It’s the International Day of Happiness on 20 March – and what better way to celebrate than with top tips on creating the perfect yellow, courtesy of Pulp Riot Artist, Kara Thomson.

Happy Colour

“Yellow is such a happy colour! You can’t look at something bright and yellow without feeling all warm and fuzzy,” she says. “The colour yellow makes you think of the sun, lifts your mood and helps you feel most energetic. When yellow is used against other colours in the spectrum, it has the ability to stand out and to catch your eye more than any other colour. It’s an optimistic colour that pulls you in. That’s why yellow is used in lots of big, famous logos around the world. I find that so fascinating.”
Creating yellow on the hair can look stunning, so follow these tips from Kara to create the perfect hue.

Colour Blocking

1 As yellow can be such a vibrant, intense colour, use yellow in panels as a colour blocking technique. It’s a great way to introduce your client to try out a pastel or vivid colour for the first time, by adding a semi-permanent colour block panel to the look. Get creative and check out the Pulp Riot Semi-Permanent Colour range.

2 A chunky bright panel of sunshine yellow works amazingly alongside a deep dark base.

3 When applying yellow to the hair, it’s always best to sample it out on a strand test of hair. Yellow semi-permanents are so beautiful, but it can be a difficult pigment to remove. I always choose Pulp Riot semi permanents as I know they can be easily removed from the hair using the Blank Canvas colour remover. So that when my client decides to go for a different vibrant colour at their next appointment, the remaining pigment can be easily removed without causing any damage.

4 Make sure you have done your research and test out your yellow colour first so you and your client know how long the pigment can last in their hair.

5 Pulp Riot Lemon is the most beautiful glowing yellow and Firefly is neon yellow. The two semis mixed together make the most perfect vibrant yellow.

6 Always swatch your colour on a white piece of paper or colour map before applying to the hair. Some yellows can be more towards the richer, sunny side with an orange undertone. Others can have a slightly more translucent, more green undertone. I always like to swatch out my yellows first, to make sure it has the best undertone for my client’s look. My favourite is a warm, sunny yellow that is as opaque as possible!

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