Question

Your client's hair is tinted a medium red- brown, but she now requests a change to a lighter shade. It will be necessary for you to first ________.

1) Apply hair dye directly to the hair
2) Use a color remover to strip the hair of its current color
3) Trim the hair to remove the current color
4) Apply a lighter shade of hair dye without removing the current color

Answer 1

To change the client's hair from medium red-brown to a lighter shade, you would need to use a color remover to strip the hair of its current color before applying the lighter dye.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a client's hair is currently tinted a medium red-brown and she wishes to go lighter, you must first use a color remover to strip the hair of its current color. Directly applying a lighter shade of hair dye without removing the old color will not lighten the hair, as the new dye has to lift the old dye to deposit the lighter shade. To lighten hair, a lightening agent or bleach must be used first to remove the existing pigment, and then the desired lighter shade can be applied.

Permanent hair coloring involves a chemical process where an oxidant is used to open the hair cuticle and allow the color to penetrate. Semi-permanent color, by contrast, washes out after several shampoos and cannot lighten the hair. Using bleach or a color remover is a part of the process when transitioning from darker to lighter hair shades as it removes the natural pigment and permanent hair dye, paving the way for the new color.