A radiant blonde is synonymous with the breezy days of summer. As the sun-drenched season quickly approaches, Beauty Launchpad educator Rachel Rush (@rachel.rush) shares her go-to technique for giving your clients a flaxen hue that delivers major beach babe energy. “This technique works great on level 7 hair or lighter and is ideal for clients who are used to traditional foils but want a softer grow-out,” Rush explains.
Starting Level: 8
Formula:
HIGHLIGHTS: Trionics Violet Clay Lightener. Start with 15-vol. and end with 25-vol.
HAIRLINE BASE BUMP: 5g. Goldwell Highlift 11P and two parts 10-vol.
TONER: 20g. Redken Shades EQ 10VV, 23g. Clear, 3g. 9RB and processing liquid
Technique:
1. Create a “T” section by sectioning off the hairline from the back of the ear. Follow by creating a mohawk section through the top.
2. Starting at the top of the occipital continuing halfway through, create a “V” pattern using diagonal forward foils. Each “V” consists of two foils per side: one teased slice on top and medium weaved foil underneath it. To start the coloring process, use Trionics Violet Clay Lightener 15-vol.
3. Slice: Use the underside corner of your brush to stamp on a continuous “M” shape, creating a zigzag line. It is important that you quickly feather up the high points to soften.
4. Weave: Paint a diagonal back line about three inches down to anchor it to the foil. Again, take the underside of the corner of your brush to press and spread out the hair. Feather the product up between each weave to create more precise lines. (I find this to be a faster way of creating a detailed blend that lifts evenly.)
5. Halfway through, transition into a herringbone pattern until you are two to three inches away from the hairline. Paint everything closer to the root the closer you get to the hairline.
6. Foil up the sides of the hairline using diagonal back weaves.
7. Pivot off the hairline and end in a horizontal direction to meet the top foils.
8. At the front hairline, using diagonal back placement, do three to four skinny foils back-to-back. Start with slicing and end with a weave. Add one to two skinny horizontal weaves in the center to finish the face frame.
9. Revisiting the previous herringbone pattern, pivot and transition into vertical placement to fill in the remaining space. Use weaves painted to the root.
10. Check the foils in the back, pull foils that are ready, and drag lightener through the ends.
11. Rinse, scrub with conditioner, shampoo and towel-dry.
12. Using Goldwell 11P and two parts 10-vol., apply the Hairline Base Bump abouta half inch into the hairline. Allow to process for five minutes.
13. Section out the first three inches of the hairline and immediately apply the toner all over for two minutes. Apply to the remaining hairline for the last minute or two.
14. Rinse, shampoo, condition, dry and style.
