Color consultation
30–45 minYour hair, your color history and the photos you bring. We test a strand and write the plan: shades, hours and how many sessions.
New clients
Book: Color consultationVivid color studio · Athens, GA
Hair color made to be seen
Reds, pinks, blues, pastels and the lightening that gets you there, planned to the hour for students and creatives who know the upkeep. We're taking new clients.
Color families
Pick a family, then a shade
Each family lifts differently, fades differently and comes back on its own schedule. Start with the one you want and we'll plan the rest.
- Some lightening
Reds and coppers
Red is the first to leave the hair. Plan a refresh every four to six weeks, cool washes and a color-safe shampoo.
- Most lightening
Pinks and magentas
Brightest on pale hair and quickest to soften. Plan a refresh every three to five weeks, and a gloss between.
- Some lightening
Purples and violets
Deep violets sit well over dark hair with a soft lift, then fade to lilac. Plan a refresh every four to six weeks.
- Most lightening
Blues and teals
Blue needs a pale base to show true and fades toward green. Plan a refresh every four to six weeks.
- Full lightening
Greens and mints
Green only shows on hair lifted almost to white, so it's a long first session and a careful schedule after.
- Full lightening
Pastels and silvers
The palest shades, toned by eye. Booked as a long session with a gloss visit in the weeks that follow.
A vivid session
How long a vivid session runs
Plan on three to five hours from the consultation to the mirror. This is the usual order; your colorist gives you your own times at your consultation.
- 30 min
Consult and strand test
We look at your hair and your history, test a strand and confirm the shades, so the plan is based on your hair.
- 1–2 h
Lighten
Lightener goes on section by section and is checked by eye, not by the clock. Dark or colored hair may need a second round.
- 1–1½ h
Color and set
Your shades are painted in where the plan says, then left to set while we check the tone.
- 45–60 min
Rinse, gloss and style
A cool rinse, a gloss to set the tone, a dry and a shape if you booked one, and your care sheet.
The menu
Color, by the hour
Every service lists how long it takes. Your plan, not a price list, sets the cost.
Start here
Color goes on faster than it comes off, so everything begins with a plan.
Patch test
10 minA small amount of color on your skin before your first color, read after 48 hours. Stop by during open hours.
Before your first colorBook: Patch test
Lighten
The pale base that bright shades need, lifted in stages and checked as we go.
Bleach and lift
2–4 hLightener from roots to ends for dark or colored hair, finished with a toner and a gloss.
Consultation firstDeposit to bookBook: Bleach and liftRoot lift
1½–2½ hFresh lightener on new growth, blended into hair that is already pale.
Returning clientsBook: Root liftFace-framing panels
1½–2½ hTwo bright sections at the front, lifted and colored to frame your face.
Consultation firstBook: Face-framing panelsBalayage and highlights
3–4 hHand-painted or foiled lightness that grows out softly, toned to the shade you choose.
Consultation firstDeposit to bookBook: Balayage and highlights
Lightening is planned by the hour it takes. Your colorist confirms the plan at your consultation.
Color
Fashion shades, placed where you want them.
Vivid all-over
3–5 hOne bright shade from roots to ends, or a melt between two, over a lifted base.
Consultation firstDeposit to bookBook: Vivid all-overColor blocking
2½–4 hTwo or three shades in crisp sections: split dye, stripes, face frames and big blocks.
Consultation firstDeposit to bookBook: Color blockingPastels and silvers
4–6 hThe palest shades, on hair lifted almost to white and toned by eye. Booked as a long session.
Consultation firstDeposit to bookBook: Pastels and silversPeekaboo panel
2–3 hA hidden layer of color under your top section, for a shade that shows when you want it to.
Consultation firstBook: Peekaboo panel
Refresh and correct
Keep it bright, or bring it back to a plan.
Color refresh
1½–2 hYour shade put back where it started, with a gloss to set it.
Returning clientsBook: Color refreshToner and gloss
45 minA quick tone and shine for blonde or lifted hair between color days.
Add-onBook: Toner and glossColor correction
4–7 hFor patchy, banded, brassy or home-dyed color: a plan to get it to the shade you want.
Consultation requiredDeposit to bookBook: Color correctionCut and shape
45 minA dry cut shaped around your color, for clients who book color with us.
Add-onBook: Cut and shape
Prices are set by your colorist's level, the length and density of your hair and the hours your plan takes. They show when you book.
Before the color goes on
Two small tests and a written plan
Vivid color is a commitment, so we check your hair and your skin before we start.
- 10 min, 48 hours ahead
Patch test
We put a small amount of the color on your skin, following the maker's directions, and read it after 48 hours. Tell us if you've reacted to a hair product.
- At your consultation
Strand test
We color a small hidden strand to see how your hair takes the lift, how fast and which shade it lands on.
- Before you leave
Your plan
The shades, the hours, the number of sessions and when to come back for a refresh, written down.
The colorists
Three colorists, one studio
Book the one whose shades you want. Each level shows on the booking page before you choose.
Nevaeh Mullins
Owner and lead colorist
- Cosmetology license · GA License no. 000000
Opened Madder for people who treat hair color like part of the wardrobe. Plans every new client's first color, and takes reds, coppers and deep jewel shades on straight, wavy, curly and coily hair.
Brooklyn Ellison
Senior colorist
Blues, teals, greens and anything that needs a long lift. Draws the plan on a hair chart first, so you can see where each shade goes before the lightener comes out.
Sam Mills
Colorist
Pastels, silvers and color correction. Steady in a long session and patient with a slow lift, and cuts and shapes for the clients he colors.
Questions
What people ask first
Do I need a consultation?
Yes, for a first color with us. It's a short visit where we test a strand and write the plan, before a long day is held.
How long will my color take?
Most vivid sessions run three to five hours. Pastels and silvers, and anything over very dark hair, can take longer, and we'll say so at your consultation.
Can my hair take it?
We look at your hair's history and condition, and test a strand, before we begin. Sometimes the answer is a slower plan across two visits.
How often will I need to come back?
It depends on the shade. Reds and pinks come back every three to six weeks; blues, purples and pastels hold a little longer on pale hair. Your plan has the schedule.
What about box color or henna?
Tell us everything that's been on your hair, even from long ago. Box color and henna can lift unevenly, so we test a strand first.
How much will it cost?
It depends on your hair and your plan, so we work it out with you before anything goes on. How pricing works explains what sets it.
Ready
Book the color you've been saving
Start with a consultation, or send a photo by text and we'll tell you what it would take.