Soma Complete Colour / Color 2013

http://youtu.be/lkWtIfwf1jI

Is Soma Complete Colour the solution to all of our coloring challenges as claimed??  Lets find out what my experience testing this color line revealed.

If this is your first visit here, let me introduce myself; I’m Melanie Nickels, the editor here of The Organic Hair Color Review website. I am a ranking member of The American Board of Certified Master Haircolorists, and an exam evaulator for the organization. I am the only organic educator as well. I have been a stylist & salon owner for over 17 years. I opened Southwest Florida’s first organic/non-toxic salon, the Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples, Florida, seven years ago, and it has been featured on many news stations and news outlets since. I work behind-the-chair 5 days a week, and my reviews come from that hands on point-of-view. I am not a scientist or a chemist.  I have many certifications in a number of different color lines, both ammonia & non-ammonia. I have taught classes the last two years at The Energizing Summit, which is the premiere event in Los Angeles for The American Board of Certified Haircolorists. This year, I will be teaching three classes at The Premiere Orlando Hair & Beauty Show, one of which is a hands-on overview of at least 4 different ammonia-free and/or organic hair color lines, from an unbiased point of view. If you are a beauty professional, I would highly encourage you to sign up for one of these inexpensive or FREE classes early…they fill up FAST. I hold two college degrees: one in Accounting and one in Business.

I do not work for, nor am I compensated by any hair color company. I am certified to train haircolorists by some hair color manufacturers, but at the present time I choose not to. I do not receive free product, discounted product, or any financial compensation from any hair color company whatsoever. When I review a hair color line, I purchase it myself with MY OWN MONEY, at the normal price. I believe that if you ask a company for free product to review, your evaluation is immediately tainted with bias. I do everything I can to eliminate any possible bias in my reviews, and keep them as professional as possible.

That being said, I am the founder/creator of my own professional quality hair product line, Raw Hair Organics. I also have a pet line and a men’s line coming out in the near future. These products are sold on our website and several salons & health food stores throughout the world. However, if you read any of my past reviews, that will never cloud my honest, professional judgement of a product. For more information on my background, and my products, visit www.rawhairorganics.com . My goal is to help guide hair color manufactures in the process of making better, safer products for us all…not to bash, discredit, or otherwise discourage their efforts. I believe that comes across loud & clear in my reviews. I appreciate the professionalism shown to me by most companies and their representatives, and I hope to always return that.

In short, that’s my very basic (yet incomplete) bio. Now, on to the review.

Soma Organics was started in 1995 by two friends: one a chemist, one with a business management background. It was founded in the area around Toronto, Canada. I believe that now they are owned by Wahl Professional, which is a company that manufactures clippers out of Northern Illinois in the U.S.A.  Soma has a focus on quality and environmental impact. Their products are 100% biodegradable (per their website), and they formulate all of their own products. I tried to find out more info on what exactly they are doing regarding environmental impact, but I was not able to find anything in particular, other than the products being 100% biodegradable as previously stated.

Soma created the Complete Colour Line to “Truly Perform”. It is a deposit-only, no lift permanent color “without fading”, and you can tone highlights without “bumping” or lifting the base and do low lights without fading or filling. Their line has 19 intermixable colors which allow for more stylist creativity and  less salon inventory, both major pluses for a stylist or salon owner.  Soma should be commended for directing attention to these details.

Soma Complete Colour, according to the company, adapts to the specific clients hair porosity, thus no “grabbing too dark”. They claim only one application is needed. The line was formulated by stylists to create translucent, blending, multi-tone, and opaque shades from ONE tube. It was created to mix perfectly with their developer for BOTH bottle AND brush applications.

Side note: (To be both translucent and opaque doesn’t seem possible, but maybe I’m wrong). Perhaps they are talking about if you double the color, like 2:1 color to developer.

Soma Complete Colour claims “100% gray coverage without fading brassy, even while using 20 volume developer”. They also claim “No Ammonia – No MEA”. These are great claims!

I was very excited to give this color line a try since it has been created by some colleagues of mine that haven’t seen eye to eye with me on my support of and teaching on non-ammonia hair color and the salon industry shift into the organic world.  Are they finally starting to agree with me??  They are now saying some of the same things I’ve been talking about for the past 7 years.  So, I took the product to my salon, The Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples, Florida, to give it a hands-on try. Here is what I found:

First of all, I’m not quite sure how it can be a “Complete Colour Line” when it is a deposit only color.  If you are a working stylist / colorist like me, you need a color line that has lifting abilities as well.  So I would need to have this color line along with another one in order to satisfy the needs of my entire color clientele, which is quite large.  Secondly, the color choices are limited.  I personally have no problems mixing and creating color formulas from a small selection of pigments, but many stylists struggle with that.  Consider your own skill level before you make a financial investment in this color line.

As stated above, this colour line is ammonia free, MEA free, and formaldehyde free.  They make the claim of “100% gray coverage”.  There are several good, nourishing, soothing, and strengthening botanical extracts like aloe vera, keratin, wheat, silk, sunflower, nettle, and more. Great stuff! I applaud them for that.

Note: the ingredient list says “may contain: ammonium hydroxide”.  Underneath that it says: “color shades do not contain ammonia, only bump-it and bump-it xtra contain ammonia. ”

Being a working,  ammonia-free / non-toxic / organic hair colorist, I have had a conflicting opinion with some of the Soma representatives who are professional colleagues of mine that I have great respect for on the topic of MEA.  They believe it is bad for the hair, and they have made that very clear to me. Frankly, as a professional colorist that uses haircolor with MEA in it ALL day EVERY day for the last, oh, 7 years or so,  I disagree. (You can find out more about the MEA vs Ammonia topic in one of my previous postings titled: MEA vs. Ammonia,with a link on the left hand column). With that in mind, they (Soma) created this color line with no ammonia and no MEA. Great. But Instead, they use AMP or Aminomethyl Propanol.  I don’t have a problem with this subtitute ingredient as long as it follows the Cosmetic Ingredients Review Panel regulations of using concentrations of 7% or less and that it should not be used in products containing secondary amines because they could cause harmful carcinogenic nitrosamines to form.

Soma uses a combination of PPD’s (p-phenylenediamine), Resorcinol, and TDS (toluene-2,5-diamine sulfate) for pigment.

Ok, on to my experience.  I prepared to use the Soma Complete Colour on a very good client of mine. I clarified the clients hair prior to application and then followed the manufacturers directions for gray coverage.  I mixed equal parts of 6N colour with 20 vol developer.  The consistency was nice and easy to work with….like that of greek yougurt.  There was no offensive smell or fumes, no irritation noted on scalp other than my client said she felt a slight tingle.  The directions said to process for 30 minutes at room temperature, but I left it on for 45 minutes. So far, so good.

