All about Matrix Hair Colors

Matrix is ​​a fast-growing brand of professional hair dye products in the world of hairdressing. The first dyes, produced under this brand, were enthusiastically welcomed by ordinary women and received high marks from professionals due to the variety of colors and decent quality combined with an acceptable price.

Today Matrix hair cosmetics is in consistently high demand, helping not only to change the hair color in the most benign manner due to the minimum ammonia content, but also to improve their quality by making it more voluminous, smooth and shiny. Let us find out what makes Matrix paints remarkable and why hairdressers-colourists trust them.

The history of the Matrix brand began at the end of the last century. In 1980, the stylist Arnie Miller came up with the idea of ​​creating his own line of professional cosmetics to care for different types of hair from shampoos, conditioners and balms to masks, sprays and dyes.

Miller, who had been a hairdresser for 20 years, knew almost everything about his hair and wanted to ensure that Matrix products were available to women from all walks of life, helping them to always look spectacular and stylish. And he did it perfectly well.

Since 2000, the brand has been part of the L'Oreal professional cosmetic product division. The acquaintance of the Russians with the products of this brand took place in 2003, and since then, many citizens of our country have joined the world community of users of Matrix hair care products.

Matrix Hair Dye is one of professional coloring products. They differ from usual dyes in the principle of action.

Trusting the selection, mixing and application of paints from the “Professional” series is necessary only for a master stylist who has sufficient knowledge and skills in the field of coloring. On the packaging of such funds, as a rule, there is no image of flowers, and this is done by chance.

Using them each time gives a different result according to the type, texture and original hair color. To get a certain result, a hairdresser relies only on his experience and skills in the field of color. And although all cases are individual, the result of staining will always be guaranteed predictable.

The advantages of special cosmetics Matrix include:

• color accuracy - with professional paints, chances of getting the required color are high;
• the ability to mix shades with each other or refresh them by adding special mixton products;
• impressive variety of color palette with deep, rich, persistent shades;
• minimal damage to the hair structure, since the desired concentration and volume of oxygenator are selected individually for each zone of the head;
• the possibility of eliminating unsuccessful color with special washes;
• product quality guarantee, as they are traded by specialized departments, beauty salons and official distributors.

The manufacturer retains the unique formula of Matrix paints in secret, and the package contains only information about the main components of the composition.

• Ammonia or its organic artificial derivative ethanolamine (ethanolamine) as an active ingredient.In persistent paints and clarifiers, the concentration of ammonium hydroxide is minimal, and in non-ammonia this substance, which aggressively affects the skin and disrupts the synthesis of melanin and tyrosine, is replaced by a safer chemical compound MEA (ethanolamine, monoethalamine).
• Pigments - for their production are special ingredients that have properties that are most similar to the properties of the components of natural hair. With the penetration of dye pigments into the hair shaft, they are securely fixed inside, which eliminates the premature change in saturation and color depth.
• Ceramide r - organic synthetic analogue of natural ceramide, which penetrates into the scaly layer and holds together flat cuticle scales, restoring smoothness and strength of the hair. It also eliminates their fragility, solves the problem of split ends and dull color. In the process of coloring, this substance protects the hair structure from the action of the reagents in the dye composition.
• Natural oils (jojoba, olive, burdock). They restore the natural beauty and strength of the hair, making it more durable, and care for the skin on the head, reducing the risk of unwanted reactions. Under the influence of oils, hair begins to grow faster and become more obedient.
• Cera-oil - an exclusive nutritious complex with powerful antioxidant action. It has a strengthening effect on the cortical layer and nourishes the strands from root to tip. It smoothes all uneven areas on the hair, providing a uniform distribution of coloring pigments, which allows to achieve perfect color evenness.

The wide range of Matrix inks consists of several professional series for sensitive, gray and damaged hair.

Popular line of resistant dyes with the widest palette of classic and trend colors for any type of appearance. What are their advantages:

• the possibility of absolute control over the color and a predictable result of coloring due to the perfect calibration of the palette tones;
• the maintenance of natural base in shades in combination with self-adjusting coloring pigments that interact with natural hair pigments is a guarantee of a beautiful and natural look of dyed hair;
• Color Grip technology provides amazing clarity of shades;
• excellently cope with the painting of 50% of gray hairs, maintaining its durability, depth and color saturation for a long time;
• a caring composition with an innovative Cera-oil complex, saturated with ceramides, polymers and natural oils, cares for the hair during and after dyeing, providing a strengthening and restoring effect on their structure;
• easily mixed due to the formula gel + cream and simply applied, have a pleasant aroma with fruit notes;
• Give your hair an amazing softness, smoothness and natural healthy shine.

The line of cream-paints “Dream Age” is a fundamentally new approach to the coloring of gray hair.

Features and advantages of products for coloring this series:

• gray hair perfectly camouflage even in the presence of deep 100% gray hair;
• composition with an innovative formula and a low concentration of ammonia provides the most gentle hair coloring without damaging their structure;
• The unique technology "Pre Softening" provides complete hair care, making them incredibly soft, silky and shiny;
• restorative composition with the Cera-Destiny complex helps to restore damaged hair to life due to the content of Camelina oil in combination with ceramide R, which nourish, degrade and moisturize them along the entire length
• the caring components contribute to the elasticity and durability of the hair; as a result, they acquire a silky texture with a healthy, radiant shine.

