Colour correction looks like a technical, hands-on skill from the outside, but genuine colour correction training doesn’t begin with a client in the chair at all. It begins with theory, and a lot of it, before a hairdressing student is ever trusted with a real correction.

Here are five real stages that make up colour correction training in the current hairdressing courses at The Academy by Sharon Leavy, based on what each course page actually confirms.

1. The Colour Star and Colour Categories Come First

Before any correction technique, colour correction training starts with the colour star and how colour categories relate to one another. This is taught from the very beginning in the Understanding Colour Theory course, which requires no previous experience and is designed to “bring you back to the very basics of colour theory.” Without understanding how colours sit opposite and alongside each other on the colour star, a student has no real framework for diagnosing what’s gone wrong with a client’s colour in the first place.

2. Mixing and Neutralising Colour Comes Before Any Real Application

The next stage of colour correction training focuses on mixing and neutralising colour, understanding depth and tone, and how undercoats affect the final result. Understanding Colour Theory covers this directly, alongside reading colour instructions and understanding peroxide levels and pre-lightener function. This is deliberately theoretical groundwork, a student needs to understand why a colour neutralises another before they’re ever handed the responsibility of correcting an actual mistake on someone’s head.

3. Only Qualified Students Progress to the Advanced Colour Course

This is where colour correction training becomes genuinely hands-on, and where a real prerequisite kicks in. The Advanced Colour Course states plainly that it is “suitable for those qualified in Level 2 hairdressing or above.” A student cannot skip straight to correction work, they need existing hairdressing qualification behind them first, which confirms that colour correction training is layered deliberately rather than treated as a stand-alone starting skill.

4. Corrections Are Taught Alongside Creative Placement and Toning

The Advanced Colour Course’s own description confirms it covers “corrections, creative placement and toning to handle the colour work that pays best,” alongside root taps, root smudges, root drags, and freshening blondes without pre-lightener. Colour correction training at this stage is genuinely technical, run across three days, one online and two in-academy, with foil placement, sectioning, balayage, and foilyage all part of the same curriculum. Correction technique isn’t taught in isolation, it sits alongside the creative colour work a working stylist is actually paid to deliver.

5. Consultation Skills Are Taught Before a Correction Ever Happens on a Client

The Advanced Colour Course curriculum also includes client consultation as a core topic, not an afterthought. Before a student applies any correction technique to a real client, colour correction training includes learning how to assess what’s already on someone’s hair, discuss realistic outcomes, and set expectations honestly. A correction done without a proper consultation first is a correction done blind, and the curriculum treats that conversation as seriously as the technical steps that follow it.

Real Student Success: Sinead Black’s Experience

Sinead Black trained in ITEC Make Up Artistry and Introduction to Hairdressing at The Academy. In her own words:

“There is a great sense of support overall and Sharon was extremely inspirational when we discussed my plans.”

Her experience reflects exactly the kind of structured, well-supported environment that colour correction training is built within, foundational courses first, with real encouragement to progress toward more advanced, technical work when a student is ready for it.

Why Choose The Academy by Sharon Leavy?

The Academy is based on Harbour Street in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, and its colour correction training pathway is described honestly in this post, according to what each specific course page actually confirms about entry requirements and curriculum content.

Because hair colour correction training touches on the same chemical safety concerns as the rest of the hairdressing industry, the National Hairdressing Apprenticeship’s overview of Ireland’s formally regulated training structure is a useful, official reference point for understanding how structured, staged training like this fits into the wider industry standard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need experience to start colour correction training?

Not to begin. Understanding Colour Theory, the genuine starting point for colour correction training, requires no previous experience and covers the colour star, mixing and neutralising, depth and tone, and peroxide levels. The hands-on correction techniques taught later in the Advanced Colour Course do require an existing Level 2 hairdressing qualification, though.

What does the Advanced Colour Course actually teach about corrections?

The course description confirms it covers “corrections, creative placement and toning,” alongside techniques such as root taps, root smudges, root drags, and freshening blondes without pre-lightener. It runs across three days and is built for working stylists who already hold a Level 2 hairdressing qualification or above.

Why does colour correction training start with theory instead of practical technique?

Because correcting a colour mistake requires understanding why the original colour behaved the way it did. Colour correction training deliberately starts with the colour star, mixing, and neutralising theory, so that by the time a student reaches hands-on correction work, they understand the underlying chemistry rather than following steps without knowing why they work.

Can a complete beginner take the Advanced Colour Course directly?

No. The course page states it is suitable for those already qualified in Level 2 hairdressing or above. A complete beginner should start with Understanding Colour Theory or a broader foundational hairdressing course first, and progress into colour correction training’s more advanced stage once that qualification is in place.

So, What Does Colour Correction Training Really Involve?

It’s a genuine two-stage pathway, not a single skill picked up in an afternoon. Colour correction training starts with theory, the colour star, mixing, neutralising, depth and tone, before a student ever touches product on a real head. Only once a Level 2 hairdressing qualification is in place does the Advanced Colour Course introduce true correction technique, alongside consultation skills that make sure the correction is right for that specific client before it begins.

If you’d like to understand the consultation side of this work in more depth, Effective Hair Colour Consultation Skills for Outstanding Client Results is a good next read. Or get in touch with The Academy by Sharon Leavy directly to find out where you currently sit on the colour correction training pathway.