As for the results?  Well, as I was rinsing the color, I could see that there was a problem….it looked lighter than it should.  After towel drying and starting to blow dry my clients hair, I could see that it was not just lighter….it did not cover the gray as promised.  The company says it has a “translucent coverage”.  Now, I have worked with over 12 similar ammonia free color lines, and have lots of experience with translucent coverage, so it’s not like I don’t know what I’m doing or that I don’t know what I’m looking at…this was more like transparent!  For the first time ever, I actually had to re-color my clients hair!  I had told her I was testing out a new color line before we got started so she thankfully was understanding and not upset, other than having to spend more time at the salon when she was super tired.  But as you can imagine, I was not exactly happy!  Needless to say, I went back to my usual non-ammonia color line and re-colored her hair.  Which, by the way, turned out perfect.

Another interesting side note, is that, it seems as though the creators and ambassadors/educators for this company (Soma) / colour line still don’t truly believe in ammonia-free hair color, even though they say they are “so excited” about creating and bringing this non-ammonia colour line to the market.

I’m inserting this advertisment and flyer for an upcoming class that I received on 2/11/13.  Be sure to read the 5th statement under day ones class!!

From their mailer:

“We are bringing in Board Certified Haircolorist Lisa Kelley and world-renowned color chemist Dr Said to show you what the color and product manufacturers do not want you to know and to help you prepare for the ABCH examination.  To get both Lisa Kelley and Dr. Said on the same stage together is a rare opportunity.”

(Click on the link below)

  Lisa & Dr. Said class

What??

Huh??

I’m getting mixed messages, to say the least!

Are they for or against non-ammonia hair color??…..it’s hard to create and promote a non-ammonia color line when you are teaching classes on ammonia color being better for the hair.  Something is wrong here….what a disappointment!

All in all, yes, I like the fact that they, Soma Organics, is working to create better hair products for clients and the environment. I like the fact that they are trying different things in the lab. No company that is working hard in the lab to create better products should be bashed. But as for the performance of the product as a whole, it’s back to the drawing board for this one. The effort is commendable, but more work should have been done on the Research & Development side BEFORE the line was launched to the public. “Field” R&D is always a risk and a big no-no, in my opinion.

I give the Soma Complete Colour a rating of 1 out of 5.

I always welcome your questions and comments, as well as recommendations for future hair color reviews.

Next month, I will have TWO new hair color reviews posted, so make sure and SIGN UP for email alerts direct from The Organic Hair Color Review.com.

Until next month, here’s to great, healthy hair, and great, healthy hair stylists.

Melanie

Chi Ionic Permanent Shine Ammonia-Free Hair Color Review 2012 by Melanie Nickels

Tags

ABCH, American Board of Certified Hair Colorists, Ammonia free, balayage, beauty, blond hair, brown hair, Chi, curly hair, Difference between MEA and Ammonia, hair, hair c, hair color, hair color expert, hair color professional, highlights, Ionic, MEA, Melanie Nickels, natural hair color, Ombre', organic hair color, Organic Hair Color Review, Raw Hair Organics, red hair, straight hair

Hello again, and THANK YOU very much for visiting my Organic Hair Color Review website. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Melanie Nickels, a ranking member, exam evaluator, and the only organic educator in the American Board of Certified Hair Colorists organization here in the U.S. I am the founder of the first organic / non-toxic salon in Southwest Florida, Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples. I am also the creator / founder of Raw Hair Organics, a professional natural / organic hair products line. I hold college degrees in both accounting and business, as well as being a 16+ year professional stylist & salon owner…and that’s just the beginning!  For a full bio on me, click back to the home page and you can read a whole lot more about me and my background.

This weeks review is of the new Chi Ionic Permanent Shine hair color by Farouk Systems, based here in the United States. The story of how Farouk came to be is a good one. Here’s a quick summary:

First off, Farouk Sami is the richest hairdresser in history (his words, not mine). He is worth about $3 billion dollars (yes, BILLION with a B). It’s truly a rags-to-riches story. He came here from Palestine for college, planning on studying to become a teacher like his father. But a part-time job in a hair salon changed everything. He liked being around people and making them happy. In 1981, he opened his first salon in North Houston, Texas. He had gained quite a following as a colorist, but was allergic to the ammonia. Thus, he developed his own color line, and the next thing he knew he had distributors knocking at his door. It wasn’t long after that he was making in the high millions (dollars, that is). Now, he manufactures CHI salon tools (hair dryers, flat irons, etc…at as much as $300 a pop), as well his hair product lines. He manufactures about a million bottles a day…which he says “is better than printing money.” He has warehouses in Houston, Texas, South Korea, Belgium, and the Middle East. He sells in 92 countries world-wide.  I was glad to hear that after about 7 years of manufacturing his CHI salon tools in China, he has started moving all of those operations back to the U.S.A. That alone is a good reason to support his business. Although his is a passionate & active supporter of Palestine, he is an American citizen of 47 years, and a true, red-blooded Texan, right down to his bright red signature boots. He is a flashy old guy, driving a bright red new Lamborghini and not shy in the least to brag a bit about his riches.  At 70 years old, he’s not showing any signs of slowing down. Quite the contrary: at this point, he and his team of researchers are trying to create a blow dryer that actually GROWS hair….good luck with that .  Mr. Shami introduced ammonia-free hair color to the industry 25 years ago, although there seems to be many hair color companies out there right now who claim they were the first…even though they may have only been around 2-3 years or so. As far as my research is concerned, his statement is probably accurate.

I purchased, with my own money, some of the Chi Ionic Permanent Shine Hair Color for this review, and took it to my Naples, Florida salon, Raw Hair Organic Salon, to try it out for myself. I also went through a training class with a friend and co-worker hosted by one of the Farouk educators.  According the company, it’s ammonia-free, formulated without PPD, has no parabens, is anti-fade, provides 100% gray coverage, as well as richer, more vibrant reds & firery coppers…and doesn’t smell.

The product contains ethanolamin and resorcinol, but indeed, I did not find ammonia or ammonia derivatives (sic) on the label, nor does it have any wheat for those concerned about that. The PPD, which is pigment, is replaced with TDS (Toluene 2,5 Diamine Sulfate).  This is considered a “cousin” to PPD and thought to be less of an allergenic.  The product uses silk, oil, and aloe as ingredients as well. The color is a 1:1 mixing procedure, which is very simple compared to some other lines. One part Chi Color Generator and one part Chi Ionic Permanent Hair Color is the rate at which  you formulate. The color comes in 3 oz tubes (85g for those of you outside of the U.S.), and one 3 ounce tube equals 2 applications. The tubes are marked in 1//2 ounce increments, which again makes for easy measuring.   I was told to massage the tube to mix the silk and oils before using.    The developers are a cream consistency so when mixed with the color, you get a thicker frosting like working consistency.  This is good for bowl & brush application, not for bottles.   NOTE: This is a PROFESSIONAL color line, and it is NOT intended for anything other than professional use. I did a little research online and did indeed find sources selling it to retail customers. However, when I read the feedback, I found a 14 year old girl who bought some, and when she opened it up was upset because “there were no instructions” (no kidding).

