Funk Hue...I giggle every time I say the word.
The colourful hair hue world of pinks, purples, lavenders, blues, teals, greens, silvers, pastels, rainbow & endless creations. Captivating & EYE-GASMIC!!!.
I live it & obsessed with my vibrate yellow hair.
As a Hairstylist, I gotta be honest...I do have a love-hate relationship with creating fun, bold/soft magical colourful hair.
Grab all you need to make yourself comfy, be prepared to understand more insight with living the
FUNK HUE life.
Let's start this off on the positive & why I LOVE Funk Hues!
They are artistic masterpieces that you get to create on your Guests! Your Guests get to live the hair life in a colourful fantasy & express their authenticity while showcasing your art! WINNING!!! These fashion hues have grown in popularity... soft, bold, combos of both & rays of multiple colours are more acceptable in society! DOUBLE WINNING! The options of creative with these colours are endless. I easily get captivated & scrolling Social Media other Hair Artists creating their colourful hue visions!
Hair porn & Eye-gasims galore!
If you're desiring the wonderful world of colourful hair...be ready to be filled in! Now, let's dive deep on how to achieve these eye-gasim hues.
With the increase of these beautiful colours rising up on Social Media & Guests requesting these types of hair Journeys...it's a lengthy & extended consultation for this type of hair service. So, BUCKLE UP! It's highly important to give knowledge & expectations to your Guests, explaining the whys & hows for the process, colours evolution & maintenance regime. This creates a great rapport.
Every hair canvas is composed different - with natural hair, artificial colour, integrity, structure & depending on their starting canvas & what fashion hue they want...it's an adventure of removing pigment, replenishing the structure, plus it can contain multiple processes. Be prepared to receive a lengthy processes & a higher ticket price. A higher ticket price for a creations that is the HIGHEST rate of maintenance. You gotta know.
As a Hair Stylist, it diminishes my soul if we are unable to achieve the ideal lightness you need to apply a certain fashion colour. I am the hair mediator between your hair desires & your hairs integrity. My knowledge of making sure your hair can with hold the usage of lightner. I'm a firm believer with low & slow Lightner method. Check out the 'Lightner Life' Blog for more insight about the expectations & aspects that goes with being artificial blonde.
You got to have light blonde hair to enjoy vivid/pastel hues {especially to have the pastel colours...the most fastest evolving colour in the FUNK HUE world} Gotta be light before you go bright. There are several levels of Blonde & the lightest level - level 10/11 in Hairstylist lingo...level 1 meaning Black. The highest level is an ideal cleaner canvas to work on {think of a blank white paper - but white hair is the unhealthiest} to support the pigment of fashion colours. BUT there is a catch, the lightest level of Blonde, the faster toners/fashion colours evolve....again, unhealthy.
Don't forget the hair levels of 7/8/9....
Pause for a break...my humour is coming out. Why did 6 hate 7? Because 7...8 {"ate"} 9!
Bahaha...yah I did do cheesy humour!
...these levels can also support fashion hues but not all & as vibrate. But there's yet another catch; unfortunately not everyone can achieve the lightest level of Blonde....that is a truth-bomb! It's the saddest but the reality.
Don't get me wrong... my explanation of the "Dark Side" of colourful hair isn't to discourage you away. Only to give knowledge of colour theory & the realistic point of view of Funk Hues. We the Professionals, don't expect you to know, but I expect for my own self to give you a breakdown & reality expectations.
Not only it's a lengthy consultation but it's a lengthy process too.
If you have dark hair [Level 5, 4, 3, 2, 1] naturally with added layers artificial colour too; when you are trying to lift lighter your Lightner is essentially doing a double dosed lifting. First, the Lightner will be breaking down the artificial pigments, then it is trying to break down your natural underlying pigment. With naturally dark hair it has more abundance of pigments compared to the lighter levels. 'Lightner Life' Blog
With these colourful hues, majority of them are painted with Semi-Permanent Colours.
Semi's are non-oxidative colors {no developer needed to develop the pigment molecules} just straight out the tube. These Semi pigments lay & live on top of the hairs cuticle. With every hair wash...you will see your investment go down the drain. Saddest. That is why suggestions of less hair washing, dry shampoo life, dark pillow cases/towels & products that are low pH are ideal to aid in your Funk Hue Journey. To also assist in wearability of Funk Hues, layering your fashion colours first with Demi-Permanent colour {pigments that develop under the cuticle layer} then glazing & finalizing with a Semi fashion colour has better benefits when the colour evolves. When the Semi evolves the Demi is next in line.
Not every time or every FUNK HUE creation can be conducted with a layering method. Some creations are intricate & could be tedious to replicate. If so, know that time is money.
