Haircolor Archives » Beauty Skeptic

Toning my Highlights with WELLA Color Charm Demi Permanent Hair Color

January 26, 2021 by Beauty Skeptic

I haven’t found the courage to color my own hair altogether. I am, however, brave enough to undertake smaller, lower-risk color-adjacent jobs myself. Like glossing, toning my highlights is a perfect example of a low-risk, usually professional procedure I’m willing to undertake myself.

Until last July, I hadn’t explored, “proper,” toners or heard of Wella Color Charm Demi Permanent Hair Color. I’m risk averse, so I had been employing purple toning shampoo to tone down brass with this method.

About five months after my last balayage appointment, I decided to take a stab at toning my highlights properly. After several hours of research, I decided to try toning my highlights with the Wella Color Charm Demi Permanent Hair Color line.

Note: I am not a licensed hair professional; I have not gone to beauty school! I’m a STEM professional and like reading and learning for fun. Although I feel comfortable making these decisions for myself, I recommend you do your homework before taking the plunge into DIY chemical treatments.

Fortunately, Wella Color Charm Demi Permanent Hair Color and other Wella products aren’t all pro-only and any ol’ person can buy from Sally Beauty or Amazon.

Selecting the Correct Toner Shade

First, assess your toning goal. My goal was to cool down the brassiness/warmth that my balayage highlights had accumulated over time. Depending on your hair, you might seek something with neutral or cool/ash tones to achieve this goal.

What I Didn’t Buy in 2020

January 12, 2021 by Beauty Skeptic

Last year posed changes for nearly everyone, and for me, that meant there was a lot I didn’t buy in 2020. If you escaped unscathed, good on you. Since this blog is largely about beauty, we’ll keep it in the realm of changes in that regard:

Although we all should have been wearing masks when out, if you were not able to work from home, you wore one more than most.
If your employment situation changed, perhaps you didn’t have to leave home at all or be on camera.
If you transitioned to working from home, you might have found yourself on camera more than you have before.

I’m in the third camp, though I was required to report to the office periodically. All of these things represent, in one way or another, a likely change in your grooming processes: if you have a mask on all day, maybe you’re skipping foundation to avoid, “maskne.” You’re almost certainly skipping lipstick. If you’re on camera, you might be fighting looking pallid and exhausted/sick/etc.

I’ve advocated, for those WFH, to try to continue getting ready – even if not identically – to maintain a routine. It’s good for your mental health! My routine has changed considerably – which has altered my buying habits.

Here’s what I didn’t buy in 2020:

IGK Mixed Feelings Leave-In Blonde Toning Drops

September 12, 2020August 25, 2020 by Beauty Skeptic

IGK Mixed Feelings Leave-In Blonde Toning Drops, $29

If you’re blonde or have highlights, you’re probably no stranger to the concept of toning your hair. Whether you dabble in DIY toning like I do or leave it strictly to a professional, the battle of the brass is never far away. Last year, I came across IGK Mixed Feelings Leave-In Blonde Toning Drops ($29 at Sephora). In spite of previously talking smack about other products of IGK’s, I immediately bought them.

What Is It?

The of concentrated purple toning product that you can add to your hair during styling. You can apply the drops to your hair directly or cocktail them with a product. I usually use once a week and add mine to a leave-in conditioner or to my L’Oreal Thermal Balm or to Super Skinny when I’m heat styling.

This diminutive bottle contains one ounce which seems like a tragically small amount. It isn’t, though; using a bottom-button dropper like my Clarins facial tanner, a single drop does a lot more than you’d think. For my long hair, I usually go with 3-4 drops each time I use it. On a given day, it takes the edge off the brass/warmth – and it smells great.

Wow Your Colorist

I brought them along with me to the first balayage appointment I had after I bought them. When chatting with my colorist about them, she was blown away.. She had never seen them before! We ended up talking about them for a solid ten minutes, and she wouldn’t let me leave without writing down the product name.

Clairol Jazzing – Hair Gloss / Hair Glaze Update

May 17, 2019 by Beauty Skeptic

Several years ago, I shared a tutorial on how I perform a DIY hair gloss or hair glaze treatment at home. This is one of the blog’s most-popular posts – which is great, but also sad because the damn Clairol Colorgloss Radiance line upon which it was based got discontinued.

I need to create an emoji for how this makes me feel.

Anyway, since the discontinuation, finding an alternative wound up on the back-burner for me. When I started to come up for air, I decided to give another Clariol product a try.

Enter Clairol Jazzing

This time, I went with a single-step (no mixing! no mess!) product that comes in a convenient dispenser bottle. No ratios, no mixer bottles, no matching developer. Clairol Jazzing is under $7 a bottle at Sally Beauty.

Adventures in Balayage

September 18, 2018September 17, 2018 by Beauty Skeptic

A peek at some of my balayage highlights.
Excuse my comically bad lighting that does not fully showcase how awesome my hair is.

After lengthy consideration, I decided to go forward with balayage highlights. I went for a consultation on September 13, which is where I gathered my information on how to prepare for my balayage highlighting appointment. Balayage isn’t something new, even if it is a new-ish trend in the United States; but I could swear, of all the haircolor techniques out there, this one was made with me in mind.

I did extensive research and chose a charming salon in my area, had a really positive consult, and was ready. By my September 20 appointment, I was rarin’ to go.

So, Tell Me What you Want

To my consult, I brought the following three photos, found on Pinterest, for inspiration:

Clients get caught up in trying (and failing) to describe what they’re looking for. Pictures help. But you know what else really helps? Explaining and or showing what you definitely, under no circumstances, do not want. Most balayage highlights create a lovely, ombre effect on the hair – but not all ombre hair is balayage. For me, “ombre,” leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Search Google Images for, “Ombre hair,” and you’ll see what I mean. Severe, harsh transitions. Lines, even. I want nothing about my hair to be harsh, and I grew out a misguided hair choice once before and dealt with awkward lines. Never, ever again. Balayage is french for, “sweeping,” and damn it, that’s what I want. Lines of demarcation are the enemy.

Decisions, Decisions

Armed with those three photos my colorist and I made some decisions together. Notice how I said together? It should be a joint effort. Most of these decisions took place during my consultation. But if you and your colorist don’t agree on the course of action – say, you want X and she thinks you ought to do Y? You’re going to have a bad time. As a client, you should have realistic expectations and asks for your colorist. She or he may well seem like a wizard, but it isn’t magic.

Based on those photos, my expression of my #hairgoals, my habits, and prior aversion to color we decided:

As far as color goes, the third option made the most sense to emulate. After all, it’s easier to make more changes down the road than to go, “Shit, I don’t like this as much as I thought I was going to!”
Overall placement somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd photo.
To place more product at the ends to concentrate a little more blonde color there (like the 2nd photo).
…But to overall play it a little safe.

It can be a little intimidating to be in the chair, but when you’re spending money on these services, it’s worthwhile to be 100% sure you’re on the same page. If your stylist or colorist is worth a damn, she or he WANTS to produce results you’re happy with. If the salon you’re working with is not eager to work to that goal, find another salon. Seriously.

How I Prepared for my Balayage Appointment

September 18, 2018September 14, 2018 by Beauty Skeptic

via Hair World Mag

I wrote, a while back, about considering getting Balayage highlights.

After a long time, a lot of consideration, and a consultation at which I asked my poor colorist half a million questions, I decided to take the plunge. I booked for Tuesday, September 20.

Here’s how I prepared for my balayage appointment.