There are a couple different lines within the Chi Color line so that can be a little confusing, but we are referring to the Standard Series right now.   There is a good selection of colors: 82 plus 8 pre-mixed additives.  I found it to be true that it did not have a smell and  it covered gray well, fading was minimal, and the hair was nice and shiny.  Processing time is 30 min room temperature for normal or 45 min for resistant.  Or, you can use low heat for 15 min, and room temp for 20 min.  I processed all of mine at room temp for 30 min.

As much as I and my co-worker wanted to totally love this color line, unfortunately, there were a few negative experiences that I have to acknowledge.  I used this color on my own hair, like I most often do before using it on any clients.  I was one that experienced some irritation.  My scalp itched while it was processing.  The longer it stayed on, the more it got itchy, so after 30 minutes I couldn’t wait to rinse it off.  Once I rinsed it and shampooed, my scalp was fine.  All but 2 of my clients (who had mild itching) were fine with no reactions.  My co-worker, on the other hand, had  several clients that had itching with this color and a couple that had severe allergic reactions with burning.  These were clients that have been coloring their hair professionally for many years with ammonia haircolor and had not previously had any issues.

The other part of the Chi Color line that I worked with is the Chi Infra Environmental Cream Color.  It is an ammonia-free, non-oxidizing system with 19 colors.  There is High Lift and No Lift.  The Infra High Lift Cream Color provides up to 8 levels of lift and tones in one step.  The Infra No Lift Cream Color is deposit only.  In the High Lift, there are 3 blondes, 3 reds, and 3 browns.  I used the High Lift Blondes.  The key points they state for the Chi Infra Environmental High Lift Cream Color is: it’s ammonia free, oil based, lifts and deposits, has the ionic and far infared technology that lightens from the inside out, and it can lift previously colored hair.

It comes in a tube and is mixed 1:1 with the chosen color generator.  Processing time varies (from up to 10 min under low heat to up to 25 min under low heat) and 5 min cool down, according to how much lift you want. I have also processed at room temp just fine.  The consistency is fluffy like cool-whip, and it does leave an oily residue in the bowl after rinsing.  I have liked how this product works for highlighting.  It is easy to work with, it lifts the hair quickly and the tones are nice, and the hair seems in good condition for high lighting.

My co-worker on the other hand, did not have such a great experience with the Infras.  She used one of the the High Lift Browns and she and her client both noticed it had a terrible smell to it (Strange)!  Then, the stylist went to rinse her bowls while the client was processing and when the color in the bowl mixed with the water, it started turning a BRIGHT cobalt blue.  The more she tried to rinse it, the more it stained…the bowl, the cleaning brush, the sink, and her hands.  Needless to say, she literally sprinted down the hall to rinse and shampoo the color off of her clients hair.  Luckily, the client had medium brown hair and it did not stain or take the cobalt blue color.  I took some pictures and will include those in this posting.  We are not sure if that was just a bad tube of color or if there seems to be some kind of chemical reaction when it is mixed with our Florida water, which depending on the time of year and the water tables, can be a bit aggressive.  Regardless, neither one of us was willing to try that one again.  I have however continued to use the Infra blondes after that without problems.

So there you have it.  Overall, I think this is a decent non-ammonia haircolor line as far as the level of toxicity, but there seem to be a few glitches we experienced to be aware of.  Everyone is different as far as sensitivites so what might bother one person may be fine for another.

Please, if you are looking to try a non-ammonia color line, or are looking for quality salon-professional products  and/or tools, by all means try Chi. They deserve our business. It’s clear that they are trying to do the right things, and are putting people, health, and America as country first above profits. They are moving jobs back to the United States from overseas at a time when a majority of U.S. companies are leaving. They are spending considerable amounts of money on research & development of innovative products for our industry at a point in Farouk’s career where he could just as easily walk away and spend his billions pampering himself. But he’s not. And that’s commendable. And he deserves to be recognized for that.

I rate this color line a 3 on my scale of 1-5.

http://youtu.be/SDkJsL2gpFk

http://youtu.be/TCGYOZUUY8E

http://youtu.be/5aP_h8mX6yQ

<For more information on the Chi color line, and others as well, visit my Youtube channel “RawHairOrganics”, or the following websites:

http://www.organichaircolorreview.com

http://www.organichairproductreview.com

http://www.organicskincarereview.com

http://www.rawhairorganics.com  (in the blog section on the left side of the home page)

I welcome comments, as well as suggestions for color lines or products that my readers would like to see reviewed.  Feel free to email me with questions as well, and I will always do my best to respond.

Until next time, here’s to great, healthy hair….and great, healthy hair stylists.

Melanie

MEA vs Ammonia: The Unbiased Truth

Tags

ABCH, Ammonia, cancer, Difference between MEA and Ammonia, disease, fumes, hair color, hair color expert, hair color professional, Hair Color Review, MEA, Melanie Nickels, natural, non-toxic, Organic, Raw Hair, Raw Hair Organics, toxic

Thanks for visiting my Hair Color Review Website!

For those of you who are new, I’m Melanie Nickels, a ranking member / educator / evaluator of The American Board of Certified Hair Colorists. I am the only organic / non-toxic educator in the ABCH organization. I am the founder / creator of Raw Hair Organics, a line of organic / natural professional quality hair products that WORK just like traditional chemical-based ones. You can read more about it at www.rawhairorganics.com . I am the founder of the first organic / non-toxic salon in South Florida, the Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples, Florida. I was internationally trained, as well as part of Inter-Coiffure, a Broadway stylist on the hit show “42nd Street”, and have many certifications and  training much to numerous to list here. I spend no less than 60 hours a week, every week, behind the chair, hands-on in my salon, the Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples, Florida. I have two college degrees: One in Business, and One in Accounting. My hair color reviews are read in and reach no less than 50 Countries World-Wide every single day of the  year by industry professionals of all ranks, as well as salon clients, etc.  If you would like to know more about me, you can find a more detailed bio on the homepage of this site (which I will be updating).

I do NOT work for, nor do I own or represent a hair color company. I am NOT compensated in ANY way by ANY hair color company. When I review a hair color line, I purchase the product WITH MY OWN MONEY. I do not receive free product from manufacturers, as I feel this creates an inherent bias right from the start. 

