My manager at the salon told me I was using too much developer. I pushed back hard but she was right.

Honestly, I thought my boss was just being cheap when she said I was pouring way too much 20 volume on every highlight. I was using about 2 ounces per section because I thought more liquid meant lighter color. Took me about three months of her nagging before I finally measured exactly what she said: half an ounce. My bleach actually lifted cleaner, I saved probably $40 a week on product, and my foils stopped leaking. Anyone else get told something in training they ignored at first that turned out to be dead on?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric35919d agoTop Commenter

My buddy at the shop swore by using barely any developer and I thought he was nuts. Watched him do a full head of highlights with like a quarter of what I used and his came out way better than mine. Finally tried it myself and felt like an idiot for wasting so much product.

morgan.cameron19d ago

Right? It's almost embarrassing how much product I used to burn through. My first few months behind the chair I must have been doubling my developer without even realizing it, just because that's how I was taught. Then you watch someone who actually knows what they're doing and it's like watching a magic trick where they pull the foil out with half the mess. I still feel a little sting every time I mix less than I "think" I need, but the results speak for themselves. Guess we all gotta learn the hard way sometimes.