What Creative Hair Color Means to Me

When I was little, I loved the cartoon Jem. Well, Jem had hot-pink and white hair. She had a literal band of foes called the Misfits and I liked their style better for some reason. One had electric blue hair and I envied her. ( I had to  look up the name - it was "Stormer")It just so happened Blueberry Muffin was my favorite of the Strawberry Shortcake Gang and so was Little Boy Blue in Rainbow Bright series.

At the ripe old age of five, I asked my mom to color my hair blue and her reaction, to this day, surprises me. She obliged! Now, I don't know if this because she knew her "method" wasn't going to work, she strategically didn't want to inspire rebellion...In any case, she pulled out the food coloring. Yes, the kind you use for frosting and Easter eggs! She dribbled a couple blue drops on a streak of my hair and actually sounded sad when she announced it didn't work.

If she expected that that would be last foray into brightly-colored hair, she'd be wrong. The setting: it was my first day of HS. I was coming off of a brave hair cut, a lopsided chin-length bob with a rat-tail braid (shameful monkey covering eyes emoji). I wanted to make an entrance and I'd seen the most beautiful electric blue shade done in Sassy magazine a couple months prior. So, on a whim, I got to work with a tub of Manic Panic. Now - HERE'S where I got personally sassy: my color wasn't vibrant or dimensional enough...so I grabbed a pack of magic markers. Eek. I know. more shameful monkey emoji. These were just any markers, btw. They were scented. I think there was three different types of blue. Yes, so I got started drawing streaks in my hair. 

My mom was silent. I don't remember here being mad, exactly. You see, we were a hippie creative family and expression was encouraged. However, first impressions and all. 

I don't remember the day all that well, but other people do. It was soccer practice that very first day. I wasn't what you called "athletic", but since I didn't make the cheer team that year, I was stuck with soccer and brash Coach Dilmore. I wore a ribbed white tank and some soccer shorts....Then, it happened. It started to rain. I looked down at my shirt and it was splattered with marker drippings. My skin was quickly becoming tinted blue, running down my face. I shouted some curse words, which (along with hickies and brightly colored hair, after that day - banned). Coach Dilmore barked, "Drop and give me 20!". So there I was, my first day of school, on my hands and feet in mud, and stained like a Smurf. And so, there it was. My nickname, to this day. All because of a want of blue hair. 

Manic Panic Blue hair   Ocean City NJ 2008

Why Kiss My Brass is so versatile

The Original Ombre Company is, has and will always be cruelty-free and not tested on animals. Personally, I've been abstaining from buying cruelty-free cosmetics, haircare, skincare, house products and soaps for sixteen years. And it's hard. Before smartphones, you had to memorized the lists of companies or carry the around with you. 

As a beauty junkie, there are so many times I want to try something - like a subscription beauty box, or a fancy foundation that getting raves with makeup artists. But I can't, because my morals stand in the way. Because I tell companies where I stand with my wallet. Luckily, the world is listening and changing.

Anyway, I aimed to create a shampoo additive that would compliment any beauty arsenal. If you are like me and only use cruelty-free brands, Kiss My Brass works with you. If can only swing drugstore brands, Kiss My Brass! works with that. If you only will use high-end salon products like Oribe or Kerastase, we've got you covered. Say you are crunchy and go for natural products that have no parabens and are sulfate-free. Or perhaps your purple shampoo just isn't working as intensely as you'd like - we handle that, too! 

Because Kiss My Brass is an additive, we take the products you love and already have in your shower and we make them work harder for you! 

Why Kiss My Brass works for so many hair colors

One of the hardest concepts to explain to people is how Kiss My Brass is beneficial to so many hair shades. I think people generally understand why Kiss My Brass works on blondes: simple color theory. Purple cancels gold because they are opposite on the color wheel. 

It gets a little more complicated when you introduce multi-colored or brown hair into the mix, in the form of ombre gradients or highlighted brown hair. The violet pigment does not affect the portion of the hair, other than imperceptibly deepening the hue a tiny bit to make hair look thicker.

I actually love this trick on black hair. Layering a violet hue over pure black makes the color pop in the light and makes it pop and gloss. 

Of course, KMB also works to brighten natural grey and maintains creative or "fashion colors" like lavender, purple and silver hair. 

How Kiss My Brass came to be!

Hi I'm Shea. I grew up near the Jersey Shore, baking my skin dark and lightening my hair in the sun. Yes, as you can imagine - I was early victim of the dreaded Sun-In effect. Naturally, I have thin, multitextured coppery-brown hair that my mom calls "Auburn". It's neither true red nor is it plain brown. 

I remember my first purple shampoo. It was the cruelty-free Redmond's Aussie brand (although they sold it to a big conglomerate).  They made a freezing spray that my cheerleading squad loved to stiffen our bangs and curls with, that smelled faintly grape-y.Their products smelled amazing, were cruelty-free at the time and had exotic sounding ingredients (Kangaroo paw leaf, anyone?)

Anyway, I understood the basic principle of purple shampoo. Basic color theory - Violet cancels yellow/orange. However, this product (they don't make it anymore) didn't do anything! It was just purple-colored shampoo that didn't leave behind any meaningful color-correction. (That didn't stop me from lugging it around protectively in my Caboodle bucket).

I was in elementary school at the time, but the seeds were planted...