Ok, I should have started with this discussion to talk about MEA vs. Ammonia (or the difference between MEA and Ammonia, if you will) a long time ago.  So lets go back to the basics and get into what is used in haircolor and why:

Let me begin by saying I am not a chemist, so I am giving you the facts as a professional, working haircolorist with a lot of experience in haircolor and ingredient knowledge from working with chemists on a regular basis for the last several years.  I, like most people in the industry, had been taught over the years that MEA is bad….that it doesn’t rinse from the hair and it dries it out over time.  Boy, was shocked to find out the hair color I’ve been using contains MEA because my experience was quite the contrary!  I have used MEA and Ammonia BOTH, for MANY years. I find that there is a lot of misinformation out there being shared by people who either a) have an agenda either for or against MEA or Ammonia,  and b) people who don’t have a vast background using BOTH for an extended period of time (or don’t work behind the chair AT ALL) thus, in my professional opinion, their opinions are worthless to you and me as  working professionals. Frankly, this is why I started http://www.organichaircolorreview.com in the first place.

Hair has a natural ph of 4.5-5.5. So in order to color the hair, there needs to be an alkaline agent to raise or adjust the ph so the color can penetrate the cuticle and get to the cortex.

Ammonia has been the ingredient of choice in hair color for many years because it is good at doing that….typically raising the ph to 10-10.5.  However, the problem is  that ammonia is aggressive on the hair, it is a strong irritating gas that gives off fumes, and when it disolves in water it forms ammonium hydroxide which is highly corrosive.  There are several reports on the possible health risks on this topic from sources like the Dept. of Health and the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, and Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety.

Another problem that arises from using ammonia as the ph adjuster in hair color is that because it is more aggressive  on the hair which causes loss of protein and moisture, it damages  the cuticle.  This leads to the problem of higher porosity, which means the cuticle is not closing down properly and you have increased difficulties with color fadage.

So what is MEA?  The official terminology is Monoethanolamine.  It is in the family of Ethanolamines.  It is an organic chemical compound that is a primary amine and primary alcohol.  It can be toxic, flammable, and corrosive at high amounts.  However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer have decided that ethanolamines do NOT pose a cancer risk to humans.  According to the European Chemical Industry Council, it is a clear viscous, liquid derived from reacted ethylene oxide and …aqueous ammonia.  There is also a Cocomide MEA which is fatty acids in coconut oil reacted with MEA.   Confused?   So basically, it is used as a replacement ph adjuster in haircolor that is considered ammonia-free and used at lower percentages and coupled with emollient oils, making it less volatile and less corrosive than ammonia. That being said, just like any other ingredient, there can be different amounts of MEA used and/or it can be used in conjunction with other ingredients like alcohol in order to perform.  The same rule applies to any ingredient that is replacing ammonia or that is used to raise the ph.  The more that is used, the higher the ph, the more damage.  Other ingredients being used in a similar way are AMEA (Aminomethylpropanol & Monoethanolamine), and AMP (Amino Methyl Propanol).

It’s interesting that the people (meaning manufacturers) who have been or are supportive / defensive about ammonia as used in hair coloring have been lowering the amount of ammonia in their hair color lines,  or are now creating products that are ammonia free, but have been trying to find or use an alternative ingredient to MEA since they have been bashing it for all these years and know now they will look like hypocrites if they do use MEA.  I also find it interesting the amount of people (stylists & colorists) that have been putting products like Sweet & Low in their haircolor in order to reduce the amount of irritation on their clients scalps and thinking this is OK. (REALLY??)  I have had MANY well respected haircolorists tell me the ammonia doesn’t bother them.  I always respond, “well, how about your clients?”  We all have had them asking for a comb or something to scratch their heads while color was processing! What does THAT tell you??!!

Ph levels are compounding, meaning each little increment it goes up is exponential.  So the difference between 9 and 10 is huge!  The magic number for working ph for color seems to be 9.  It is enough to open and penetrate through the cuticle without causing damage

Now that I’ve laid the groundwork, let’s get to the big theory that has been floating around the hair industry forever about MEA.  It is claimed that MEA does not rinse from the hair, and that it dries the hair out.  This is yet to be proven to me, in theory or in the salon, as I have had many debates with very well respected colleagues within the ABCH  (The American Board of Certified Hair Colorists) as well as others, on this topic.  Speaking from MY experience behind the chair using a hair color with MEA in it for over 7 years, every day, I have seen nothing but the opposite in my clients hair!  I have not had any problems rinsing and shampooing the color, and therefore the MEA, from the hair.  All of my salon hair color clients  can visibly see the difference in their hair of how much healthier and shinier their hair is after they stopped using ammonia hair color on it.  ALL of them. Literally hundreds of clients.

Also, while we are on the topic of MEA, another little fact I like to point out is that hairstylists favorite demi, non-ammonia hair color of all time: (Redken Shades EQ) that has been used to freshen/tone/glaze the ends of the hair because it is less damaging and gentler has…….guess what…….MEA in it!!!  Hmmm…

Let me make that clear: Redken Shades EQ has MEA in it 

So there you have it.  In a nutshell, there needs to be some kind of alkaline agent in hair color to raise the ph in order to be able to color hair.  Different sources can be used to achieve this function.  As I like to say, are any of them perfect?  No.  But some seem better for me to work with than others.  You take your pick. But now, you can finally make an educated choice.

Please feel free to leave a comment. I will respond.

Check out my other review websites: http://www.organichairproductreview.wordpress.com ,  www.organicskincarereview.wordpress.com  and also check out my NEW blog area with great professional info http://www.rawhairorganics.com

Until next time, here’s to great, healthy hair and great, healthy hairstylists.

Melanie

The NEW Inoa Hair Color Review – 2012 Relaunch: Did L’Oreal Get It Right This Time? – by Melanie Nickels

Hello, and thanks for visiting my hair color review blog, www.organichaircolorreview.com where I review organic hair color, natural hair color, non-toxic hair color, ammonia-free hair color, and on occasion, traditional hair color products when I feel it’s appropriate. I purchase all products tested & reviewed with my own money to avoid any perception of bias whatsoever.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m Melanie Nickels. I am a ranking member of The American Board of Certified Hair Colorists, as well as an exam evaluator for the organization, one of only 19 nation-wide. I am the only organic / non-toxic educator in the entire ABCH. I am the owner/founder of Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples, Florida, which was the first organic / non-toxic salon in all of Southwest Florida, where I spend no less than 60 hours a week behind the chair. Also, I’m the founder/owner/creator of Raw Hair Organics, a 100% natural / organic professional salon-quality hair products line. Feel free to visit that website for more valuable insight, info and product reviews, as well as more of my bio. However,  please do NOT feel obligated to purchase anything. The site is:  www.rawhairorganics.com

I was internationally trained, part of Inter-Coiffure, a Broadway stylist on the hit show “42nd Street”, and I have certifications in dozens of product lines too numerous to name here. I have worked with about every major professional hair color line on the market. I take part in a large amount of continuing education every single year.  In my free time, I donate one day a month to The American Cancer Society, where for about the last 6 years I help facilitate the Look Good Feel Better program for cancer patients in the Naples / Ft. Myers area. I am the owner / editor of two blogs, http://www.organichairproductreview.com & http://www.organichaircolorreview.com which I write on a monthly basis. That’s not my full bio, but it should give you at least an idea of why I’m qualified to be editor this blog. For a more complete bio, visit http://www.rawhairorganics.com .

