Color Theory and Pigment Selection
Color theory questions test whether you can predict healed color, correct old pigment, and choose pigments that suit skin undertone and Fitzpatrick type. Pigment is not paint: it sits under skin, heals cooler or warmer, and fades at different rates.
Core rules
Assess undertone as warm, cool, or neutral. Iron oxides are generally stable; titanium dioxide adds opacity and can look chalky in melanin-rich skin; organic pigments may fade faster. Correction uses the color wheel: orange or peach neutralizes blue-grey, green neutralizes red, and yellow neutralizes purple. Correct sparingly, then apply target color. In darker skin, avoid opaque lighteners that create ash; use transparent modifiers and patch test. Healed results often lighten and cool, so choose slightly warmer than the immediate target.
Worked example
A client has old blue-grey brows from previous work and wants warm brown. Reasoning: apply a thin orange-peach corrector first, then a warm brown; green would intensify the grey. Do not overcorrect, because excess orange may heal too warm.
Traps
Correcting red with red; applying corrector too heavily; ignoring skin undertone; selecting by brand name rather than by pigment composition; skipping a patch test for allergy history.