Written by: Nic Aquiles Lange
Client consultations are a vital part of a colourist’s daily life in the salon. When it comes to colour consultations, it is important to take into account the skin tone, eye colour and lifestyle of the client whom we are working with. Oftentimes, we come across a client who is not sure of the colour that he or she wants, and it may be challenging to determine exactly what your client will like. Read on for a simple way that will help guide you in the right direction towards a colour that your client will love!
Your client’s natural hair colour, when and how their hair grays, their natural texture and abundance are all determined by a person’s genetic coding. Determining your client’s HAIR COLOUR TYPE is the easiest way to help you find their natural hair colour, which will then help you select the most flattering colour for them.
Generally, colourists use the method of the DEPTH SYSTEM to determine or identify their client’s natural hair colour. The HAIR COLOUR TYPE assessment takes this process a bit farther by taking in to consideration the person’s natural undertones to gain a greater understanding of the client’s natural hair colour and potential amount of gray.
There are four HAIR COLOUR TYPES which you can generally categorise your clients in to: Black to Dark Brunette, Auburn to Warm Brunette, Sandy Brunette to Blonde and Red. Note that your client’s hair can range from darker to lighter within any given HAIR COLOUR TYPE. In the following section, you will find a description of the four HAIR COLOUR TYPES, along with the recommended COLOR.ME SHADES that will best suit each type.
The Four HAIR COLOUR TYPES
Black to Dark Brunette
This individual is someone who was born with dark hair that remains unchanged throughout their lifetime until they begin to gray. This person generally likes natural-looking hair colours with cool tones, and traditionally does not like warm or bright tones resulting from lightening their hair. This client feels most comfortable with solid and opaque end-results.
Recommended:
COLOR.ME SHADES 5.7 with 5.86, 6.2 with 5.1
COLOR.ME TONER NATURAL and SILVER
Auburn to Warm Brunette
This client was born with reddish blonde to ashy brown hair, which darkens to a brown shade before they reach their teens. This individual would not consider themselves blonde in their teenage years, although their hair tends to lighten considerably from the sun. This client is more accepting of rich warm tones, because their hair lightens from the sun to a soft copper hue with muted gold undertones. Due to the fact that this individual goes through several natural hair colour changes, they tend to be more diverse when it comes to colouring their hair.
Suggested:
COLOR.ME SHADES 6.3 with 6.4, 8.31 with 8.2
COLOR.ME TONER NATURAL
COLOR.ME CLEAR for a sun-kissed effect
Sandy Brunette to Blonde
Those who fall into this HAIR COLOUR TYPE were born with blonde hair that remains blonde throughout their teenage years. In some cases, they will remain blonde throughout their twenties and thirties, but for the most part, their hair tends to darken while they are in high school. This person would consider themselves blonde during their high school years.
Because people in this HAIR COLOUR TYPE consider themselves blonde, they tend not to adjust well when their hair begins to darken. For this reason, a Sandy Brunette to Blonde person accounts for over 50% of salon hair colour clients, as they are constantly focused on the goal of remaining blonde. When someone with this HAIR COLOUR TYPE starts to darken, they will go to great lengths to keep their hair as blonde as it once was, which generally results in early hair colouring habits in a salon. This client typically aims for a smoky to creamy blonde.
Suggested:
COLOR.ME SHADES 10.1 with SOFT.VIOLET.BOOSTER
COLOR.ME HIGH.LIFT HL101 with SOFT.VIOLET.BOOSTER, HL108
Red
This individual’s range of red hair colour varies from strawberry blonde to deep or bright copper red during their teenage years. Because of the attention that redheads are used to receiving from their hair colour, they generally do not colour their hair until it starts to turn flat or gray. If they do colour their hair, they tend to colour it close to the same colour that they had growing up. Redheads account for 1% of the world’s population, though it is important to note that those who are reddish blonde during their toddler years but turn dark before their teens would be placed in the Amber to Warm Brunette HAIR COLOUR TYPE. Redheads typically love multi-tonal peach tones, apricot coppers and rich crimson reds.
Suggested:
COLOR.ME SHADES 7.64 with 7.43, 10.3 with ORANGE.BOOSTER
COLOR.ME HIGH.LIFT HL100 with RED.BOOSTER in foil work
Knowing what HAIR COLOUR TYPE your client is will make it easier for them to express to you their desired colour result, as well as give you a better understanding of their natural hair colour so that you can be sure to send your client home with a colour that he or she will adore!
Still not sure what HAIR COLOUR TYPE your client is? Check out FRINGE.BENEFITS, our visual colour consultation tool and be sure to stalk COLOR.ME on Bangstyle and follow us on Instagram for the latest colour creations!