A while back, I wrote a review of a new hair color line from L’Oreal called Inoa, that was launched in 2010.  If you have not read my review of it, please take a few minutes and scroll down a few reviews back and read it. It will get you up to speed for this review. Otherwise, you might not fully understand what I’m talking about here.

That being said, in mid-2012, L’Oreal did a Re-launch of it’s Inoa hair color line…you can draw your own conclusions…!   Inoa is a hair color line that replaces ammonia with a “minimal amount” of MEA & Oil…hence the term ODS(Oil Delivery System).   It combines the oil, which is listed as mineral oil in the ingredients  with the MEA (the alkalizing agent) to boost it’s performance (again, if you have read my last Inoa review, you are up-to-speed at this point).  The ODS coats and softens the outside of the hair strands and uses MEA to raise the ph and swell the cuticle. This pushes the color inward, toward the hair cortex, to help it penetrate more deeply than it would on it’s own.  The ingredients in Inoa preserve lipids (the natural conditioner of the hair) much better than ammonia can. In other words, it is less corrosive than ammonia therefore preserving the integrity of the hair.  This means less porosity and more shine and better color retention.

In the 2012 relaunch, one of the major changes is ODS 2 (oil delivery system  2). It is, for all practical purposes, the “new & improved” version of the original ODS. It’s less greasy, has an altered fragrance and is now combined in one traditional size tube of color. The ODS 2 is an improvement in the way their color is formulated and ultimately applied. It achieves this in two basic ways:

1) The Formulation: The original ODS was a 3-part system that required the use of separate tiny tubes of color, which L’Oreal and some stylists found expensive, cumbersome, and complicated, especially in countries (or in some cases United States) where a person can become a licensed stylist / colorist with as little as 6 months of formal training (gasp!) and be considered “qualified”.  The colorist was required to mix the pigments with the oleo gel and then the developer. The new ODS 2 comes in ONE tube, which makes it much easier for new and experienced colorists alike to use it. It was also decided by L’Oreal that the “Inoa” mixing system was too complicated to convert over into other L’Oreal brands such as Redken and Matrix, which are mostly American brands and not-so-much international brands. In short, L’Oreal wanted to simplify the process to suit more of it’s international markets, as well as making it easier to transfer across to other L’Oreal brands. The NEW Inoa system is now a two-step system of color & developer. The tubes are 60ml (or 2.1 oz in the U.S.), and the mixing ratio with the developer is 1:1 and it processes at room temperature 35 min.

As a side note, they came out with the same “revolutionary, new and improved” product in the Redken line known as Chromatics (see my review of this product on this blog site as well). Also, Matrix is expected to launch in fall of 2013. (All of these lines are currently owned by L’oreal).

2) The Client Benefits: Their pre-blended formulation insures uniformity of color. In their original INOA system, there was always the chance that the pigments may not mix properly with all of the other ingredients which could lead to the  possibility of the client experiencing irritation and / or variations in color. Wth the new ODS 2, there is less of  a chance of this happening. With ODS 2, if a client were to experience irritation or an itchy scalp, it’s due to an allergy to once of the specific pigments, which is an issue that could happen with any hair color system.

In summary, ODS 2, as part of the INOA color system, is an oil-based system that maximizes the effectiveness of the permanent hair color process, while providing more lipid protection compared to other traditional brands. The ODS 2 covers (sic) 100% of white hair (according to them). It offers 59 shades. It minimizes skin / scalp irritation, and doesn’t have the overbearingly harsh smell or side effects of ammonia (which, of course, is used in most hair color lines). The Inoa color is mixed equal parts with developer which gives a thicker consistency  like a cream or like frosting. This makes application easy to work with. It is processed at room temperature for 35 min.  You add a little water and emulsify before completely rinsing.  They still recommend shampooing with the Inoa Post Shampoo (which I discussed in the original Inoa review).

When I personally tried The relaunched Inoa by L’Oreal at the Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples, Florida ( www.rawhairorganics.com ), I found that when I went to emulsify the color before rinsing, it became a strange lard-like color and consistency.  Because of all the oil, the water pretty much beaded up and ran off.  It took a lot of rinsing to remove, but once I shampooed, it was fine and did not stain the skin too bad. It covered the gray well, the hair was shiny and color retention seemed good upon return of my client.  They did, however, experience itching on the scalp afterwards in between colors.  It looks like they replaced ppd’s (paraphenylendiamine) with it’s cousin: toluene 2,5 diamine and resorcinol for pigment, which could be causing irritation.

Overall, I am happy that L’oreal has been confirming that ammonia free haircoloring is a better way to go and the way of the future.  I’m glad they have revised their formula and continue to work on ways to improve the haircolor industry. This is great progress for clients and stylists alike.

I give the New Inoa a rating of 3.75 out of 5.

If you are new to this site, please take the time to look around at the other organic hair color reviews, natural hair color reviews, and ammonia-free hair color reviews.  You can also look at my other websites for great reviews on organic hair products, natural hair products and related reviews at www.organichairproductreview.com  My third website that I just started is for organic skin care products and natural skin care products for both women AND men and can be found at  www.organicskincarereview.wordpress.com 

I always encourage comments and feedback.

If there is a hair color line that you would like me to review, please send me a note or post it in the comments section. I have TWO that I’m working on right now that I hope to post in the next 30 days. Please keep in mind that it takes me at least 30 days to do a review, as they are quite time consuming and take quite a bit of exhaustive research.

Until next time, here’s to great, healthy hair and great, healthy hair stylists.

Melanie

Chromatics Hair Color by Redken – Review 2012

Once again, thank you for visiting my Organic Hair Color Review blog, where I take a hands-on, unbiased approach to dissect, examine, and review organic, non-toxic, and ammonia-free hair color lines. For those of you who don’t know, I’m Melanie Nickels, master hair colorist and a ranking member & examiner for the American Board of Certified Hair Colorists, as well as the owner of the first organic & non-toxic salon in Southwest Florida, Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples.

