Tuesday 31 May 2016

My hair colour journey continues at Sanrizz, Brunswick Centre, London




Getting the right hair colour is one thing but keeping it can be another, I have discovered. Having eventually arrived at a colour I liked, I now needed to keep it on the straight and narrow.

Since leaving the salon that introduced me to Wella. I had been told by a couple of colourists that my hair had a build-up of colourant. It looks like the colourist had taken the colour through the ends a couple of times too often. I could see myself that it was starting to look heavy and solid. Luckily, Wella Illumina Color is so conditioning my hair was healthy.






On my first visit to Sanrizz, Knightsbridge, the talented Tina had just done the roots so that the ends had a chance to fade. Five weeks later I am in the hands of Sharon Cox, Sanrizz international education director, to discuss the options on where to take my hair next.

We both agreed that the shade is right but we needed to ensure that I don’t end up looking like I am going for an interview for the role of Morticia from the Addams Family.

I was surprised to learn that I still had the remnants of highlights in the ends of my hair even though I stopped having them done four years ago. Sharon examined my locks carefully to see the state they were in and how they had reacted to the colour on them.






“Hair does not have the same porosity all the way through,” she said. “This has to be taken into consideration when choosing a colourant. Therefore we create colour services to meet the needs of each client.”

The degree of porosity, that is the measure of the ability of the hair to absorb moisture, is determined by the condition of the cuticle layer. Healthy hair has a compact cuticle layer which makes it naturally resistant to penetration. In porous hair the cuticle layer is raised.

Why does this matter? If your hair is coarse or frizzy it tends to be more porous and will absorb the colour faster. Extremely porous hair releases moisture readily so it becomes dry.

If your hair is less porous it will not take in the colour so readily and may also take on a slightly warmer tone when coloured. You have to be extra careful when processing fine hair, whatever the condition, as it can be more prone to damage. 





In my case, Sharon decided to use the Illumina Color as a gloss which is a relatively new process. One of the things that really impressed me about this lady was that she was quick to point out the positives and negatives of all the options that you have so you know what you can expect not just when you leave the salon but in between visits. If you want a particular colour and she feels you need to embark on a hair journey to get there, she will not hesitate to tell you. Equally, if it will not suit you, she will come right out with it.

The benefits of using Illumina as a gloss is it allows me to keep the colour I have and it will not run as some coloured glosses can.

Another option would have been to emulsify the tint on the roots by mixing it with some water and massaging it through the rest of the hair to give the same tone as the colour on the roots. This would not have made it so shiny and I have also found it does not really make all that much difference to the overall appearance.

As my hair was being blow-dried I could see the different tones. It really was stunning. This colour definitely had the wow factor, a fact borne out by the comments I received from people afterwards. 

I have now washed my hair a few times and it is still looking good. Could I really have found the Holy Grail of hair colourists?

By Daralyn Danns

For more information about Sanrizz visit sanrizz.co.uk