Congratulations Lily on graduating as a Colour Specialist! How did you feel on the day?
I was excited during the build-up but then when it got to Graduation Day, I became nervous to get on stage and collect my certificate. Luckily, I was part of the first group so it was over fairly quickly and I felt I could then enjoy the rest of the day.
What is the Colour specialist course all about?
The L’Oréal Colour Specialist is a 14-week course to understand the science behind natural hair colour & how to give all clients the best possible colour results. Whilst attending the course, I went to London one day a week and then for three days during the final week. These final three days of the course included a 3-hour written exam and 2 practical exams.
What do you think the most important thing you learnt was?
I learnt that everyone has their own unique DOP (Distribution of Pigment), this information is very important when deciding the colour for a client to create the best results.
What did you have to do in your practical exams?
For each client we had to work out all of the information regarding their natural & coloured hair, then explain to the examiner all of the information, the results we wanted and a plan of how I was going to achieve this. Once the examiner agreed with me, I carried out each step while they watched, and checked the final results. No one on the course was ever aware if we had passed the practical or the written exam until we had our final mark a few months after completing the course.
For my first exam I had a lady with mid-length dark brown hair. The client wanted to keep the same colour but cover her roots. I had to establish the natural depth, natural DOP (distribution of pigment) and what the previous colour was on the ends. After deciding with the client which colour to have, I spoke to my examiner and went through all steps.
For my second exam, my client was a lady with very long dark hair with lighter balayage pieces throughout. After working out all of the information from her natural and coloured hair, I created my plan which included breaking up the previous blonde balayage, brightening it up and also placing the balayage higher as it had grown out quite a bit.
Did you enjoy the course?
I loved the course and learnt so much more than you get taught while doing your NVQ. I am now a lot more confident with doing colour changes and colour corrections as I have a lot more experience and knowledge about the service. My passion has always been with colour, it’s an aspect that can be personalised to everyone and create a big change in anyone’s overall look.
How have you used your knowledge since the course?
Since completing the course, I have had a clear understanding of the different rules of colouring on clients new to colour, or existing colour clients.
I have carried out a few colour corrections on clients that have either coloured their hair at home or have had a bad experience elsewhere. I had one client who was box colouring their hair black for over 30 years and decided she wanted to go blonde. Overall, the process of lightening her hair took around a year to achieve the result she wanted without compromising the condition of the hair. Without doing the course, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my clients hair looking expensive during the process.
Lily works in salon Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday. Book in for a free consultation to discuss your colour via our App, Website or call 01536 710422.
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