Wella color
Hair Color & Gray Coverage in Raleigh
Wella color hand-mixed for your gray, your base and your skin: coverage that reads as yours.
The compliment Maria's clients report most often is a question: is that your natural color? Two of the testimonials on this site say exactly that, from women who have been in her chair for over twenty years.
That is the standard the work is held to. Not a swatch matched, but color that reads as though it grew that way, which means mixing for your base, your percentage of gray and how the tone sits against your skin, rather than pulling a tube off the shelf.
She works in Wella, and she mixes by hand for every head.
Her work
Faded and grown out before. Re-colored, cut and styled after.
What goes into it
The craft behind the work
Reading your gray
How much gray you have and where it sits changes the formula. Gray at the temples behaves differently from gray scattered through the crown.
Mixing for your base
Your existing color is the starting point, so the formula is mixed against it rather than applied over it and hoped for.
Tone against skin
The same brown reads warm on one person and flat on another. Tone gets chosen for you, not for the photo you brought.
Glazing
A glaze or toner added to a color service refreshes tone and adds shine.
Her process
What happens in the chair
A root retouch with a style is around ninety minutes to two hours. With a cut, closer to two and a half.
- 01
Look at where you are
Your gray percentage, previous color and how much has faded all get assessed before anything is mixed.
- 02
Mix
The formula is mixed by hand for your head, in Wella color.
- 03
Apply
Root first where coverage is needed, then through the lengths only if they need refreshing. Repeatedly coloring lengths that do not need it is what makes hair go flat and muddy.
- 04
Process and rinse
Developed, rinsed and glazed if you are adding tone.
- 05
Cut and style
Cut into the new color if booked, then styled.
Recent work
See the full gallery
Who this is for
Anyone covering gray, wanting to go richer or warmer, correcting a color that went wrong, or maintaining a shade they already love. It is also the base service that pairs with highlights or balayage when you need coverage and dimension in the same visit.
What she offers
In this category
- Base / root color
- Color retouch & style
- Color root retouch + cut + style
- Glaze / tonerAdded to another color service
- Men's color
Maria quotes every price in the chair once she has seen and felt your hair. Length, density and condition all move the number, and she would rather be accurate than cheap over the phone.
How to work with her
Getting started
- 01Call or text the studio to book.
- 02Tell her if you have colored at home. Box color changes what is possible and she needs to know.
- 03Bring a photo of the tone you want and one you do not.
- 04Color, cut and style in one visit.
- 05Rebook at four to six weeks if you are covering gray.
Aftercare
Making it last
- Sulfate-free shampoo: color fades fastest in the first two weeks.
- Cool water when you rinse.
- Skip washing the day after your appointment if you can.
- A glaze with your next service refreshes tone between full colors.
- Do not put box color over professional color. It is the hardest thing to correct.
Questions
Color & Gray Coverage, answered
It depends on whether you are having a base or root color on its own, or adding a style or a cut in the same visit. Maria quotes yours in the chair.
Most people covering gray come back every four to six weeks. If your gray is minimal or your color is close to your natural, you can stretch it further.
Often, but tell her before you book rather than after you sit down. Box color deposits unpredictably and can limit what is possible in one session. It may take more than one visit to correct.
Wella, mixed by hand for each client rather than used as an off-the-shelf shade.
Yes. Full highlights with a root touch-up and style is a single service, and a cut can be added to it in the same visit.
Yes, when it is formulated for your gray percentage. Resistant gray (often at the temples) sometimes needs a longer process or a different formulation, which is part of what she is assessing at the start of the appointment.