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Hair coloring: how to get professional results at home

Hair coloring: how to get professional results at home

Hair coloring: how to get professional results at homeHair coloring, a step by step guide to coloring your hair at home, to achieve natural and professional looking results at a fraction of the cost.
With the advanced home hair color products available today, achieving a result that is natural looking and flattering is easy to do. Follow these simple steps and save yourself time and money without sacrificing great results.
Please note: The following directions do not apply to taking your natural hair color from dark to blonde. Coloring your hair blonde, especially if your natural color is brown or black, is best done by a professional because it is a much more complicated procedure than that described below.
Coloring Materials
First assemble your materials. You will need these items:
  • Hair color You can use either the kit that is sold in drug and grocery stores, such as Clairol or Loreal brands, or you can make your own hair color kit. I have found that you get longer lasting color by choosing your own components at a beauty supply store. You will need the coloring liquid and creme bleach, which is called developer. Choose a 30 volume white developer for best results. You can save money by purchasing a large bottle of developer and only purchasing the liquid color each time you need to touch up your roots.
  • Measuring cup Use this to measure the creme developer.
  • Bowl and brush. While at the beauty supply store, pick up a professional quality plastic bowl and brush for mixing the color. The bowl is deep and has a thumb notch on the side for easy pickup, and a rubber base to keep it from tipping. The brush is flat and has a rat-tail comb end. These two items are usually packaged together.
  • Towel or cape If desired, you can also get a salon type beauty cape at the beauty supply store. I use an old towel, which works just as well.
  • Plastic gloves I recommend the less rigid latex over plastic, although the boxed kits contain the plastic ones. The latex gloves give a greater degree of sensitivity and allow you to judge better where the color is by feel. This is helpful especially when working on the back of your head.
  • Clock All color processes must be precisely timed to avoid mistakes.
  • You may wish to do a strand test to preview your color. Mix together a drop or two of the liquid color and a drop or two of the developer. Snip a tiny amount of hair from the back and underneath area of your hair where it will not be noticed and tape it together on one end. Dip the un-taped end into the mixture and leave it for 25 minutes. Rinse, dry and compare the results to what you expected.

    If the results from the strand test are acceptable, proceed to the coloring steps.
    Coloring Procedure
    1. Mix up the color solution Into the color mixing bowl pour the liquid color and 3 oz. of the creme developer. If you bought a kit, the developer is already measured for you. Using the color brush, mix well.
    2. Apply the color mixture If this is the very first time you have colored your hair, or if your hair is completely grown out from the last time you colored and no previously color processed hair remains, apply the mixture to your hair is the same way as you would shampoo. If however you are touching up your roots, following the directions in step 3.
    3. Begin with dry hair Starting at the top front of your hair, make a part with the tail of the color brush about an inch long and another part parallel to the first one and about ? inch to the side. Holding the parted section of hair up, brush the color mixture on the root area of the parted section and the adjacent un-parted section. Pull the parted section up so that it stands on its own and out of the way to the side. Make another part ? inch to the side of the un-parted section to whose roots you previously applied the color mixture and hold the section up. Brush the color mixture onto the roots of the held section and the roots of the adjacent section as you just did with the last section. Continue this procedure until you have applied color mixture to the all the roots.
    Important: Avoid getting the color mixture on the ends. The ends are extremely porous if they were previously colored and will soak up too much of the color mixture, making them darker that the rest of your hair. If you get any color mixture on the ends, wipe it off immediately. After applying color to all your roots, wipe any color from your skin using a towel and warm water. Be sure to remove excess color from your hairline and in back of your ears.

    4. Wait the prescribed amount of time in the directions, or 20 minutes.
    5. After 20 minutes have elapsed, apply any leftover color to the ends. Use a wide toothed comb to pull the color through the entire hair shaft, from the roots to the ends.
    6. Leave color on the ends no more than five minutes. After time is up, add a little water to your hair and lather the color mixture through it like a shampoo.
    7. Rinse your hair thoroughly in tepid water until the rinse water runs clear and absolutely no color mixture remains in the hair.
    8. If your kit contained a conditioner, apply it now. Leave it on for two minutes and rinse thoroughly in tepid water. You may use a deep conditioning treatment instead of the boxed kit conditioner.

    Some women prefer to shampoo their hair after rinsing out the color and before conditioning. I don't recommend this. Waiting at least 24 hours to shampoo allows the color to "set" in your hair and helps to prevent the color from fading.
    To help preserve the vibrancy of your color, subsequent shampooing and conditioning should be done using cool water. Hot water will strip color from your hair. This is especially true for reds, which can fade or become brassy in a matter of a week to ten days.

    Gold Jewelry Setting & Gold Purity

    Gold Jewelry Setting & Gold Purity

    GOLD JEWELRY SETTING & GOLD PURITY GOLD PURITY
    Karat is the system used to state the amont of pure gold an item contains. The higher the karat number, the higher the percentage of gold in your jewelry. The system of measuring karats is based on a scale of 24, with 100 percent gold equaling 24 karats. Since 24K gold is usually considered too soft for jewelry, the gold in jewelry item is alloyed with other metals to strengthen and harden it. The karat mark tells us the ratio of pure gold to these other metals.
  • 24 Karat (24K) gold is pure gold
  • 22 Karat (22K) gold contains 22 parts gold and 2 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 91.6% gold
  • 21 Karat (21K) gold contains 21 parts gold and 3 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 87.5% gold
  • 18 Karat (18K) gold contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 75% gold
  • 14 Karat (14K) gold contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 58.3% gold
  • 12 Karat (12K) gold contains 12 parts gold and 12 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 50% gold
  • 10 Karat (10K) gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 41.7% gold.
    In the United States, 10K gold is the minimum karat that can be called "gold".

