How to darken your hair correctly?
Lay it out on the shelves
Many hairdressers believe that darkening hair is much easier than lightening it, but in fact this is a big misconception.
Tatyana Solomonova , colorist, technologist TM BES, champion of Ukraine (2016, 2019)
Darkening your hair is just as difficult as lightening it , and there are a number of factors to consider. Hair has a natural pigment - melanin. The natural color depends on its quantity . There are two types of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. For example , in gray hair the pigment may be completely or partially absent. When lightening hair , we work with natural melanin, lightening it with various products (cream dye or powder).
After bleaching, you see a residual color in the hair, which is called the background bleach. The lighter the hair, the lighter the background lightening. But when darkening, we must restore the previously lost pigment in the hair.
When darkening your hair by 1-2 tones, no problems arise. To do this, just take the desired color of the dye and 3% O xi. But when darkening by 3 levels or more, repigmentation will need to be done.
Repigmentation is the reverse pigmentation of hair from the lost lightening background. That is, you need to fill your hair with the pigment that is at the level you are working with. Also, do not forget about the hair structure and its condition. On very porous, dry hair, the color will “fail” and will be incorrect.
Let's say your client is 10.0 after lightening or bleaching and wants to be 7.0, and if you take the desired color in its pure form, then there is a high probability that the hair will end up with an olive tint. Repigmentation will help you avoid this.
To do this, you will need a dye 1 level higher than the desired tone and a dye with a gold direction (8.0 and 8.3) +3% O xi for 15 minutes. Then, without washing off the first mixture, you apply the desired color. This is one of the methods of repigmentation. The proportions will depend on the brand you are working with.
Many also repigment their hair with direct pigments and color baths. To choose the right method of working when darkening your hair, you must know the basic color scheme, hair structure, lightening backgrounds, and know the product you are working with. All dyes are different , and the algorithm of work may differ. To know how to properly perform repigmentation, contact your brand's technologist.