Stages of lightening

Melanin, when exposed to sun or lightening products, disap-pears from the hair. The stages of lightening are the colors that can

be identified by the human eye as natural hair lightens.

Hair passes through the same stages whether the lifting process is chemical or caused by the sun.

❗️Remember that the stages of lightening apply to natural, not color-treated hair.

Lifting Natural Remaining Pigment (NRP) levels

The lifting levels are an approxi-

mate breakdown of the lightening

process from level 1 (black) to

level 10 (lightest blonde).

Once the natural melanin has

been lifted from the hair, the NRP

is exposed and it will contribute to the end color result.

NRP is the tonal value that the hair contributes as it lightens. You must determine the NRP that the hair will contribute at the desired level prior to coloring the hair. Then you can decide whether you want to enhance or neutralize the NRP.Naturally darker hair will often have a higher concentration of red pigment than lighter hair. Hair lightens through the warmer levels as it is lightened by the sun.

Lightening with hair color

Lightening with hair color brings the hair through the same levels as sun bleaching, only much faster. Hair will not lift to each new level in equal amounts of time. Due to the makeup of the diffused pigment, the lifting process slows down considerably when lifting

red and yellow pigments. That means lightening hair from level 2 to level 5 may take only a fraction of the time it takes to lighten from level 5 to 8. When lightening a guest’s hair, check the level of lift often.

Natural Remaining Pigment (NRP)

28.