If you are a Hairstylist... have you ever color corrected your own creation? A year prior your Guest went dark from blonde...the following year they want rainbow hair? Yup, I have. But rewarding because I know their colour history & what their hair can handle...less guessing yet still daunting . Removal of unwanted pigment & ensuring the hairs health...seeing if the hair is able to with stand the surgery of blonding.
Nothing diminishes my soul when I have to tell a Guest their hair is unable to achieve high level of blonde to achieve a the FUNK HUE of their dreams. Or it will be an extended hair journey.
Check out my Blog on Timing 'The Hair Timing Game'
Instagram & Pinterest are leading visual inspirations but the expectations can be lost on the reality of hair.
You see a stellar video/picture of a Funk Hue Creation that is composed of Vivid & Pastel.
Do you ever see the in between stages of how the hair evolved? Sometimes you see before video/pictures of a previous Funk Hue & the hair looks unruly & blotchy. It's the reality of these hues & you have you ask yourself....am I able to keep up [maintenance/$$$} with this rapidly evolving Funk Hue World?
Now, the hardest parts about FUNK HUES...why I call then FUNK HUES because at time I want to say FUCK YOU! No joke. The deceptions Semi's can be daunting. Like I mentioned, Semi's lay on top of the cuticle & washes away...but not completely. I have encountered hair that looks completely natural with no signs of artificial Semi colour, usage of pigmented Funk Hue shampoos/conditioner or hair that has been covered up with artificial colour to 'get rid of' the fashion colour...when I apply Lightner...WHAM-BAM...the residual of the Funk Hue colour reappears. Road blocks & speed bumps to correcting old covered up Funk Hues can be unexpected & added cost your bill. No longer want the Funk Hue Lifestyle has NO guarantees depending on what you are desire next. Be open with your expectations.
The thing is, removing fashion colours before Lightner usage is important. Here's the details, don't use Lightner to remove fashion colours because Lightner will drive the Semi pigments deeper into the hair shaft & the hair become stained. This becomes harder to remove/break down pigment
to become 'Blonde' again.
Applying Lightner on top of previous lightened hair, especially if the hair is at it's lightest levels is super damaging to the hair structure.
Recommendations for removals
First, always conduct a TEST STRAND! Not all colours remove/break down easily & this will aid in better formulating & finished results when you have more knowledge on the how's
Brands may have their own colour remover. I work with Matrix & they have their SoColour Cult Eraser to assist in removing left over Semi & Demi pigements with either distilled water or 10Vol Developer
I have tried, Matrix SoColour Permanent Colour Clear with 10Vol/20Vol & have had great success with Pinks/Purple removal. It works intently. This colour wasn't designed for Funk Hue removal, but it does work. [Remember to TEST STRAND & don't apply on natural based hair as it will shift/lift]
Last resort option, is to use Lightner with NO DEVELOPER just distilled water &/or added cleansing shampoo
Malibu CPR
Pigments that are harder to remove, such as, Blue/Teals/Greens/Purple. They are super stainy & leaves a greeny tinge behind. With that being the result, using the Colour Wheel to your advantage to neutralize the unwanted green. Green + Red = Neutral. Formulate for the solution.
I can see why Funk Hue Wigs or custom coloured extensions have become popular.
Less damaging & time spent in the Salon chair.
I adore using pinks, purples, reds, oranges & yellows hues the most, as they evolve the prettiest {I'm bias} compared to blues as they can evolve into green. If you like greens hues, then your in luck. Pre-toning the hair after it is lightened with Lightner to neutralize the unwanted warm underlying pigment - if needed. If blue is your goal hue then pre-toning is a must. Underlying pigment of orange ~ Orange+Blue=Brown Underlying pigment of yellow ! Yellow+Blue=Green
The Colour Wheel of Science [Insert Bill Nye's voice]
Multiple steps of toning can be done to make sure the hair canvas is primed & ready for explosion of fun painted on your hair.
Since pastel hues are the quickest to evolve yet desirable...how I try & promote them is actually going more vibrate Funk Hue first. It will get there eventually & have better hold.
Are you willing to embrace the evolving journey?
I like to keep things Sheariously Simple & the way I do this is by embracing natural base/newgrowth with a Balayage look paired with a Funk Hue {Like myself, I have for 5 years embraced my natural newgrowth & paired it with a Funk Hue, Yellow is my FAVORITE} is easier to maintain with 1 Solid Funk Hue, lessens your time span in the chair. Less intricate = less time = lesser invoice. Less Lightner usage = Healthier hair. But don't get me wrong, when their is inspiration of multiple hues...I am game but only if Guest fully know the ins & outs of the Funk Hue LifeStyle.
Did I overload you? Did you gain new knowledge? Inspiration? Sheariously, Funk Hue Too!
Sin-Sheariously, Jami -xo-
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