Whenever I tell people what I do for work, most are asking for my card and trying to book an appointment for the next day. However there are two people in the world who do not respond so favorably to my hair coloring abilities. Curly haired girls and my Mom. My Mom just wants her gray covered and fast. Faster than the last time and the time before that… but that’s a whole other blog. Curly girls are another story, they have literally been “burned” before and don’t want to roll that dice again. Whether you’re a curly hair type 2b or 4c, every ‘curly’ knows their textured hair plays by a separate set of rules including how to color it with care. Follow my tips and tricks below and you will be able to not only color curls but keep their gorgeous texture intact.
GET IN THE ZONE
Coloring curly requires attention to the unique porosity issues along the hair strand. Typically curly haired clients will have healthy roots, normal mid lengths and super dry porous ends. When you color curls you need to account for the differences in each zone. The basic trick is to always lighten and warm your formula as you progress down the hair shaft.
DON’T GET LOST
Having a head of tousled curls is beautiful and stands out. When placing color make sure to create bolder pieces that won’t get lost in the rest of the hair. In foil work place three to four back to back foils with heavy weaves or slices for traffic stopping results.
SHADOWS AND LIGHT
The beauty of curly hair is how much depth is in it, play this up with root shadows. When I color this type of hair I make sure to glaze the first inch or two off the scalp a level or two darker than the rest of the hair. Try using a demi-permanent color for super gentle results.
CONDITION AS YOU COLOR
One of my favorite techniques for coloring curly hair is place a super moisturizing conditioner on the non-colored hair. If I’m doing a base color I will apply a masque (I love All About Curls Divine Treatment) to the mid lengths and ends of the hair while the roots process. Simply put the treatment in another bowl and paint on the in-between hair as you color. Your clients will love that you’re nourishing their hair as you color.
COLOR WITH CARE
Over processing this special hair type leads to frizzled ends. Bond rebuilders are the latest development in the color arsenal which allow you to color even further than we could before with minimal invasion. When lightening reach for a bond building bleach like AGEbeautiful’s brand new Ultra Bond. You will be able to lighten hair even further than before while rebuilding the hair bonds as you go.
SMOOTH WITH COLOR
A lot of times curly hair can become coarse, unmanageable and dull and dry as it ages. Previous methods of coloring it only exacerbated this. Today’s technology allows us to not only color the hair but improve the texture as we process it. AGEbeautiful’s color line is fortified with keratin-peptides which smooth unwanted frizz and silky amino acids help to add tons of shine.
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
A great way to achieve more dramatic results gently is to break up the appointments. If someone sits in my chair with dark brown inky curly hair and wants to be blonde, I will space out the lightening to two or three sessions. Do one round of dense highlights, treat hair for a week or so with bond rebuilders and fortifying masques, then do another round in about 10 days. This process allows you to slowly achieve your goal with minimal abuse to the hair texture.
SMOOTH PRECISION
One of the biggest complaints I get from curly haired clients is that highlights don’t float near the root enough. The seemingly random wave pattern can make placing even pieces tricky, but by smoothing the hair out before coloring you can achieve precise results. I love to flat iron all over, and then take a super tiny flat iron to get right down to the root for the hairs along the face hairline.
By following these tricks of the trade you will be able to embrace curls of all shapes and sizes. So the next time you’re at a party with a circle of potential clients, you can be confident handing your card to that curly haired girl too!
