A client in Austin showed me a trick for stubborn color removal

I was working on a client who had box dye that just wouldn't lift, and I was getting frustrated. She mentioned her old stylist in Austin used a mix of 20 volume developer with a clarifying shampoo, left it on for no more than 15 minutes, and it worked like a charm. I tried it with a gentle, sulfate-free clarifying formula and it softened the color enough to work with without frying her hair. It saved the appointment and now I keep that combo in my back pocket for emergencies. Has anyone else found a good pre-treatment for box dye that doesn't involve heavy lightener?

2 comments

2 Comments

hayden_martin2923d ago

Man, I always figured the products were the whole story. Reading about the water thing is a total lightbulb moment. My old salon had a softener system, and we could never get certain colors to budge. Now I'm wondering if we were missing that mineral boost. It makes so much sense why a trick from one city might flop in another.

laurar3823d ago

Ever think about how the water quality where your client lives might mess with that trick? Austin's got super hard water, and all those minerals can actually help strip color by themselves. That mix might work better there than in a place with soft water. Maybe the real trick is copying the whole setup, not just the products. You could try a chelating shampoo instead of clarifying if your water's different, it grabs onto the metals that can lock dye in.