Color Theory
Yellow, Red, and Blue
What are Primary Colors?
Potential hydrogen; unit of measurement that indicates whether a substance is acidic, alkaline or neutral.
What is pH?
An acidic oxidizing agent, most frequently hydrogen peroxide, that activates oxidative color and lighteners.
What is developer?
Variety of hand-held tools used for different effects; selected based on the desired end result and personal preference.
What are color tools?
Base application of color or lightener to the new growth only to match the existing color.
What is a color retouch?
Colors opposite each other on the color wheel; can be placed next to each other in a design for contrast or mixed to neutralize/cancel out one another.
What are Complementary Colors?
A logarithmic scale that ranges from 0-14; substances with a pH less than 7 are acidic; substances with a pH more than 7 are alkaline; substances with a pH of 7 are neutral.
What is pH Scale ?
Deposit color and cannot lighten the hair; direct-dye color that needs no mixing; generally last through several shampoos, depending on the porosity of the hair.
What is Semi-Permanent Hair Color ?
Tool used to isolate colored or lightened hair from non-colored hair to prevent product “bleeding.”
What is plastic wrap?
Technique used to isolate straight partings to be treated with color or lightener.
What is slicing?
Vibrancy brightness or vividness of a color; also referred to as saturation.
What is intensity?
Indicates equal number of positive hydrogen ions and negative hydroxide ions; measures 7 on the pH scale.
What is neutral?
An obvious difference between two colors along the hairstrand; can be a result of new growth or overlapping product onto previously color-treated hair.
What is a Line of Demarcation?
Color supply used to isolate the colored hair from uncolored hair; commonly used for highlighting.
What are foils?
Technique in which a tool or color brush is used to strategically position color or lightener on parts of the hair; examples include balayage and ombré.
What is Freeform Painting?
Created by mixing primary colors with their neighboring secondary color in varying proportions;
What are Tertiary Colors?
A product with a pH from 4.5-5.5 (average pH range of hair, skin and nails)
What is pH balanced?
Combination of metallic and vegetable dye; metallic salts are added to a vegetable dye to create a wider range of colors and a longer-lasting color than achieved with vegetable dye alone.
What is compound dye?
A cream or jelly that protects the client's skin, scalp and/or hair from chemicals; may be referred to as base cream.
What is Barrier Cream ?
A dimensional coloring technique by which selected woven or sliced strands of hair are darkened.
What is lowlighting?
Six tertiary colors
What are yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, red-violet and red-orange?
Water-based solution measuring more negative hydroxide ions than positive hydrogen ions; measures higher than 7 on the pH scale.
What is Alkaline Solution ?
Products often known as color removers; designed to remove unwanted artificial pigment from the hair.
What is Dye Solvent?
Tool used as an efficient way obtain product; used as a support for the hairstrand during application.
What is a color palette?
Involves the positioning of highlights and/or lowlights on the surface of the hair or to selected strands to create special effects.
What is dimensional Coloring?