”

Filtered Finish
Wella Professionals INSTAMATIC by Color Touch

When Wella Professionals Global Creative Director, Josh Wood, identified a new trend in pastel color work—diffused finishes with muted shine—he needed the right type of formulas to bring that trend to life. Enter INSTAMATIC by Color Touch—a new range of demi-permanent pastels that produce a modern, “sun-laundered” effect on prelightened hair, and add a sophisticated finish to darker shades. “I like these shades at full strength,” Josh reveals. “I don’t have to dilute them with Clear. They’re soft, underwhelming tones—I call them ‘unpigmented’ pigments!”

“This Biolights touch-up on a delicate blonde with a curvy hairline reflects a very common situation in the salon,” says Rick. “It’s perfect for those frequent color clients who pull their hair back in a tight ponytail to check their highlights close-up in the mirror!”

Speed It Up and Save the Planet
Biolights

What’s healthier—foil or soft cotton pads? Rick Wellman of SAHAG Workshop in New York City figured that was a no-brainer. So he developed Biolights—a biodegradable alternative to foils and a new highlighting concept that bridges the gap between foil highlights and balayage. “Biolights is a gentler approach to highlighting,” says Rick. “I like to mix Biolights with Schwarzkopf Professional Essensity Ammonia-Free Lightener—it produces a beautiful glow and prevents damage and breakage.” When working with Biolights, keep in mind that cotton isn’t as tough as foil, Rick advises. “Treat the fabric gently. Don’t stretch the pads. Lay the hair gently over the pad and use a softer brush to apply your lightener.”