    GOLD JEWELRY SETTING
    Most jewelry is crafted from individual components. The pieces are often created on the jeweler's bench and adjoined with molten precious metals. With a few components such as earring-posts, chains and hinges (often known as "findings"), these basic components are used to make everything from solitaire and gem-set rings, to earrings, necklaces, pendants and more complex pieces. Here we present the various setting styles used to set jewels in precious metals along with brief description of how each setting looks as well as what makes each setting special.

    Prong setting
  • Is also known as claw setting. It has small claws with a vice-like grip that are bent over the girdle of the gem to ensure its secured position.
  • Typical claw setting has 4 claws. Claw settings with 6 claws are also called the "Tiffany" setting because it was originally developed by the founder of Tiffany & Co. in 1886.
  • The claws must always be equal.
  • The visible claw ends are often rounds, ovals, points, V-shapes (usually called "Chevron"), flat and sometimes formed into ornamental shapes (usually called "Enhanced Prongs").
  • As all gemstones are suitable for prong setting, it is the most frequently used method of setting gems into jewelry. Prong settings are frequently seen because they are easier to adjust to the size of an individual gemstone.
  • Pront setting brilliantly shows off the gemstone, since the gemstone is positioned higher and is more easily seen.
  • Prong setting is especially popular for solitaire engagement rings and in bridal rings. When combined with Pave settings, Prong settings are considered to be the most suitable for women as this setting is more feminine, especially for designs with smaller shoulders and smaller gemstones.
  • The more claws, the more secure and safe your gemstones will be !

    Pave setting
  • Pronounced Pa Vay, Pave settings are claw-like settings but are so small that they are barely visible. The claws are triangular-like and are usually handmade.
  • The settings are either created by use of tiny prongs that hold the jewels on both sides, or are crafted by scooping beads of precious metal out to hold the gems in place.
  • Pave setting produce a carpet of brilliance across the entire surface of a piece of jewelry. The surface is encrusted, or quite literally "paved" in diamonds and gems, and the body of the jewelry is brought vibrantly to life.
  • Pave setting displays an illusionary bigger look using multiple gemstones.
  • Pave setting is usually combined with other gemstone settings to add more effect and beauty.
  • Pave settings are best for diamonds. Pave setting is often used in conjunction with white gold, which creates an effect of the whole piece of jewelry being crafted from diamonds.
  • Pave setting is best for round, oval, princess, emerald, square and baguette cuts.

    Bezel setting
  • A "bezel" setting is a crafted diskette of metal that holds the gemstone by its girdle to the ring, securely encircling the entire circumference of the gem. It is labor intensive and must be crafted to precisely circumnavigate the outline of the gem.
  • Variations of the "bezel" setting are the "flush" or gypsy" settings. The surface of the ring has a window cut into it that exactly fits the size of the gem. Secured from underneath, the crown of the gem rises from the ring beatifully catching rays of light.
  • A bezel setting needs to be balanced and straight, from angle-to-angle. Gemstones with sides/angles are considered difficult while oval and rounds are easier.
  • Bezels can have straight, scalloped edges and can be molded into a gemstone of any shape.
  • A bezel setting protects the edges, the girdle and the pavilion of the gemstones.
  • Bezel setting adds height, dimension and a great modern look.
  • Bezel setting is best suited to people with active lifestyles. Bezel settings are especially considered the best for men because these setting show masculinity, especially when the designs have BIG shoulders and BIG gemstones.
  • Bezel setting is best for earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings.

    Channel setting
  • A setting technique whereby gemstones are held side-by-side by their girdles between two long tracks of precious metal. When used with square, princess and rectangular shaped jewels, the effect is breathtaking as no metal apears between the jewels -- they appear to float in a tightly bejeweled chain within the jewelry.
  • The gemstones in channel setting are set closely together, so that no gold between the gem is necessary. This produces the maximum amount of light and brightness from the gemstones and allows the jewelry to keep looking bright for a long time.
  • In channel setting it is very important precisely cut the gemstones pavilion, if not the gemstones will crack or be lost !
  • Channel setting is often used in commercial jewelry designs. Often seen in eternity bands and tennis bracelets, gemstones are held side-by-side by their girdles between two long tracks of precious metal.
  • Channel setting is best for diamonds and for round, oval, princess, emerald, square and baguette cuts.
  • Channel setting is best for rings and bracelets.

    Bar setting
  • These are short bars that run like a railway track across a ring. Gemstones are individually set between these bars leaving the sides of the gemstones exposed to light.
  • An increasingly popular setting style, this technique maximizes the amount of light entering the gemstones creating superior brilliance and sparkle.
  • Bar setting is a version of the channel setting and can often combine a contemporary and classic loo in one design.
  • Bar setting is best for diamond rings and for round, oval, princess, emerald, square and baguette cuts.

    Invisible setting
  • invisible-set gemstones are placed very closely together, with the mdetal concealed underneath the stones, giving them the appearance of a continuous, uninterrupted surface. Since the metal of the setting is not seen, this type of setting is an excellent way to showcase the brilliance or color of the gemstones themselves. It also allows an increased amount of light to enter the stone (and thus give off more brilliance or color), since there are no prongs or bezels impeding the light's entry.

    Cluster setting
  • In a cluster setting, several stones are mounted together in a group, for a cluster effect. It is frequently seen with several small stones surrounding a central, larger stone.

    Tension setting
  • This setting uses pressure to hold a stone between two open ends of the metal mounting, making the stone appear as if it's floating.
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