Glaze Application

1. Divide the hair in quadrants and start applying Formula A at the scalp in the back sections.

Pro Tip: Start your shadow roots in the back to ensure that you formulated the color correctly. This way, if you formulated too dark, you’ll be working in a safe zone and can easily fix the color before moving to the front. (Check the video out at 2:30!)

2. After the back two sections are complete, move to the front and finish applying Formula A to the scalp area.

3. Once Formula A is applied to the entire head, Lasha alternated applying Formula B and C on a diagonal throughout the head. She used about 16 foils—4 in each quadrant and alternated the colors in a bricklay pattern.

Pro Tip: The direction you apply the color is super important. “A lot of people use a specific foil pattern or placement pattern but they don’t really know why they do it that way. Or they do it because it’s fast or because it’s what they’ve always done, even if it’s not always what’s best for the client,” says Lasha.

On this client, Lasha applied Formula B and C on a diagonal (or a V-shape) because that’s what is used in a typical balayage and it creates the most balanced and blended end result. (Check out the video at 14:00!)

4. After applying Formula B and C, go back in (using small sections) and apply Formula A to the rest of the untouched hair. Massage the color through so that it is completely saturated (Color Sync will create a bubbly/sudsy feel).

Color Care Application

1. Color Sync only needs to be on the head for about 20 minutes in total, so once all the color is applied and has processed, rinse the hair with cool water, then shampoo twice and condition once with Biolage R.A.W. Color Care. Lasha suggests working with an assistant at the shampoo bowl if you can, “We color with precision and we cut with precision, so we should rinse with precision too,” she says. An assistant can help you do that.

2. After cleansing, use the Biolage R.A.W. Color Care Acidic Milk Rinse and leave on for 10 minutes. This will help protect and lock in the color.

To style, Lasha suggests using the Biolage R.A.W. Frizz Control Styling Spray and the Biolage R.A.W. Heat Styling Primer. Here’s why:

• Clients don’t always understand the impact products have on their hair, but they do make a big difference.
• When using the Frizz Control Styling Spray, stylists will see and feel the control it offers without making the hair hard. “It keeps the hair feeling raw and real. It’s not a hard product and there is no buildup with it,” she says. “The hair isn’t supposed to feel like a helmet.”
• The Heat Styling Primer protects the hair up to 450 degrees, and if clients are using hot tools, they should be using something to protect strands, especially if they have color in their hair.

Get two more tips on shadow roots and how Biolage can help protect your color!