Achieving just the right shade of hair color can seem difficult, but with a few tricks up your sleeve, you can get the rich, beautiful color you want. Advance Techniques Permanent Creme Color is available in 25 rich and radiant, healthy-looking shades, including Blondes, Reds, Brunettes and Blacks.

Whether you’re looking for perfect gray coverage, a noticeable color change, or simply to enhance your natural color, there’s one just right for you!

Color selection is easy with Advance Techniques Permanent Hair Color. It is based on the same simple numbering system professional hair colorists use.

1. Identify your current color: To select the ideal shade, you first need to identify the current natural/uncolored hair color level by comparing your (or your Customer’s) hair to the swatches on the swatch chart. Find the swatch that most closely matches your hair’s color in lightness or darkness — this is your current hair color level.

TIP: If hair is currently colored, closely examine the roots for hair’s natural level and the lengths for the current colored shade. If hair on the lengths is darker than the root, then you should match the lengths for level. If hair on lengths is lighter than the roots, then you can go up 2-3 levels lighter than your roots, but NOT lighter than the lengths that were previously colored with permanent color.

QUICK FACT: LEVEL means the overall lightness or darkness of hair. Hair color is divided into 12 different levels with 1 being the darkest black and 12 being the lightest blonde.

2. Identify your desired color level: Now that you’ve identified the swatch that most closely matches your current color, you need to decide what level you want to achieve with Advance Techniques Permanent Hair Color. You may choose to color your hair with any shade that is up to 2 levels darker, 2-3 levels lighter or the same level as your current color.

– Shades 7 and up will lighten up to 3 levels.
– Shades 6 and below will lighten up to 2 levels.

TIP: Be sure you stay within two levels darker or 2-3 levels lighter than your natural level. For more extreme changes, you should seek out the advice of a professional. The number before the decimal point on the Advance Techniques Hair Color system package indicates the level of the creme color inside.

QUICK FACT: If hair has existing permanent color you cannot lighten your hair to a lighter shade. Hair color will not lighten another hair color. It can only lighten natural hair.

3. Decide on your desired tone: Once you’ve determined your desired level, decide the tone (or Reflect) you want to achieve. Do you want your color to take on tones of gold, copper, red, mahogany, chocolate or be more neutral. Tone is what gives “character” to your color.

The number after the decimal point on the Advance Techniques Hair Color system is the Tone.

QUICK FACT: TONE (also called Reflect) adds character to your hair color. Tone can give hair hints of warmth (gold/red) or coolness (ash).

QUICK FACT: Sometimes a shade combines 2 tones; if there are 2 numbers after the decimal point the first one is the stronger or more dominant, and the second one is slightly noticeable.

Tones Available:
.0 Neutral or Natural, without any obvious tone
.1 Ash (a cool tone) — this helps to minimize any unwanted reddish or gold tones when lightening
.3 Golden (a warm tone) gold tones
.4 Copper (a rich, warm tone like a natural red-head)
.5 Mahogany (a cool red tone)
.6 Reddish (luxurious red)
.7 Chocolate (a rich brown tone with balanced warmth).

4. Select your ideal Advance Techniques Professional Hair Color: Now that you know the level you need (on a scale of 1-12) and the tone you want, pick the Advance Techniques Hair Color System with the number that matches. This is your ideal shade!

TIP: Use the Avon Brochure to see all the colors available for you.

MORE HAIR COLOR TIPS NEXT MONTH or contact me today for more information about Advance Techniques Hair Color !