Diana Does Silverizing
A lot of you have been intrigued about going instantly icier and whiter. Let me say right off the bat that this is NOT what you do when you still have half a head full of dye. There is no instant way to “erase” color from you hair. You may think there is – we’ve all heard of color strippers. (Technically, permanent dye solvents.) But these are the most caustic, aggressive products ever created. They are intended for use by pros, although some, like top colorist Beth Minardi, would never use them. “They’re horrible,” she says.
But if you’ve transitioned, if you’ve given your hair a much needed rest, if you have no dye on it, and you’re feeling a bit dull, you might try “silverizing.”
That’s what I just did. I decided it was high time to give my hair a little icing. I seemed to have hit a stall, the white wasn’t coming in fast enough, the grays were just staying there. I’m all for making gray the best it can be. So I booked an appointment with Beth Minardi at the Minardi Salon, and off I went.
Here’s the Whole Process
You should know, if you have dark hair like mine was, (and still is underneath all that silver) this is a long, time-consuming process. Don’t plan to be out of there in two hours. The good news is, you only have to do this twice a year. Or, if your hair grows really fast, three times a year.
1. First, have a heart-to-heart with your colorist. You must make it very clear what you’re looking for. I thought I’d try just a few chunky white streaks. Beth suggested we just do the crown area. Just to see how that looked. If I wanted more, she could add more. Sounded good to me.
2. You first have to completely pre-lighten the “pepper,” or it will turn bright orange. This is not something you should ever attempt yourself. First, because you really have to massage the lightening agent into the hair, you can’t just “paint” it on. You also can’t just grab a light blonde toner off the shelf. Light blonde will not make gray hair silver or brown hair white. It is impossible to achieve the results you want in a single process.
By the way, lighteners have come a long way. Beth told me there are two paste lighteners, one from America, one from France, that have the ability to make hair super light without damage. Most good salons are using them, but they are not available in the do-it-yourself market.
3. The lightening is done in selected areas only – not all over the head. Hence, the foils. But foiling is a tedious process in itself. For two little streaks – just two—Beth used 11 foils on the right, and 14 foils on the left.
4. Then it was time to sit under the “halo”. A heating device that helps the lightener do its job.
5. Your colorist should check the foils periodically, and when the hair has reached the desired shade of lightness, it’s shampooed, conditioned, and completely dried.
I had a little shock when I looked in the mirror. I saw blonde streaks! Blonde! But when I thought about it, I should have expected that. After all, we were bleaching out my dark brown hair. What did bleach always do before? Turned me into a blonde. (NOT into a white-hair!)
6. Time for the toner. Beth used a silver white non-ammonia toner. She recommended three that you can tell your colorist about: Redken, Wella and L’Oréal all make this type of toner. They are not on the home hair care market. The advantage to toners like these is there is no burning, and they don’t make any remaining dark strands turn a funny color.
In fact, if your hair is all white, and you want to refresh the color because you’re going someplace special and really want to shine, you can go in for just a toner treatment (also called a “silverizing glaze.”) This doesn’t work if you have predominantly brown hair – it’s not going to ice it up. But what it does do is make gray or white hair more silvery.
7. After the toner application, you’ll get another shampoo (Beth used a “blue” shampoo, Artec White Violet, mixed with a little Blue Orchid. This is a special concoction your colorist can blend up for you. Beth sent me home with a bottle.)
8. Now for the final results! My dark hair never came up to completely icy white, and probably never will since the original color was so deep. As Beth advised, “The lighter you try to go, the more risk your hair will break.” But when I look at these lighter streaks, I remember that they used to be dark, dulling, and boring. Now I really feel lighter and brighter. And the glaze gave it great shine. I still want to cool that tiny tinge of blonde a little bit, but the blue shampoo, used every 4-5 shampoos, should take care of that.
Total time elapsed for the appointment: 4 hours. I decided, if I wanted to have more done, I’d come back at another time!