We love culture.
Culture is all around us. Like many businesses, the feeling of Studio 39 describes our culture. Different backgrounds are what make the phrase the “melting pot” of American culture. I am in the business of changing, shaping and maintaining human hair.
To me, hair is hair. In all its beautiful glory, whether we trim, color or style, it’s still just hair. Changing hair color involves science. My experience is if I communicate expectation versus reality in a clear, up front way, it avoids confusion and disappointment later. Good communication is everything, especially for personal service.
Natural Levels and Cultural Descent
The natural color scale goes from 1-10 and was created from natural human hair colors. Level 1 is the beautiful blue-black color found in East Indian or Japanese hair. Color 10 is Swedish blonde from the Netherlands. Technically platinum isn’t even a color because it’s colorless! Our blonde and platinum page goes into greater detail on this.
Anglo (from Anglo Saxon descent) is the term I use to refer to hair with less melanin. Because of lower melanin in Caucasian Anglo skin, the hair naturally has less melanin versus hair of the same color in a person of Asian or Middle Eastern descent.
This is why I look at features like eye color and skin tone in a color consultation to determine the amount of natural occurring melanin. It affects how I create my formula and color plan because darker hair is more resistant to going lighter. Hair is more resistant in warmer olive skin tones, so culture is key when formulating.
Genetics and My Hair Color
I have less melanin which is why I easily get a sunburn. Vigilant sunscreen use has been part of my life since I was a kid due to less melanin in my skin, but also why my hair is a natural blonde. People with a hair color of light brown (level 6) or higher can achieve lighter blonde tones like a 10 and up more easily.
My natural color is a level 7 so I can get platinum hair without bleach because a higher natural starting point means a less aggressive color formula. Taking a level 7 to a 10 or 11 isn’t a big color jump. Factor in my light eye and skin tone, platinum levels are easily achieved without bleach because my overall genetic make up has lower melanin.
My Kiddo’s Traits
As mankind evolved, we migrated and merged. Lighter shades of hair and skin become less prevalent because they are known as recessive genes. Every artist knows if you add a darker color to a light color, the darker shade deepens the light hue. Humans are similar to art in that way.
My parents are both blue eyed blondes, so genetic odds were high for me to have similar traits. However, my son’s Italian father has black hair and green eyes. When my son was born, he had a full head of jet black hair. He was so cute because it looked like a little baby wig.😍
Culture Melting Pot Example
As my son became a toddler, he lost his newborn hair and his hair grew blonde. By age 6, it again darkened to the medium to dark brown hair color he still has. Since his dad and I both have lighter eye color, his eyes are light greenish blue. Dad and I both have straight hair, but his Italian Nana has tight curly hair. My son’s hair has perfect open medium curls, so he often tells people “no, it’s not a perm!” because curls are in.
So the combo of his dad’s black hair and my blonde hair, made his hair brown. Nana’s tight curls mixed with mine & dad’s straight hair, gave him the curls he loves. Our 2 family cultural traits combined created all of my sons’ features.
Genetic traits from our parents are what make us all individually unique!