Chromatics is the latest color line on the market by Redken Laboratories, which was founded in 1960 by an American actress named Paula Kent. Paula dealt with frequent style changes in her career, and she was extra sensitive to many of the products that her hairdressers and make-up artists were using at that time. With the intent of changing the way these hair products were being used, she partnered with her hairdresser and formed Redken. Starting with only three products and an intensive education program for hairdressers, Paula and her business partner went out to change the world of hair care. By 1965, Paula had full ownership of the company. In 1993 Redken was purchased by L’Oreal and is now a global leader in hair care products, based in New York City on 5th Avenue. They sell the Redken product line in about 50 countries as of this writing.

Chromatics was launched in March of 2012. It was, and is, promoted as “The Haircolor Breakthrough”, and a “Prismatic Permanent Color. Zero Ammonia. Zero Odor”.  It is also marketed as leaving the hair “2X Fortified”, meaning that by using Chromatics hair color it will leave the cuticle fortified and account for 2X less breakage when using 20 volume Oil In Cream Developer and Redken Hair Cleansing Cream Shampoo vs. uncolored hair treated with a non-conditioning shampoo (per their company website). They also claim “100% Gray Coverage, Flawlessly”. Chromatics features a broad range of shades, which allows an experienced, talented colorist to custom blend colors that are a perfect fit for the client.

The technology behind how Chromatics fortifies the hair (per the company) is to surround the hair with protective oil (using the ODS+ Protein Extract Technology), propel the long-lasting color pigments & protein extracts deep into every strand of hair, and then 2X fortify it, leaving behind brilliant, multi-dimensional color. Redken claims 100% client comfort, 0% ammonia, 0% irritating odor, 100% gray coverage, with 48 amazing shades creating multi-dimensional 4D color results.

I was not about to miss the class offered at this years Premiere Orlando Hair Show on this one!  I was anxious to hear how Redken was going to backpeddle and present this non-ammonia color line as great and wonderful since the color that they have had on the market for all these years is one that is very high in ammonia and ppd’s and other chemicals.  It intrigued me as I wondered how they would promote this without contradiction to their current lines.

Well, the class was actually one of the better ones I attended at the show.  The educator was very good, and seemed to present good facts and information along with models and formulas for “real hair” scenerios instead of smoke and mirrors for the show.  Redken is promoting Chromatics as the latest and greatest cutting edge technology and as another option to the ammonia based colors.  I agree, except that other companies have been using these technologies like no ammonia and oil delivery system for at least 18 years.  That being said, it has been cutting edge and it’s about time more companies and stylists are finally catching on!

The educator did a great demonstration of how oil and water separate and that the oil in the ODS colors pushes or propells the hair color and then traps the color and oil into the hair giving great coverage, lasting color and condtioned hair.  He did also mention that MEA is used in place of ammonia and actually admitted (to my shock) that it is less aggressive than ammonia….WHAT, OH OH……REALLY…..better tell all those that have been running around teaching that MEA is bad and doesn’t rinse out of the hair, and dries out your ends!!!  That is a whole separate blog topic that we can tackle, but I’ve been battling that one out with most other well known and respected educators and chemists in the industry.  Let me just point out for now that MEA has been used in Shades EQ and I think this has been a favorite of most stylists for a very long time and used to gently freshen and condtion the ends of hair when coloring.  And, I have been working with a permanent ODS color line for 6 years and have not seen my clients hair getting dried out at all….quite the opposite in fact.

Ok, back to the Chromatics color.  One of the most interesting things about this line is that they have a Clear color that will lift the hair and will lift other color.  They said that clear and 20 vol developer can be used instead of a bleach cap, it can be used alone to “lift highlights”, and is great for breaking the base.

So, I purchased the Chromatics by Redken color, with my own money, and took it to my salon in Naples, Florida to put it to the test.  I did my own hair with the Chromatics color and  did a base breaker with the clear on my  co-worker on one of my very few days off (yes, I work on my days off…in the salon). We video taped the process of doing the base breaker so you can see how it worked.  Please excuse the absense of my face and the presence of my dogs as I told you, I had color on my hair and it was a “day off” from the salon so my family joined me in the fun.

Overall, I felt that the color worked well, covered gray no problem, & did not irritate my scalp.  There was no smell, it was easy to mix(equal parts) and had a good working consistency.  I don’t know the % of MEA, but they also use m-aminophenol and then toluene 2.5-diamine and resorcinol for pigment.

For my co-workers base breaker, I used clear with 20 vol and processed at room temp for 12 min.  She did experience itching.  She has wheat allergies, but I do not see any wheat listed in the ingredients so she may have been experiencing sensitivity to the peroxide, because there is no ppd’s or pigment and no listed fragrance.

http://youtu.be/jisxzI9k8iU

On a scale of one to five (5 being highest) I rate it a 3.75.

If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to post them here, or contact me directly.

Hope you enjoy!

Melanie

Inoa from L’Oreal – The big boys “Go Green”

In March of 2010, L’Oreal Professionnel launched what was tagged as being a revolutionary new hair color system that does not contain ammonia and has “supreme respect for the hair” called INOA. The name INOA stands for “Innovative No Ammonia”.  Of course, as one of the top organic colorists in the country, I was immediately excited. L’Oreal, the owner of INOA, is one of the largest companies in the world, not just in the beauty industry. So, I figured with the kind of money that they have to put into innovation, research & development, as well as the incredible amount of talent they have at their disposal in their labs, I thought for sure it would be the end-all-be-all in the non-toxic hair color world. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and try it in my own salon, Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples, Florida.

EDITORS NOTE: In the interest of full-disclosure, I want to make it clear that I am a high ranking member of The American Board Of Certified Hair Colorists, which is the organization that I quote several times in this review regarding Inoa. I am not only a member of the ABCH, I am an examiner / evaluator, and educator as well. However, I did not and was not involved in any of the Inoa testing or the review of Inoa that was done by the ABCH organization, nor did I have any input. The Inoa product that I personally used for my review was purchase BY ME, with my own money. It was not given to me nor was it purchased at a discount other than the normal trade discount price. 

After a discussion with an Inoa professional at their elaborate  booth at one of the largest beauty industry trade shows in the country, I purchased the product and took it back to my salon, Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples, Florida for testing.  I took the INOA one-day class (required to purchase INOA products), I watched a number of Inoa videos online as well as read some company and semi-independent literature before I used it.  I found a video by Fashion In Motion, that was obviously filmed at a runway show somewhere. There was an interview with Mr. Colin Ford, a 40 year industry veteran, and Education & Events Director at L’Oreal Professionnel. I found it quite interesting that 2-3 sentences into the interview Mr. Ford back-handedly bashes Ammonia color by saying, “It’s (ammonia) effective in what it does but there’s some negatives about ammonia, like the pungent odor for a start, plus it can cause some irritation of the scalp, so it’s not a pleasing experience.” What makes this so interesting (for those who don’t know) is that his company, L’Oreal, owns no less than 500 product lines, and a number of them are made up of ammonia-based hair color treatments. He also claims that (INOA), “leaves hair in a natural state.”  In a different Inoa advertising video they state, “Inoa is a breakthrough ammonia-free technology.”  I also found a couple other video’s online that were made by some very well-known L’Oreal Professionnel salons, owned by some very well-known celebrity stylists, who made statements telling clients “Inoa has no ammonia”, and “(Inoa is) The first 100% ammonia free hair color.”  At that point, I got really interested…because I’m pretty sure (ok, I KNOW) that’s not a true statement, since I’ve been using a 100% non-ammonia, oil delivery hair color which was developed in 1994. So, I scrolled down a few pages on my Bing! search and found an interesting little .gov website with this little tidbit that I hadn’t heard about: Turns out the U.S. government ordered L’Oreal to cease making the claim that this line has “No ammonia” (Advertising Code Commission File Number 2012/00770).

