Kristin Yarmer Hair » A Hairdresser for Austin, Texas

What is NRP?

 

NRP means Natural Remaining Pigment. NRP is color theory 101. A lot of clients ask how we as colorists understand how to get from brown to blonde and vice versa. The main thing to understand over everything else is NRP. Here is a little breakdown about what it is and why it is the most valuable tool in the colorists’ tool belt. Without this basic, I mean very basic color knowledge you will never achieve your desired results. Make sure your colorist and you, the client, have the education to back what you are doing as well. The best client to have is the educated client.

 

The NRP is the tone that contributes to the end color result. It is also important to determine the base tone of the color used in the hair color application. The colorist can refine or enhance the NRP during the hair color application. Coloring hair is always a combination of the natural remaining pigment and the tone that was applied to the hair.

If someone wants to go from Level 6 dark blonde (I consider it light brown) to a Level 10 blonde you have to eat thru 5 levels of NRP. While lifting these levels you must also use a higher level of developer. 4+ levels of lift you would need to use 40-vol developer. When it comes to developer think of them as blinds for a window. Here is my analogy. When you open your blinds a little bit you only expose a bit of light into the room. When you open up a little more, more light and when fully opened you have the most light. Think of this light as warmth within the hair. The higher the volume of developer the more the blinds of the hair are open thus exposing even more of that NRP. While lifting you want to either enhance or cancel out this warmth depending on the desired look.

 

Hopefully this will help in understanding why hair always looks warmer by coloring, highlighting and also being outside. Sun lightened highlights are the perfect example of NRP being exposed. Dark brunette women usually have red/copper undertones, Light brown hairs expose soft golden blondes and lighter hair exposes those coveted platinum blonde tones. These are all our NRP.

Today I cut this Modern Textured Shag using my feather razor. We kept her long length and gave her a super sexy V shape in the back. We continued that texture in her bangs that swoop off to the side as well.

Royal came in today and had very dark dark previous color on her hair. She has been a good girl and getting it professionally done so I was very aware of brand choice and frequency of her visits. When I met her she had light hair, if I can recall, and we took her dark after 1 or 2 visits. She has the most electric blue eyes and wearing her dark just makes them sing! After we went dark for a year or more she was ready for some lightness and after 2-4 visits we finally got her to the point where she had little to no maintenance. For her, she is a natural blonde and going dark is more maintenance than the other way around. Also ladies, heads up, if you are a natural blonde going darker when your hair grows back in it looks like you have floating roots! You will see this in her before picture. She is not thinning nor does she have thin her. Fine hair and a ton of it! So after awhile of being light it was back to dark and today she said she was ready to go light again. So the process continues. Let it begin! Now being that this is not her first rodeo she has been informed and is already aware that this is a process and might take 2-4 sessions again. We dove right in today after seeing a few inspiration photos. Being that color does not eat through color we chose to use  bleach as that is the only way to get light back into her hair. We did all over color, bleach with 20 vol developer highlights and just kept an eye on it. We rinsed and WOW did she get light. We towel dried her and applied a Gloss and Tone that is level 8 (med blonde) chocolate blonde. It turned out perfect. We both were so happy that we decided that we need only 1 more session to get even brighter blondes in the front but today is the perfect bridge color from all over damn near black to a soft golden blonde brown color. Aka Bronde. Looking forward to round 2 but this round was a hit!

I love what I do and I hope you do to!

 

Before & After from brassy grown out gross to beach sand blonde! I did some baby lights (fine to medium weave to resemble soft and natural highlights) on her natural color with 2 tones. Gold and platinum. Then I  did balayage on her ends with the same platinum blonde and Olaplex as well. Without the help of Olaplex there would’ve been no way I would have ran any bleach through those ends that had numerous amounts of previously highlighted hair. Thank you Olaplex! If you haven’t tried it, I can turn you into an Olaplex junkie! Her natural color is not too dark but dark enough that, due to the newborns, looked very dark because they were very very very grown out. We processed her for the proper amount of time then removed the foils and grabbed my violet base glaze to cancel out any hit of yellow that she had in her hair. Any time you lift through old color, lowlights and just natural color you have an underlying pigment of orange, yellow orange, yellow or pale yellow. This is when those glazes come in handy. They cancel out any unwanted brass and leave you with beautiful blonde tones that only mother nature herself could make. If you take it back to the old school color wheel theory we all know that purple/violet cancels out yellow. Blue cancels out orange and red cancels out green. As we, the professional hairdressers must do is know what underlying pigment we must cancel out to revel the beautiful tones that can be hidden there. No one, I mean NO ONE wants Mexican Orange hair. EEEEEKKKKKKK! I had a great time catching up with my friend and making her feel sexy and hot again with her super killer smoking hot sandy blonde hair!! Killer day on a killer babe!!! This mother of 2 newborn twin girls rules the roost!!!