ADDITIVE AND SUBTRACTIVE COLOR MIXING

SUBTRACTIVE COLOR MIXING

subtractive color mix

SUBTRACTIVE COLOR MIX

When working with color pigments to color hair, the law of subtractive color mixing is something all should know. Subtractive color mixing means that light will be reduced when more color is added, creating darker colors.

The more color added or mixed the less light can be reflected, the darker the color gets, and the less luminosity it possesses.

slider cyan magenta blue

CYAN + MAGENTA = BLUE

A mixture of cyan and magenta will produce blue.

slider yellow magenta red

YELLOW + MAGENTA = RED

A mixture of yellow + magenta will produce red.

slider yellow cyan green

YELLOW + CYAN = GREEN

A mixture of yellow + cyan will produce green.

slider mixture

MIXTURE

The mixture of all colors creates a dark brown/black.

ADDITIVE COLOR MIXING

additive color mix

ADDITIVE COLOR MIX

When working with colored light, we use the law of additive color mixtures to also create lighter colors. Light colors can also be made visible through a filter.

Example:
red light + green = yellow
green + blue = cyan
blue + red = magenta

BY THE WAY

In the daily business in the salon, we do not talk about Magenta and Cyan, but about Red, Yellow and Blue.

OBJECT UNDER A DIFFERENT LIGHT

Artificial light can’t always deliver true white light as it contains certain wavelengths. Different colored light may influence the perceived color of an object. The bluish light of a fluorescent lamp can cause light hair color to look ashy, while under the yellowish light of an electric bulb that same color seems more golden.

In the salon, this means a correct estimation of hair color should always be done under special daylight lamps or in the direct daylight as artificial light may cause misinterpretations. Different colored light causes hair to look different in the salon. When your client returns home, her light will also be different.

HAIR IN DIFFERENT LIGHT SITUATIONS

The first picture shows the hair color under blue light, the second picture under yellow and the last picture under red.

hair in different light situations

BY THE WAY

It was Sir Isaac Newton who first realized, in 1666, that colors exist in white light.

Learn more about Color Theory here.

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