At that point, I pulled out the tubes and bottles from the Inoa system and started reading them myself. Here is the REAL SCOOP: The Inoa color DYE does not have any ammonia. However, part of the procedure requires the stylist to use a product called “INOA Post”. It is a shampoo that is to be used after the hair color procedure is done, and yes, it’s got ammonia in it. A bunch. Misleading?  Well…sorta…yes. At the very least, confusing.  That’s how I feel, and the United States Government apparently agrees with me.

I also wanted to share the review and test results of my colleague, Andre Nizetich, President of the American Board of Certified Hair Colorists (ABCH). In summary (and I will take the liberty to VERY loosely quote him, since we are good friends), here are his INOA findings:

~Said it took 3X longer to mix and 3X longer to apply compared to other leading brands. ~Said entire process took 19 minutes, while other brands took about 7 minutes.  This is mostly due to having to mix a separate oil ingredient as well as somewhat poor consistency of the hair color.

~Said INOA doesn’t allow the stylist to be innovative, due to the their difficult tube dispensing system. It’s great for begining stylists MAYBE, but not for ones who want to be creative. Andre also thinks it would be hard to complete a single application with 4 ounces of color.

~Said INOA produced a “course cuticle” and “became increasingly difficult to comb the hair the more it was exposed to the sun.”

Here are my personal thoughts on INOA:

Price: INOA is expensive. It has a higher cost per application.

Gray Coverage: Not great. It’s very hit-or-miss, sometimes it covers, sometimes it doesn’t. There have been complaints of color fading  off -tone. The ABCH test called it “significant fading”, and “mixed results” on gray coverage.

Damage:   My colleagues (not me personally) found it had a tendency to damage the hair on the second application and more so with further subsequent applications. This is disheartening, as one of the main reasons I, as a sylist and salon owner, use organic and ammonia-free products is to avoid damage to the hair. If I can’t give a client better, healthier hair after a couple of visits (if not at the first visit), then I’m not happy.

Irritation: No significant irritation.

The “Green Factor”: INOA is not organic, not natural, and appears that it is not cruelty-free or eco-friendly. PETA (whether you like them or not) has publicly ridiculed them. However, they have announced that they will, as a company, be cruelty-free by 2013. Time will tell.

Ammonia: Marketed as “Ammonia-Free”, but the system itself has plenty. In the one of the latter steps, you wash the clients hair with a product called “INOA Post”. It has  ammonia in it. The reason I was told is that it needs it to wash out the residual oils from the “oil delivery system”. However, it is the only product in the INOA line that has ammonia in it. I’ve seen a number of reviews that state that the entire line of INOA is ammonia based, and that is simply not true.  Make sure when you choose a review of a product line to guide your purchasing decisions, that the reviewer is  unbiased and that they don’t have a financial motive to comment one way or another.

General Application: I found the color to have a consistency that wasn’t difficult to work with. I personally found the entire process taking almost 3 times as long (19 minutes compared to about 7-ish minutes), which for me was excessive.  There is  one  step called the “Dry Emulsification”, where you massage it through the clients head. It adds  more time to the process, but I’m used to that because the color line I use on a regular basis at my salon has a similar step. Some stylists might find that to be a problem.

Client Experience: Without being exhaustive in my description, I’d have to say that I’m not happy at all with the fact that INOA isn’t clear in their marketing regarding the “ammonia-free” claim. I own a high-end organic, non-toxic salon. I get a lot of clients that come to me who either have terrible allergies or allergic reactions, cancer or undergoing cancer treatments, auto-immune disorders, or are pregnant.  There is ammonia in the INOA Post shampoo, plain and simple.

Melanie’s LIKES: Good selection of colors, good consistency to work with, low MEA. The amount of MEA is the same as their demi colors which is the ”lowest on the market” according to the L’Oreal educator.

Melanie’s DISLIKES: Too many steps with the 3 part system (oleo oil gel, developer, and color), not good gray coverage, ammonia in Post Shampoo, high cost (the tubes of color are little – have to use more than one).

If I have to rate on my scale of 1 to 5 (five being highest, one being lowest), I’d rate it overall a 2.

Being that INOA is L’Oreal’s first leap into the non-toxic /organic / ammonia-free hair color market, I know that in time they will come out with a better product, or significantly improve the product. In fact, at the time of this writing, they have already (as this review was in the process of being done) relaunched a new INOA and introduced Redken Chromatics.  As stated above, they as a company just have way too many resources at their disposal to not get this product to the point where it is THE best in it’s segment, or at least very close to the top of the list. L’Oreal has been around since 1907, they are a multi-billion dollar company with a rich history of innovation and development. They understand the paradigm shift to TRUE ammonia-free and organic, non-toxic hair color. Again, time will tell if they raise bar or not.

Feel free to contact me directly with comments or questions, as well as suggestions of color lines that you would like to see me review.

Until next time, here’s to good, healthy hair and good, healthy hairdressers.

Let’s Try A Milkshake

Is a Milkshake a healthier coloring option for you? It sounds yummy…let’s find out!  Today I will evaluate and discuss the Milkshake hair color line in detail and see what conclusion we come to.

For the last 15 years or so, I’ve been a master haircolorist, and a good number of those years I have been working with organic and ammonia-free color lines. Whenever  a new one comes out, I like to give it a try and see how they rate (according to me). Milkshake was no different. I picked some up at a show and took it to the salon to try it myself, and here are my results.

