Now this can be very tricky, but, if you read this lesson carefully, you will not have any problems and create a truly beautiful brunette when you’re done.
By the way, this procedure is not only used for converting a double process blonde into a brunette. You should also use this procedure any time you are converting any highly porous head of hair to a darker, warmer (brown or red) color.
The key factor isn’t the method of how the hair becomes lighter, it is the absence of warmth (gold and red) in the hair and the condition of the hair that will be the determining factors for using this method or not.
NOTE: This procedure is commonly known as a tint-back and will also be discussed in other sections of this course.
Brown→Reddish Brown→Red→Orange→ Gold→Yellow→Pale Yellow
Brown to Blonde
So if we want to make a brunette out of pale yellow hair, we would need to replace the colors which were lightened out in the same order as they were depleted. In order to make the job a lot easier, we can use an orange (yellow & red pre-mixed) demi-color instead of applying a gold then red color.
Blonde to Brown
Pale Yellow→Yellow→Gold→Orange→Red→Reddish Brown→Brown
You never want to use any ash tones in this procedure. Even if you want your finished color to look ashy, you must still use a gold or neutral base color as your final shade. Never use a green, blue, or violet shade tint.
Tint backs are when you are taking a client that has been getting his/her hair lightened out (as in a double process blonde or a very light single process blonde with a high degree of porosity), back to his/her natural color or to any darker color than he/she presently is.
In this case, we will use the exposed contributing pigment chart from the beginning of this book to see what colors need to be put back into the hair before you can achieve a natural looking finished result. (This technique is sometimes called “Color Packing” or replacing the “Building Blocks of Color”).
For example:
The client has been double processed for some time now and wishes to go back to his/her natural color, which was a “level 4,light brown”.
Remember, you cannot just select a light brown tint, put it on this bleached out hair and expect to get a good color. There isn’t a sufficient color base left in the hair to support the light brown color. The hair will grab the base of the tint and come out looking very drab, muddy or green. You must first put the missing contributing pigment back into the hair before applying the final desired shade.
You can see by looking at the chart on the next page, that, in order to make a “level 4, light brown”, the missing contributing pigment must be put back into the hair. In this case, it is “red-orange”.
Back in the days of “Color Fillers”, we first put in the yellow (gold) filler and then put in the red filler in order to make orange. This is why it was called “The Building Blocks of Color”.
However, today, all you have to do is to select a demi-color shade that is “light orange,” or something in the orange category, to give you the base you need. (Tahitian Red Blonde works great).
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