Warm up your color, soften it, make it more low-maintenance, or quickly blend your grays — a base break is the perfect option for any and all of the above. Whether you’re new to the term or are looking for ways to chat with your client about the option, we’re detailing everything you need to know about base breaks, which color lines are best to use and the top products for upkeep.
What Is A Base Break?
A base break is a color service you can add on to any appointment that involves lightening your base color along the new growth to brighten up your entire look and effortlessly blend color. Applied in the same way a root smudge would be applied, while root smudges usually aim to go darker, base breaks are the opposite and deliver an all over lighter tone.
Why Would You Want a Base Break?
The goal of a base break is to achieve a natural-looking finish. A lot of the times when you get highlights they can feel a bit stark and jarring — a base break softens the transition from base color to highlights, creates a softer grow out and makes your color feel much more lived-in. They can stretch the time between highlight appointments and can also be a great option to blend new growth, especially if you’re starting to notice grays.
How To Achieve A Great Base Break
The best way to create an ideal base break is with Blondor Base Breaker. They gently soften the regrowth and blend the natural hair with any pre-lightened areas. You'll love Blondor Base Breaker because they offer a quick an express base breaking service while gently depositing tone in up to 10 minutes. It allows you to lighten the natural hair up to 1 level while neutralizing unwanted warmth on both the natural hair and the pre-lightened areas. What this does is soft the highs and lows for a more natural yet bright look and feel.
Because you’ll want to lighten the base, using a permanent color like Wella Professionals Koleston Perfect is ideal. With the ability to lighten up to 3 levels of lift with 40 Vol., with rich, natural tones, up to 100% gray coverage, ME+ dye technology to reduce the risk of developing a new allergy to hair color¹, and Metal Purifier to help to prevent hair damage caused by metals, you can achieve precise color results alongside healthy looking hair each time you color.
In addition to Koleston Perfect and Koleston Express, Wella Professionals Illumina Color is another great color range that can be used to effortlessly add a base break. With the ability to deliver 100% natural-looking results and infused with Microlight Technology, this formula can lift up to 3 levels and allows light to permeate the hair, giving it a lit-from-within look.
After applying the base break color, follow with Wella Professionals Shinefinity glaze for a shine you can feel. This ZERO lift ZERO damage formula delivers true to tone results on all hair types with a clean, Balanced pH technology formula that smooths the cuticle and delivers up to 250% shinier hair², up to 50% smoother hair³, and up to 50% softer hair³. While it is the ideal pairing for any base break service, a Shinefinity Glaze is also the ideal way to refresh your hair color between appointments.
Ensure Ultimate Repair with Miracle Hair Rescue
Whether you color your hair or not, it’s always a great idea to add a repair treatment to your hair. In addition to reviving hair after color treatments, it can add strength and repair against day to day damage like heat styling, mechanical damage and environmental stress. For this reason, ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue is a must-have for all hair types. Here’s why:
Miracle Hair Rescue works in just 90 seconds⁴ to deliver 99% less breakage⁵ and 12x smoother hair⁶v results. Apply it all over, or concentrate it where you feel the most damage, either way you’ll know hair is being repaired and looked after each time you apply it.
Wella Professionals ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue ($35.00).
¹ For people not allergic to hair colorants. Although the risk of developing new allergy is reduced, there remains a risk of allergic reaction that can be severe. Always ask your stylist to perform an Allergy Alert Test 48h before each coloration. Strictly follow safety instructions. If you have ever experienced an allergic reaction to hair colorants, you should not color. ME+ is present in specific shades of Pure Naturals, Rich Naturals, Vibrant Reds, Special Blondes and Deep Browns of the Koleston Perfect brand.
² versus untreated bleached hair
³ Instrumental testing vs. our regular demi
⁴ When using ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue
⁵ When using ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue. Instrumental test versus non-conditioning shampoo
⁶ Vs. non-conditioning shampoo.
