Let Color Specialist Fix Your Foul Up

Q. I saw this color I really wanted on a color poster in a salon. It was a very intense red, but it wasn’t florescent. I just had to have it.

The natural color of my hair is light brown. I went and got a product to lighten my hair first, and then got the color that looked just like the red I liked. I did the lightener first, then the red. It turned it pink. What can I do? It is a mess. - Ranita, Texas

A. Ranita, what happens when you wash a red item with whites? They turn pink. So when you lightened your hair first then applied the red, it turned pink. You need to go to a color specialist who will most likely put a light brown on top of the pink. It will balance it back out again.

The color red you are talking about is really gorgeous, but it has depth to it. So if you already have a light brown, adding the red to it is a beautiful effect.

Don’t panic though, color specialists in your area will know what to do. Now if someone wants that color and has really dark brown hair, that is when you would have to consider lightening it.

But please, let the color specialists do it.

Q. I have been getting perms for years. I have longish hair and it so much easier to take care of it if it has a perm. My wife likes the curl in my hair, too.

So I go in for my usual perm. No big deal, until they put the cotton on and then the solution. I have never had a burning like this. So I told the stylist . She said it would be OK, but it wasn’t. The burning got worse. I tried to tell the girl again, but she was busy doing something else. So I went into the bathroom and took a look. It was fire-engine red! It hurt so bad. I took the cotton off and went out to the salon to show the stylist what was going on. She tried to tell me that it was normal, but I knew something was wrong. She finished rinsing the perm out then the other stuff that goes on.

I had a solid red ring around my forehead and all around my face and the back of my neck. It made blisters on my face and the back of my neck. It took more than two weeks to go away. My wife thinks I even have some little scars from it.

Can a perm do that? And why did it do it now, when I have been getting perms for a long time? - Craig, Florida

A. We use the cotton so the perm solution and the neutralizer will not drip into the eyes or all over the face. The catch is, is to take the cotton off anywhere from two to five minutes after putting the solution on because the cotton holds the solution and it stays wet with the chemical, and the skin can get irritated.

After two to five minutes any excess solution should be in the cotton. Once the cotton is taken off, it should not be replaced.

When doing any chemical treatment, I check on the client every three minutes. It may get on their nerves, but I would rather that than for them to get a bad chemical burn. If someone tells me the solution is really burning, it would be off to the bowls to rinse the solution off. No one should ever take chances with chemicals and the skin. Ever!

You might have developed an allergic reaction to perms. It could have been a different perm solution than what has been used on you in the past. If someone is having a reaction to the solution, you should rinse it out immediately and blot the skin that is affected with a wet cold towel. The blotting draws the chemicals out of the skin.

You should have gone to see your doctor on this. What you need to do now, before you get another perm, is to get a patch test with the perm solution. A stylist will put a dab of perm solution behind your ear and leave it there for 24 hours. If you don’t get a reaction, then you are safe to get a perm. But you must advise the stylist about what happened to you before and make sure they remove the cotton after two to five minutes, and watch you like a hawk.