To understand hair color correction, we need to have a good understanding and be able to recognize the basic fundamentals of the different levels of color.

Hair Color Levels

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Hair colors are industry described as levels 1-10. Level one is jet black thru to level 10 which is a white blonde, with some color ranges having an additional level 11 and 12 for the different blonde hues.

Once you can easily recognize accurately at a glance the different levels of hair color you will be able to accurately tone, neutralize and cancel out unwanted colors and tones.

Pigment Color

Different colors on the color wheel can be used not only to neutralize a color but to accentuate it also. For example, you can use a small amount of violet to neutralize yellow in blonde – or you can double up and make the yellow hair violet!

Or use a small amount of red corrector to neutralize green (usually caused by coloring without enough pigment filler) or double up to make the hair red! The color correctors sure are pretty cool!

To correctly neutralize or cancel out the unwanted tones you need to at first identify exactly what the underlying pigment is and you can only work on that level or darker.

You can not use a toner that is lighter than the remaining pigment you are trying to cancel out! It just won’t do anything! This is why you need to be able to recognize the pigment color at a glance!

Then you need to identify the color directly opposite on the color wheel and that is the color you need to neutralize the color pigment you have. It’s also not necessarily the same all the way down the hair shaft! You will need to add or remix to ensure you neutralize ALL of the United wanted tones.

Pro tip: Actual color correctors are more desirable to use vs melanin imitating colors because the color correctors work on the core of the hair vs Implanting Melanin so they last longer.