Introducing Steven and Tottie, our hair colour professionals and lovers of NXT! Steve and Tottie have been using NXT for several years and have achieved fantastic results. Keep reading to find out why they love NXT…
Steven
Steve Mason is the owner of Steve Mason Hairdressing and loves transforming his client’s hair using NXT. He often works with fellow NXT lover and reality TV star Charlotte Crosby.
Why it’s NXT for me!
When I first started in my hairdressing career I like many others didn’t leave college with a great knowledge of colour lines, other than the one used on my particular course, this lead to years of chopping and changing, using a bit of this and a bit of that to satisfy my clients needs and with the serge in social media and a wave of unrealistic expectations it was a struggle to say the least. All I wanted was to have a colour line in the cupboard that I knew no matter what any of my clients would request I could provide with confidence, wether it be a lived in caramel balayage, a striking gun metal grey or pastel lavender hue. That’s when I found NXT, for the first year of using NXT I experimented like crazy, finding out every possibly formula and concoction to achieve the results both I and my clients desired and that’s when it clicked, id found something that with the right creative thinking I could give my client what ever they wanted and never have to worry about not having this or that, panicking thinking “who can I get to go to the suppliers for me right now’ because we’ve all been there. I feel that’s why I’m so passionate when it comes to opening other hairdressers eyes to the potential of NXT
What’s your favourite NXT colour?
Like many hairdressers I have a very ash orientated clientele, and with that comes the dreaded “i still see warmth” moment, but with NXT that’s another worry I don’t have, there metallic range is hands down the best not only for super high pigmentation but longevity and true to tone fadeing, if I had to choose just one id say there 8.12 takes the crown, from creating a gorgeous slate silver on pre lightened level 10 hair to completely neutralising any warm tones on a brassy level 7/8 hair.
What is your best advice for new NXT users?
Practice makes perfect, in my opinion with NXT you really need to know how it all works to then find your own personal preferences, it isn’t a one size fits all, but no 2 peoples hair are the same. I find I often tweak and change formulas depending on the hair I’m working on. NXT offer amazing real education and constant support throughout which I highly recommend any new NXT user really takes advantage off!.
So my top tips for new NXT users are,
• Get a training head and get creative!
• Attend all NXT education events
• Don’t be scared to try new formulas
• Believe in your self!
• Give us your best secret formula!
Give us your best secret formula!
So my go to root melt formula that I swear by is,
6.0 + 6.1 equal parts along with 2cm 6.12 and 1cm 4.0 mixed with 10vol developer.
Now as confusing as that sounds the explanation behind it is quite simple. For example I have just gave my client a half head of backcombed highlights and now I need to apply her root melt on wet hair, the colour I’m after is natural level 6 meaning I can take away any highlight lines and softly blend into my clients natural colour. By adding the 6.0 and 6.1 together I can fight any residual warmth whilst maintain a natural tone without the risk of khaki tones, the 6.12 I add to give that extra kick of ash but also provide some violet to make sure there isn’t an overly blue undertone and since I’m toning on wet hair the dash of 4.0 guarantees me coverage over the clients pre lightend hair.
Do your clients love the results with NXT?
100%, my clients love it, they are involved in the full processes start to finish, I find that they love to know the amount of thought that goes into just “colouring there hair”. My grey coverage clients have never had an issue and my ash blonde clients never complain about fadeing this is down to good colour and good advice, all my clients use high quality shampoos etc mainly olaplex to really keep that colour in and believe me it works!
SIMPLE REVERSE BALAYAGE
FORMULA AND PLACEMENT:
• NXT semi 5.0 10g + 6.0 30g
+ 6.3 10g + 5vol
• NXT pro-tech bleach + 5vol
• NXT semi 6.77 + 5vol
• NXT 8.7 10g + 9.7 20g + 5vol
With your first formula, start at the nape with a triangle section completely covering root to tip. Then, continue taking triangle sections up the back of the head and backcomb each one. Completely saturate the root, including the backcombed hair with the colour.
