Last week, Josh hosted a fantastic Instagram Live with Caroline Hirons on Caroline Hirons Instagram, in which they talked about all things home hair colour. We had so many encouraging, tricky and inspiring questions sent in from our wonderful community, and Josh and Caroline had plenty to discuss! By popular demand, we’ve included here a round up of some of the most pressing questions, and Josh’s answers, as well as key takeaways from the event.
Q) I want to transform my hair colour - can you help?
Taking your hair from light to dark, dark to light, or going for a big change is an exciting and sometimes scary task - so don’t go without help. Book a virtual consultation with one of our hair colouring experts here, to talk through what you want to achieve, and how best to achieve it. Home hair colour maintenance is becoming more accessible than ever, blurring the line between home and salon hair, and you don’t have to navigate that alone!
Q) What are the biggest problems you see in home hair colouring?
The problems often start before any product is applied - and that’s because often, people don’t know their base hair colour, how much grey is in their hair, or where they’re truly starting from. Try to ask questions - do I prefer warm or cool tones, how dark or light am I? Find your darkest piece of hair and use this as a guide. If you’re used to wearing makeup, think about what colours suit you and use this to help make hair colour decisions. Team Josh Wood Colour are here to help - check out our YouTube channel and our blog for extra resources. People often think their hair is darker than it actually is, so if you’re unsure, go a shade lighter. Be realistic about what you can achieve at home. Technique-based hair colour like balayage and highlights are not something that can be maintained at home, and this is the same for big transformations and hair colour corrections.
Q) What’s the difference between permanent hair colour and semi-permanent hair colour?
Permanent hair colour usually involves mixing two products together - the colour and the activator, so if there’s only one product, it’s more likely to be a semi-permanent, like a Gloss or a temporary root concealer. Permanent colour is what is required to cover greys, whereas semi-permanent hair colour will not do this in the same way and eventually fade and wash out.
Q) What’s the difference between Shade Shot and Shade Shot Gloss?
Gloss is a semi-permanent hair conditioning treatment that doesn’t cover grey hair - it can blend it in a little, but covering grey requires permanent hair colour or a temporary root touch up product like our blending brush. Think of Gloss like self tanning drops: it adds a temporary wash of colour. Shade Shot, which is sold only as part of a permanent hair colour kit, is a way to add personalised colour tone to your base shade.
Q) Hair Loss and hair thinning- help!
Let’s first distinguish between hair shedding (from the follicle) and hair breaking (along the lengths). Hair shedding can happen for so many reasons: post-partum, stress, alopecia, illness. It’s important to speak to a doctor, or a specialist trichologist about these areas. But at JWC we know how traumatic and scary this can be, and there are techniques such as gentle babylights that we can employ to create a more 3D effect, using light and dark tones, to give the impression of thicker hair, and it’s something you can speak to a colourist about when we can get back to salons. The other thing is that having greys can make your hair look thinner, because the hair is transparent - so sometimes colouring these can help reduce how much of the scalp is visible and help hair look fuller. And don’t forget, if your hair is longer, it can appear to look like you’re shedding more hair in your hairbrush, just because the length is there.
In terms of hair breakage, it’s important to consider a diet that is rich in protein and iron to help grow hair that is stronger. Breakage is usually a result of mechanical damage, so try to reduce tying hair back tightly for long periods of time, excessive heat styling and over-colouring.
When you’re adding colour to greys, rather than bleaching, it can still be very conditioning if you choose the right product; our Miracle Shot works alongside permanent colour to get nutrients deep into the hair, as well as stimulating the follicle to get hair growing. This won’t work without permanent colour, as this is required to get the compound into the hair shaft and seal it in. Don’t forget to massage your scalp whenever you shampoo or colour, to stimulate blood flow and keep the scalp healthy.
Q) We miss being in the hair salon! What can we do while we wait to get back?
We miss chatting in the salon too - connecting and expressing ourselves is so important and we can’t wait to get back. It’s been particularly hard for those with highlights and balayage. Whilst these techniques can’t be replicated at home, the Airbrush Root Spray is a great way to disguise dark roots for a little longer. It's lightweight, precise, and gives instant temporary cover to touch up dark and grey regrowth. While we’re waiting to get back to the salon, the most important thing you can focus on from home is the condition of your hair. Use our weekly treatment hair mask, the Miracle Mask, and your hairdresser will thank you.
Q) Can we get Josh Wood Colour products outside the UK?
Brexit has made things SO difficult, as anyone who works in this industry will tell you. We’re working very hard on getting our products overseas, and should hopefully have this back up and running very soon.
Q) Any final comments?
We’re always working on new, exciting products, and we can’t wait to introduce you to what we’ve been planning. Josh Wood Colour is going to conquer the hair colour world! Make sure to sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date with all things Josh Wood Colour.