Here it is worth saying a few words about how to choose the right professional paint for gray hair. When the appearance of gray hair is recommended to make a choice in favor of warm shades, for example, chestnut or mocha with a soft golden sheen, so as not to visually add age.

The color solutions with the presence of ashy shade look elegant, noble and very elegant. The maintenance of a natural pigment will provide the greatest density of a covering.

The refusal to use persistent dyes is often dictated by an elementary fear of harming the hair due to the content of aggressive ammonia. With the soft non-ammonia dyes of the Color Sync series, you can not worry about the beauty and health of hair.

They not only provide perfect evenness of color with an amazing shine, but also gently care for hair, giving it softness and smoothness.

To understand what the advantages of dyes without ammonia, it is enough to know how they work. Conventional dyes with ammonia in the composition have a simple principle of action. Ammonium hydroxide lifts a scaly layer, opening access to the painting pigments. They penetrate deep into the hair structure and replace natural pigments, as a result of which the curls take on a completely different color.

Ammonia-free paints "Color Sync" with a special formula act differently. The coloring pigment envelops the upper part of the hair, creating a heavy-duty coating, as in lamination, when the mixture for shining, volume and smoothness, settles and is fixed on the cuticle. Moreover, the duration of the effect of ammonia-free coloring and the standard procedure using resistant paints are the same.

But the main advantage of tinting cream-inks of the Color Sync series lies in the versatility of its application. With their help, you can:

• create new shades on natural bases and those that have already been painted, but without discoloration;
• restore color after persistent coloration - “enliven” the existing shade;
• correct color - “gently” correct unwanted tone;
• synchronize color - combine the tone on the length of the hair with the regrown roots, or combine dissimilar shades on the length of the hair;
• to exaggerate a bright shade - strengthen the chosen tone by means of a booster;
• dilute color - the use of a transparent nuance provides a lighter tone of the selected shade;
• perform various types of toning: shade gray hair, making light, gentle or absolute intense tint and bleached / bleached bases with the creation of persistent shades; they are also used to tint the existing level of shade or a darker tone, pastel tinting - the creation of color designs for hair and various highlighting options.

A series of toning ammonia-free cream paints of a new generation for highlighting and creating shades of ultrablond. Advantages of dyes of the Extra Blond line:

• lightening in a single approach without damaging the hair and the need to pre-bleach the hair;
• Composition with innovative technology Out-Lift Blonde, which is able to neutralize and lighten hair in one application, block unwanted tones with an admixture of red or yellow pigment and simulate clean, radiant, cool shades of blond;
• guarantee of uniform saturated color thanks to the Color Grip technology;
• the possibility of maximum clarification up to 5 or 7 tones and high-quality painting of 100% gray hair;
• irreplaceable for masking regrown roots and alignment of color along the length of hair;
• The composition with an improved creamy consistency “Stay Put Application” provides an ideal result when highlighting natural hair with subsequent multidimensional clarification without the use of a powdered clarifier;
• they are simply mixed due to the thick texture and smoothly applied, which allows to achieve maximum efficiency of dyeing.

Dyes are used for full coloring, tinting of hair in certain areas, masking of gray hair and synchronization of shades. A rich palette with a variety of blond options from shimmering cold to sandy and beige will appeal to those who prefer airy, feminine images.

A series of universal boosters designed to mix with the dyes of the Socolor and Color Sync lines to enhance color or add a touch of shade. Mixing the colors of “Soboost” and the basic palette of coloring agents opens up endless possibilities for creating unique color combinations and helps in solving any tasks in coloristics, ranging from soft color correction to extremely bright toning.

We list their main advantages:

• convenient to use, as each of the four boosters is suitable for working with all the series of dyes;
• the versatility of the application and advanced color options by creating a huge number of new tones;
• the possibility of the original coloring of bright bases with the use of creative trend techniques. For example, strobe is the creation of color accents on the hair in close proximity to the part of the face you plan to emphasize, and watercolor coloring is an addition to the existing color of bright or pastel accents.

For what use boosters hairdressers colorists:

• with the help of the red booster increase the saturation of the tones of the red or violet range;
• addition of copper gives additional copper-red nuances to amber, golden shades of blond with different color temperature;
• The use of the blue booster solves two main coloristic tasks - it is the neutralization of the undesirable background bleaching during work with blonds and the selection of cold nuances on the bases painted in dark colors;
• using yellow, add intensity to blonds or muffle shades of red gamma.

The professional palette includes a huge number of colors for blondes, brown-haired, red and brunette. For the convenience of working with the palette, the manufacturer has developed a system of alphanumeric designations of shades:

• A - ashen;
• B - brown;
• C - copper;
• G is gold;
• M is mocha;
• N - neutral;
• P - pearls;
• R - red;
• S is silver;
• UL - ultra bright;
• V - purple
• W - warm.

