Trying to color-match a client's 3-year-old home dye job took me a solid 4 hours of strand tests.

I'm torn between the idea that you should always do a full correction for a perfect result and the reality that sometimes a client just wants a quick, affordable fix, so what's your take on when to draw the line?

4 comments

4 Comments

phoenix_bailey1mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that forensic scientist comment hit the nail on the head. I had a lady bring in hair that had been colored with henna and then box dye on top, and I spent nearly five hours just figuring out what we were even working with. At some point you have to tell them that a quick fix is just going to make things worse and a full correction is the only way to go.

brianreed2mo ago

That old dye is basically a different color on every single strand now.

ivan_murphy802mo ago

Ugh, three year old box dye? That's not a color match, that's an archeological dig. You're not a stylist, you're a forensic scientist. The line is when they show you a picture of a sunset and say "that's the vibe" but their budget is "drugstore clearance aisle." If they want cheap and fast, mix a bowl of whatever and send them home. Perfect costs perfect money.

keith_gibson2mo ago

Archaeological dig" is so right. I had a friend who tried to cover up old dye like that with a box from the store. It turned this weird greenish gray in some spots, like moss on a rock. She had to go to a real salon anyway and they charged her double to fix it. I mean, sometimes you just have to leave the past buried.