[sjleon]

Hey I was wondering if it is possible to use a hi lift light blonde color on medium brown hair. I've bleached my hair before and I was told hi lift blonde such as Ion from sally beauty supply would work on my hair color,but I am kind of hesitant to use it unless I get some feedback.Any advice?

[Perito]

I've heard some good things about the Ion series of color.

High lift coloring usually work by using stronger peroxide, and usually a double dose of it. Almost all normal haircoloring are designed to mix one part 20-volume peroxide with one part coloring. You can use stronger peroxide.

High lift colors use two parts peroxide and one part color. They also use either 30-volume or 40-volume peroxide in their formulations. I could run the calculations for you, but basically you get more "lift" from the color. The higher concentration of peroxide also has one additional effect: It lowers the amount of pigment that is deposited. So, you have more lift and less pigment.

As in most single-process haircoloring, hydrogen peroxide performs double duty -- 1) it lightens and 2) it develops the color (causes the pigment to deposit). As brown hair lightens, it tends to go red, then orange, then yellow and finally pale yellow. The exact color you end up with depends on the color you start with and even then, it's difficult to predict exactly. This is one problem with high lift blonde coloring -- it often lifts hair into the orange or region. The result is a brassy blonde color. To try to tone out the brassiness, blue or violet is added as a pigment. But, with high-lift blondes, less pigment is deposited so this doesn't work as well.

The other problem with high lift blonding is that it not only doesn't work as predictably as double-process blonding, it's also quite hard on the hair. 40-volume peroxide, especially in a double dose, can really dry it out. Double-process blonding is more predictable because the product can always get past the orange and (if desired) yellow stage.

If you decide to use it, I strongly suggest you do a strand test to make sure it doesn't turn horribly brassy or orange. I suggest you do the strand test on an inconspicuous strand from the back of your head -- but don't clip it from your hair. Simply lay the strand on a piece of aluminum foil, mix the product and apply it. Wrap it in the foil and let it process. Do this several days -- even a week before you do the whole head, and shampoo every day to make sure it doesn't fade quickly and turn brassy.

You've bleached your hair before, so you know what it's like. Bleaching and toning can damage the hair. If you're careful, it can actually be less damaging than high-lift blonding (although it takes two steps). It's also more predictable -- you're not relying on the limited lightening abililty of hydrogen peroxide to do the lightening.