Milkshake is part of a company named Z.one concept from Italy. They started in 1999 in the Italian professional sector,  one the most difficult and competitive regions in Europe. The founder and creator is a gentleman named Ivano Panzeri. They are now exporting to 26 foreign countries (according to their website). That’s very impressive. They have a conditioning permanent color, creative permanent color, delicate permanent color oil, conditioning semi permanent color, conditioning direct color, conditioning temporary color, and something called Color Juice. They also have a hair products line called Milkshake as well. According to a company statement from the March 3rd, 2008 launch that I found online, the color line is a permanent color based on nanotechnology. An oxidation dye that can permanently transform the natural pigmentation of the hair, giving rise to an unbelievable shiny look as well as to intensive, vibrant colors. Intensive, uniform and long-lasting results with rich, shiny tones are ensured by the “NanoBioGenius” technology. I’m not sure what that means, and never could get an explanation. The colors are enriched with sunflower oil and fruit extracts such as mango, tangerine, and raspberry. They also state that it has a nice honey fragrance. Milkshake has a patented complex called Integrity 41r  (helianthus annuus) as an antioxidizing mix which they claim makes the dye last longer. Sounds OK, so I put it to the test. For my evaluation, I used the Creative Permanent Colour.

Pros: Super clever name…love it!  Natural honey and milk proteins (well the milk protein is good for strengthening the hair, but honey is more for moisturizing and soothing); sunflower seed oil (which is the above mentioned helianthus annuus) used as an antioxidant and would be a natural sunscreen, mango, raspberry leaf, and mandarin orange extracts.  Good working consistency, good gray coverage, large tube, cost effective, hair feels good and appears shiny.

Cons: 2% ammonia (a known irritant gas that is highly corrosive when mixed with water.  It makes me cough and burns my eyes and overpowers the claimed nice honey fragrance); methylparaben (preservative  that mimics estrogen); wheat protein (not a problem for me as it is a great strengthening protein for the hair, but may be an irritant for people that have wheat allergies); mixing ratio of 1:1.5

Mixing and preparation seemed easy enough. The writing on the box is exceptionally tiny, which makes it tough to read, of course. Application of the color was average, no surprises.

When applying this color line, I just use a standard technique. Nothing special.  The application was easy and straight forward.

As far as the cost, a 5 oz tube is/was pretty much in line price-wise with everyone else. (I have yet to decide if I am going to post wholesale prices of product in my blogs yet, due to the mix of customers & professionals who might view this blog. I will make that decision by the time I post the next review).

So, my overall opinion / rating on a scale of 0 to 5 stars is hard to give, because it has 2 % ammonia, so it’s not really an ammonia free color. And, it’s not organic.It just has some natural ingredients in it. I decided to rate it here because they tout all the natural ingredients. I’ve also heard people describe it as “all natural” (including reps), but I believe that they have it confused with their hair products line of the same name, not the color line. I will review those products on my other blog, Organic Hair Products Review, in the coming weeks. After a very polite conversation with the Milk Shake technical director David Gulino, I also think they (others) may have it confused with Milk Shake Delicate Color Oil, which in the interest in fairness I will review in the coming weeks. I, for one, look forward to that!

That all being said, on my 0 to 5 stars scale of being natural and/or organic, I rate it a 0.

On my 0 to 5 scale, taking into account that it IS NOT ammonia free, I rate it  2 stars.

If you don’t run an organic salon, or a “green” salon, or aren’t concerned about your health or the health of your clients, by all means, give it a try.  However, I think there are better choices out there for people like me who run an organic / non-toxic salon.

See you about the second week of July for my next review. In the mean time, sign up for my other blog, the Organic Hair Product Review site right here on wordpress.

Feel free to contact me directly with questions or comments, as well as suggestions for product lines that you would like to see me review.

Until next time, here’s to good, healthy hair, and good, healthy hairdressers.

TREND Update

On the Organic Hair Color Review site, I am going to take the liberty to talk about trends and techniques, etc, that are going on in the industry when I feel there is relevance. Today is one of those days. I just read a “Trend Alert”, dated last night, that BeautyStat.com is reporting Balayage as ”the hot new color look”. Well…, here is where you learn about the importance of using a stylist that is a member of the ABCH, the American Board of Certified Haircolorists, or at least one who makes a point of taking continuing education classes at least a couple times a year EVERY YEAR. I know stylists who have been doing hair 20+ years, and almost never, if ever, take a class.  And they really, honestly think that they are up-to-date as far as the work they are doing on their clients. And when they finally do go to a class, in their minds it’s just a reason to “party”, because they are away from their husbands or significant other for a night or two. Thus, what they actually get out of the class or classes is minimal because, most likely, they weren’t in the best of shape for learning because of what they were doing the night before until 3:30am. I know many stylists who think this is perfectly O.K. Not that I’m against having a good time, but in this economy you need to get serious about your career if you want to survive and thrive. As far as the ABCH, this organization is filled with some of the brightest colorists in the world, and has a membership of technical educators from around the country who bring a wealth of knowledge and the latest “trends” from across the world to us here in the U.S.A. That being said, the ABCH has educators who have been teaching the Balayage method for years. YEARS. That means as a consumer, you would have been walking around with this look YEARS before the name of it even reached the mainstream. You could have had Giselle Bundchen’s look 2-3 years before she had the look. Think about that.

So, that all being said, I wanted to share that yes, you can get the “new” (sic) Balayage look using organic hair color. I do this procedure on a regular basis in my own salon, Raw Hair Organic Salon in Naples, Florida. I have a good mix in my clientele, with some who have the means to get their hair done anywhere in the world by anyone they choose to have do it, using any product they choose to have on their hair. I do use the balayage method on these clients, and all my clients who request it or that I feel would look good on them, and I do it with organic color. For this procedure, the organic color line that I’ve used that I’m the happiest with for this technique in particular is Organic Color Systems, or OCS. That doesn’t mean that another color might work just as well or better, it’s just the one that I find works best for this that I have personally tried (again, I do the very best I can to not show any bias, yet I want to be as open and honest as possible with professional stylists that might be reading this). As the BeautyStat article states, instead of using foils, the stylist will actually paint the highlights on. What I do for this at Raw Hair Organic Salon is this: To brighten the hair for the summer, I lighten the hair using the Ombre’ Balayage technique, or, to give added dimension, I use color and my signature “Reverse Balayage” technique. The hair comes out beautiful every time. To learn my “Reverse Balayage” technique, you’ll have to come to one of my classes (lol). I also will make sure that they purchase the highest quality shampoo & conditioner to hold the color and resist fading. I don’t want this blog to seem like I’m trying to sell my own products (which I’m not), so if you want to what I’m sending my clients home with as far as daily products, send me a message privately and I will tell you. If you are a stylist, and you learn these techniques, you will have a significant advantage over the salon down the street from you. And that matters.

Hopefully this weekend, I will post the first of many organic hair color reviews. My first one is exciting, and you may very well hear some things from me that aren’t in their product literature or on their label (go figure). Until then, here is to good, healthy hair and good, healthy hair stylists!

Hello world!

Welcome to my organic hair color blog! Today, I’m just setting up this blog, so it will be a few days until I start reviewing products and telling you about it. In the mean time, please check out my profile and you’ll get an idea as to why I’m qualified to run this blog.  I can’t wait to get started!

Melanie