Mystery Box Color vs. Custom Hair Color

What if all t-shirts, jeans, or underwear were only sold "one size fits all"? Certainly they would fit some people, but not everyone. That's what box hair color is like, it does work for some people but definitely not for the majority.

Box hair color is designed to go on "worse case scenario" type hair. Meaning that the manufacturer needs to make sure it works, or at least has an effect (good or bad) on any type of hair, hair color, hair texture, or hair porosity it is applied to. The box color cannot take into consideration that your are a blonde that is trying to back to their natural medium brown and that your hair needs a filler. Or that you have more than 75% grey hair and need more tonal deposit. Or that your hair turns brassy and you need ash added to your formula, but not too much ash to turn your hair blue or green. (FYI: I have personally had to correct all of these issues, and more, from box color on more than one occasion, it's not fun, is time consuming, and expensive to correct.)

The photos and commercials lie! I mean seriously, do you really think that celebrities advertising for box color companies would even let their locks near the stuff? I don't think so. It important to know that the photo/swatch on the box is not what you are going to get. “They’re often retouched, and only a professional understands how the existing and natural shades and hair condition will affect the outcome.” Stylist Choice Awards Favorite Educator of the Year, Beth Minardi.

It's about the formula. When your stylist mixes up your hair color, it is just that, YOUR hair color. Box color cannot be customized to be just for you, they are selling it to the masses! Customization is what makes the end result more natural looking and the most flattering for you. 

The stylists at Body Bliss Salon and Spa would love to give you a great custom hair color, call us at 919.435.7373 and receive 20% off your first hair care visit with us, just mention this blog post!

-Blog post by Sarah Boulton 

Know your Keratin!

With all the "buzz" lately on keratin and keratin treatments for your hair, I want to take a minute to explain what keratin is and the different types of keratin that are being found in hair care products and hair treatments.

The definition of keratin is "a fibrous protein forming the main structural constituent of hair." When you do hair coloring, lightening, perming and chemical services to the hair you are depleting the hair of this very essential protein. To replenish the keratin your hair has lost, it is best to use hair care products containing keratin or to receive a keratin smoothing treatment. However, those products will not help your hair, or could even damage it, if they do not contain the correct type of keratin.

There are are four different types of keratin that can be found in hair care products on the market today. The first and best type of keratin is human hair keratin. However, since there are not people lining up to donate their hair for keratin extraction, companies had to come up with a way to get keratin for their products elsewhere.The next best type of keratin is animal keratin, more specifically sheep's wool. Sheep's wool has the closest genetic make up to human hair keratin. Animal lovers, there is no need to worry about the sheep, they get a haircut and frolic on their way unharmed. The next two types are the least desirable and cheapest forms of keratin, they are plant based and man made keratin. These types of keratin can over "keratinize" the hair. Which means that by using products with these types of keratin the hair can receive too much protein and break off. While with the human and animal keratin the hair will only accept the amount of keratin it needs and not take in the rest, so no concerns with over keratinization.

There are some companies that have recently said that their products contain human hair keratin, when investigating a little further you will find that they are very small amounts of human keratin and they are getting the rest that they need from other sources.

At Body Bliss Salon and Spa we carry Keratin Complex hair care products, hair color, lightener and smoothing systems which all contain sheep's wool keratin.

-Blog post by Sarah Boulton