Color Correction

I just returned from a wonderful AAM Convention. Conversations always seem to lead to color corrections and asking how I would correct certain residuals. Every practitioner is faced with corrections, since there is so much work out there that requires it, today. We actually teach this in our Primary Training at Beau, for this very reason.

Black brows that need to be corrected to brown, gray brows that need to be corrected to a mid-range, warm brown, blondes that have dark brows that need to be made lighter and warmer, purple brows and even several shades of pink and coral are common. Although, green and turquoise eyebrows are rare, they may still present themselves to you.
Although correction may seem overwhelming, let’s break it into 3 categories to correct: Warm, Cool or Purple.

Correcting Warm
In my mind, warm is not a correction. To me, it’s a simple cover-up with a cool or taupe shade. I refer to taupes as being cool shades that range from light blondes, such as Face Inks Sandy Blonde to dark brunettes, such as Coffee Bean. Taupe has no warmth in it…no red or orange and may range from light to dark beiges through brows. It is safe to consider all taupe shades as being cool.

To cool down a warm shade, take a cool color and tattoo over the warmth. I generally use a 3-Slope or 3-Micro and with this cooler or taupe shade, I will create hair strokes through the warmth. If I see too much warmth showing through, I will shade in between the hair strokes with either the same color or a lighter version of it. I generally use the same color with a dilution and swipe the 3-Slope side to side to shade between the hairs. If you don’t use a Slope, use a 5 or 7 round or a 5-Magnum to shade. Move quickly, to avoid a solid eyebrow unless that is what your client is looking for. It’s that easy!

Now, let’s discuss the intensity of the orange or warm residual. If it is just a hint of warmth that may present itself due to a long overdue touch-up, I will ignore it. I will still add a small drop of warmth the taupe, especially, if I am using Face Inks Soft Ash. I may choose Butternut or Butterscotch for this small drop for my light to medium brunettes. I like to see a little gold in my taupes when they heal as opposed to tones that are too cool.

If the warm residual is very orange, red, pink or coral, I may choose to leave out any additional warmth. I let the residual work for me.

If I am using a darker brunette shade, I will warm it up since the darker taupe shades tend to be much cooler. I may choose a drop or two of henna or cocoa.

~ With all corrections….Smear your correcting color over the area you intend to correct. Allow it to dry! You should be able to see a preview of your outcome right then and there. If you cannot, adjust your formula until you do.

Correcting Cool
As I said, above, I don’t see warm residuals as a correction. They are a cover-up. However, cool tones are a different story. They must be corrected.

Let’s start with blondes with gray eyebrows. This cool residual appears harsh and lacking harmony with their skin tones and you will find that your eyes will continue to bounce back to these disturbing brows as much as you wish they wouldn’t. All they need is some warmth and voilà…you will suddenly see this person’s eyes and no longer see her brows first.

I generally correct them with Face Inks Butternut and Butterscotch, starting with half and half for simplicity, in the event I need to repeat this process. I smear it over, allow it to dry to see if it dries to my desired color, stamping out the gray.

If not, I will adjust it. Perhaps, I need more Butterscotch for more orange or more Butternut to lighten and warm. Once I see the correction I am looking for, I proceed with a 5-round and lightly go over just the area I wish to correct. If this client wants a fuller brow, I will add once I get her color corrected and not before. If she has areas of her eyebrow that are unflattering, such as; a low tail or a low front, I will perform a salt removal at the same time on these areas.

I do not apply the same pressure on a correction as I would an initial procedure. This would make the correction less effective. The idea is to place the corrective color over the color to be corrected and not get down into it.

The salt removal is the opposite. You want to get under the color you wish to lift out so there is more depth required for this procedure.

Brunettes that present gray eyebrows may need gold if they have medium brown hair or they may want or need red tones if they are more auburn.

For the gold, I will use Butterscotch and a small amount of Butternut. For Auburn or warmer hair that is naturally warm, I will choose, Cocoa and Butterscotch, or Henna and Butterscotch. I recommend trying them both to see the effect you are looking for.

To correct black eyebrows, I generally select Pumpkin and Henna and sometimes a drop of New Pumpkin. This eradicates the black and you will see this as you allow it to dry over the black area.

Correcting Purple
This is easy! Goldfinch straight or mixed with Milk Chocolate or try our new Purple Corrector. The difference in correcting purple tones as opposed to gray tones is purple already has red in it. Red and blue make purple. Avoid any corrector with red. It must be a green-yellow and not an orange yellow since orange is red and yellow. Our Purple Corrector has the green-yellow in it for an effective correction or use the goldfinch and a brown with no red. Soft ash and Goldfinch is another great purple corrector.

Correcting the Occasional Turquoise or Green
The opposite of green is red so although this is shocking when it presents itself, it is not difficult to correct. Adding Face Inks Henna to a warm brown generally does the trick. Do not use Taupe shades as this may bring you a deeper green tone. Be sure your selection is warm and smear it over the area and allow it to dry. It may not be as intense as you think and you don’t want to over-compensate the red tones. You surely don’t want to give her red brows if she needs a neutral shade.