Brass and ash are two tones that are the complete opposite of one another in terms of hair colour. Learn all there is to know about these hair colours, how to make the most of them for your hue, and how to do the correction for them if they are unwelcome. So let’s open the door and start exploring.
Ash Tones
Q: What does “ash” signify in terms of hair colour?
A: Ash seems to be a tone of greyish blue. It’s a little quantity of a colour additive formulated to cool down your hair, primarily your roots, much like a hair toner. Because the finish is more matte, people don’t want to have an ashy hair colour across all of their strands. However, it creates a lovely mix of warm and cool tones when coupled with a warm tone, such as beige or ash-cooper. (Spoiler alert: the example farther down demonstrates what we mean.)
In contrast to other colour lines, our colour line treats ash in a somewhat different way. Ash is used as a tone rather than merely a neutralizer. In contrast to other brands, we employ colours like violet and blue to help tone and dilute a shade to give you depth and dimension. Other brands often use ash as a hair toner or to provide cool warmth. Your hue becomes more lively and, well, you thanks to these little, distinctive changes.
Adding Ash for a Cool Shade
Q: What other terms are used often to describe ash in the realm of hair dye?
A: Ash tones are often described as cool or neutralising.
Q: Is Ash a bad thing?
A: Definitely not, no. Ash is one of those tones that, when applied correctly, can be really beneficial. It’s not the most attractive hue on its alone, but when combined with or applied over a warmer base colour, it will look extremely stunning—unless you have platinum blonde hair and want to go grey, in which case we’re all for it.
If you apply a pure ash colour to platinum blonde hair that has been coloured, it will nearly seem silver. If you want a silver-vixen effect, adding ash to platinum blonde colours can take away all the warmth and make you seem very stunning.
Q: Is it difficult to correct ashy hair colour for people who dislike it?
A: It’s quite simple to correct ash hair. Your colourist will probably utilise a golden or copper tone when formulating your shade to neutralise the ash.
This method is probably simpler to correct and is basically the exact opposite of how you would correct brassiness. Why? Because adding colour to cover up ash is the only way to fix it. With brassy hues, you often need to lift a little bit more, which, depending on the intensity of your hair colour right now, may be challenging. Ashy hues just serve to warm things up, and hair often responds better to ash.
Q: How can ashy hair be prevented?
A: Try to avoid cool tones like violet, blue, or matte green if you don’t want your hair to become ashy. To maintain some glitter in the sunlight, try to remain in the neutral to golden spectrum. Using a second bottle of colour to rejuvenate and invigorate your hair helps protect it from appearing too ashy if you want to maintain a hue that doesn’t fall flat.
Brass Tones
Q: What exactly does the term “brass” signify in terms of hair colour?
A: Warm colours, such as red and orange, that are often most noticeable when you lighten your hair are referred to as brass. Brassy or “hot” roots may develop at the roots when the colour of your hair lifts (or lightens) but never quite reaches the desired tone. Anyone anyone recall bleaching their hair as a teenager and having very bright orange hair instead of blonde hair? If you know how to do things correctly, it won’t happen.
You’ll need to lift your natural undertones if you want to lighten the hair to go through super-warm layers. Brassy roots are most often seen when individuals raise their colour more dramatically than they should or without a powerful enough colour treatment. Even when you see superstars go from dark to platinum in what appears to be an overnight procedure, it really takes a whole day.
When it comes to brassiness on the hair, it might show up as a result of harsh colour treatments, heat styling, or colour oxidation in the sun. In essence, oxidation occurs when the hair cuticle opens and colour molecules start to fade gradually. When those colour molecules are gone, what’s left are the naturally occurring pigments, which seem warm, golden, or red.
Q: What other terms are used often to describe brass in the field of hair colours?
A: The adjectives warm, yellow, buttery, red, caramel and unfinished are most often used to characterise brass. Clients often mention unwelcome brassy tones in their hair that they wish to balance or neutralize with a complementary tone. For instance, a purple shampoo with purple pigments may help balance out unfavourable tones in blonde hair and blonde highlights, while a blue shampoo with blue pigments can help balance out warm tones in brown hair that has undergone colour treatment.
Q: Is brass a bad thing?
A: Although the term “brass” has a terrible reputation, brass itself isn’t always a bad thing. The term “brass” is often used to describe unwelcome warmth in hair colour by many people. Although these words all indicate the same thing, it’s uncommon to hear someone say “more brass” when requesting a more golden tone instead, they will describe like “I want a warmer shade” or “a buttery shade.” A little brass isn’t a “bad thing” if you desire warmth; it only becomes a problem when you don’t want warmth! Finding the ideal colour for you is entirely a matter of choice.
Q: Is it difficult to correct brassy hair colour for people who don’t want it?
A: No, brassy hair can typically be fixed rather quickly. Depending on the length of your hair, you may want to use a shampoo or conditioner that contains purple pigments to combat brass. Additionally, if you haven’t recently refreshed your ends, adding pigment to your hair with a second bottle of hair colour might assist eliminate brassiness. When you’re ready to refresh your style or attempt a new colour, ask for a little lighter neutral tone to prevent brassiness around your roots. Once your colourist is aware of your preferences, they may simply guide you toward avoiding brass on your own.
Q: What does counteract mean?
A: Using the opposing tone on the colour wheel to balance the brass hue will give you the desired finished colour. For blonde hair hues, utilising blue or purple may help balance out brassy tones. These neutralizers are used by your colourist throughout the colour formulation process to “counteract” or tone down any unwelcome brass. Consider how opposites attract one other and effectively balance one another out.
Q: How can you avoid brassy hair?
A: Nobody likes hot roots, therefore there are several techniques to cool down extremely warm, brassy tones in your hair colour. Make sure the colourist creates the appropriate shade for you before you colour your hair to prevent too brassy results. Going darker is the simplest approach to completely prevent brass since applying darker colours to your hair may hide those overly-warm tones. You may maintain a more balance shade by not waiting too long between touch-ups so that your hair ends don’t get oxidise. While oxygen is excellent for breathing, it’s not so wonderful for your hair colour.
When you do decide to go to a new hue, you want to be sure you’re not attempting to go too light too quickly. Why? Going too light too quickly implies that instead of slowly and gradually removing the red tones from your hair, you have exposed those too-warm tones by not lifting sufficiently. Finally, by having a colour-safe shampoo and conditioner set into your regimen, you may neutralise any unwelcome brassy tones. Additionally, they prolong the life of your colour and maintain its vibrancy.
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