To determine the intensity of the tones, it is necessary to find a numeric hue on the package. All colors are assigned numbers from 1 to 10:

• 1 - blue black;
• 2 - black;
• 3 - dark chestnut;
• 4 - chestnut;
• 5 - light chestnut;
• 6 - dark blond;
• 7 - blond;
• 8 - light blond;
• 9 - superlight blond;
• 10 - ultrablond.

Mistakes when choosing a shade yourself cause frustration from dissonance of expectations and reality. Than to risk, it is better to resort to the help of a hairdresser-colourist, who will select the appropriate shade, taking into account the color of the eyes and skin, color type and individual features of the exterior.

The catalog of colors of Matrix paints consists of several lines.

• Color range of natural tones includes various versions of blond and chestnut in both light and dark versions with or without ashy and pearlescent pigment or pearl reflux, natural black shade and blue-black version.
• Warm tones It contains various variations of natural, dark, light chestnut and blond with or without a shade of mocha, double mocha, gold or copper-gold.
• Brown tones collection (red and copper) are expressive shades of light / dark blond and chestnut with or without the presence of brown, red or copper pigment, both individually and in combinations. There are also several options for a very light blond with a touch of gold.
• Mocha color range presented in several versions of chestnut and blond in a dark and light version with a red or ashy pigment.
• Collection of intense deep tones Includes light / dark variations of blond and chestnut with a deep red and / or copper tint or the presence of a silver and pearl pigment. There is a very unusual color solution - a dark blond with a red pigment and mother-of-pearl shimmer.
• A collection of color solutions for gray hair contains various variants of natural and light chestnut and blond with or without brown and red or copper pigment, with the addition of mocha or ashy. There are several options for a blond of varying saturation with a golden sheen.

The updated version of the color range of ultrablond:

• UL-IA intense ash;
• UL-A + ash +;
• UL-P pearls;
• UL-V + mother of pearl +;
• UL-NV + natural mother of pearl +;
• UL-N + natural + natural;
• UL-VV deep mother of pearl;
• UL-N natural;
• UL-M Mocha.

Although Matrix products are intended for professional painting in beauty salons, they are also used for self-coloring at home. To get the desired result at home, it is necessary to thoroughly read the instructions, paying particular attention to the paragraph on contraindications to the use of resistant dyes with ammonia.

The presence of an allergy to ammonium hydroxide or a predisposition to it is a reason for not using Matrix paints.

To ensure that there are no undesirable effects, a sensitivity test will help. To do this, a drop of the composition is applied to the wrist from the inside, the elbow or behind the ear and left for half an hour. If, after 24 hours, the skin remains clean, without suspicious redness or rash, then this is a good sign.

Those who have bleached, dyed or brittle, dry hair, it is also recommended to pre-test the paint on a small strand. If the result of her coloring suits, you can proceed to the coloring of the entire head.

How to mix a mixture:

• take dishes from glass or ceramics;
• combine the dye with a suitable concentration of oxygenant in equal proportions;
• mix components well until a uniform consistency of the same color is obtained.

Ammonium hydroxide-free toning agents must be mixed with an activator.

How to apply the coloring mixture.

• During the primary coloring, the coloring composition is first applied to the roots, and then to the length. The exposure time depends on the desired color saturation and is from half an hour to 45 minutes, and it is noticed from the moment when the mixture was fully developed.
• When re-coloring, the composition covers the root zone, leaves for 20-30 minutes, and then spreads along the hair length. Comb them, stand for another 15 minutes and wash off.
• When tinting or glazing hair (lamination), the composition should be kept for about 10-15 minutes.

In conclusion, the hair is washed under running water without using shampoo. Treat with balsam-care, leaving it for 2-3 minutes, wash it off and dry hair. Hairdressers recommend using salon products for hair care after dyeing.

Matrix paints are often the reason for discussion in the forums for hairdressers. After analyzing the opinions of colorist masters who have had the opportunity to work with the products of this brand, we can conclude that in most cases the beauty industry specialists are satisfied with the quality and capabilities of Matrix dyes.

Of the advantages of professional cosmetics of this brand most often note the following.

• The good covering ability and the convenient gel-like consistence providing high-quality penetration of the painting pigments on wide locks. It is important that you can work with the gel at a high pace without loss in quality of the coating.
• The richness of the shades of the palette, especially emit mocha, cold blond, chestnut with red pigment. There are no coarse sharp colors, which is important when working in semitones.
• Softer composition in comparison with analogues of other brands, which eliminates the "burning" of the hair.
• The impressive durability and high quality of the “Color Sync” blonds, brighten the hair, but are not washed out for several months. After tinting 4-5 shades darker, they look alive and beautifully shine.
• The colors are washed off gradually, but at the same time the curls remain shiny and silky, without creating the effect of unkempt hair between colors.

If we talk about the minuses, then some masters color palette seems not wide enough, especially few expressive copper shades. Their opponents believe that in this regard, Matrix is ​​more than fine, it would be a desire to look for various solutions by combining shades and blending color with color. Some complain that it is impossible to paint gray hair Matrix the first time.

Master class on painting gray hair using Matrix SoColor Beauty Dream.Age, see below