Leave the un-backcombed hair untouched and continue this throughout the full head. For face framing, again use triangle sections but with less backcomb to create less dimension at the root. Leave to develop for 25 minutes before applying bleach to the ends that were left out of the backcombing, then develop for a further 10 minutes. Rinse the hair and start toning with NXT 6.77 on the root and gradually blend seamlessly into a lighter toner. Leave to develop for a further 15 minutes before the final rinse.
Tottie
Hi! My name is Tottie and I am the owner of Tottie’s Hair Salon. I have been in the industry for ten years and I love creating fashion colours, seamless blends and bespoke colour cocktails.
Why it’s NXT for me!
I am obsessed with colour and have worked hard to continue to push the boundaries of colour by completing all the education I could and entering competitions, all the while learning more and more!
Having established my business and having a loyal clientele, I was getting asked if I carry vegan and cruelty free products, something which I had never considered before. After some research and trialling different brands, I came across NXT. I discovered that not only was the NXT range amazing to work with and gave me the freedom of creativity and results I loved, but were also Vegan friendly, which is what my customers wanted! They also had the affordability factor, which as a small salon owner was really important to me. The more I researched, the more my mind was made up! Not only did I switch all my products including styling, back bar and personal products over to Vegan and Cruelty free brands, but I also adopted a vegan lifestyle myself!
I transferred my colour theory knowledge over to NXT and started experimenting! I pushed boundaries, had fun, created fashion shades and so much more! I now have a bank of my favourite go to formulas – all within the range!
What’s your favourite NXT colour?
This is a difficult question, as I never use just one colour in my bow! I would probably say the 0-66 mix tone even though it’s not a ‘colour’, but I use it a lot for vibrant reds, pre-pigging hair, creating pinks, pre-toning, glossing and neutralising fashion colours.
Why should hairdressers choose NXT?
• The fantastic range of colours
• The consistency of the outcomes
• The creativity the range allows
• The Affordability
What is your best advice for new NXT users?
Be brave! Always try new things and new mixes, don’t be shy to add pure mixtures into your formula, they create amazing results. The whole range is intermixable so don’t be afraid to add a few grams of another shade to enhance or neutralise a colours. Have fun!
Tottie’s Top Tips for new NXT users:
• Do as much education as you can! There is so much to learn! Check out the Aston & Fincher academy website for details of affordable courses! Don’t forget to follow Steven and myself for top tips!
• Be yourself! Don’t be afraid of thinking outside the box and being different! We are a creative industry so be creative with your techniques and formulas!
• Don’t be afraid to ask! Build your support network up using the Aston & Fincher resources, as well as the wealth of support available online!
• Practice, practice, practice! Models, training heads or swatches are all great ways to try new formulas and techniques
• Follow me on Instagram for more ideas, inspiration, lives and formulas! @TottieHair
Give us your best secret formula!
Well it wouldn’t be a secret if I did! But let me give you one of my favourite things to do! When I am removing a vivid colour, I love to use the -000 with 20vol or even 10vol! I always recommend you strand test this technique first!
Do your clients love the results with NXT?
They always love the colours I create using the NXT range, and are always especially impressed at the longevity of the product! Even when they come back in for their refresh, my colours, including reds, silvers, greys and coppers are still beautiful and vibrant!
SLICE & SPICE
FORMULA AND PLACEMENT:
• Foils: NXT power pack bleach + 10vol
• Colour: NXT 6-62 + 20vol
Start off foiling by sectioning in a t-section pattern, then work from the nape up, until whole head is complete, then add a few face framing foils around the front.
As you can see from the before picture we didn’t need too much lift, just enough to break up
the colour.
Once the foils are in, mix up your colour formula and apply to the root area between the foils, then refresh through the mid lengths and ends. Develop for 35 minutes and then rinse.
For extra spice:
Towel dry hair and apply a vibrant matching tone of direct colour straight over. Leave for a few minutes and work into the hair, then rinse.
Whether it’s a caramel balayage, a striking gun metal grey or lavender pastel hue, you too can achieve amazing results using the NXT colour line.
Show us your work on social media by tagging us @astonandfincher for a chance to be featured or be our next NXT advocate…