With so much stress on colour vibrancy and individuality, it’s time you did your homework and took extra special care to get the colour you want and maintain it.
Season’s hair colour trends veer towards rich hues. Shades of chocolate, auburn, honey, and caramel are popular with the stylists. Today, hair technicians are playing with hues and techniques to create looks that are totally personal – enhancing the overall person. Most like to enhance the shade with highlights and lowlights, rather than just putting in uniform streaks colour. Instead the focus is on natural looking highlights. Hair colour right now is about individuality.
Here’s what you can do to ensure that your hair colour is as unique as you:
Research: Before you sit down to get your hair coloured, do some research on the types of colours and brands available. Take time to decide – after all it is about your hair.
Consult: Talk to your colouring technician. Discuss with her the various options of colouring and try to figure out what will work best for you. If need be, talk to two different colourists who work with different brands.
Be honest: Be open about what you want. Let her know your lifestyle and your preference and hair care regime. Take examples from magazines to show her. Discuss your face shape, eye colour, complexion and natural hair colour and texture. Your natural assets play a large role in the type of colour that will look good on you.
Avoid drastic change: Don’t seek a drastic change in your hair colour. Instead start with a shade lighter or darker than your natural hair colour. One great idea is to try a semi-permanent, at-home hair colour to see how it looks on you.
Ease into colour: Before trying out daring fun colours or shading techniques on your strands, opt for an overall colour change which allows you to be comfortable with a softer shade first. If you are not comfortable with a complete colour change at first, then ask for subtle highlights at strategic places. Once you are used to the look, you can be more adventurous.
Test: A day before your colouring job go to the salon for a patch test to figure out whether you are allergic to the chemicals in the colour or not.
Prepare: Colour best attaches to strands that are healthy and strong. Dry, brittle strands get further damaged if coloured, so make sure your hair is strong and healthy. Go for a deep conditioning and follicle fortifying treatment at least three days before you get your hair coloured.
Avoid hair wash: Don’t wash your hair a day before you go for colouring. In fact, unwashed hair is best to colour on. The natural oils from your scalp conditions the strands making it easier for the colour molecules to adhere to the cuticles.
No henna: If you have used henna on your strands, you may not get the result you are looking for, because henna coats the strands, making it harder for the colour molecules to stick to the strand. Do not use henna at least for three months prior to your hair colour. Inform your hair colourist if you have used henna before.
Care: It’s how you treat your hair afterwards that decides the result of colour on your tresses. You have to be extra careful with your strands post colouring. First of all switch to colour save shampoos and conditioners. They are milder and retain the vibrancy longer. Also the active ingredients protect the strands from getting brittle and colour brassy.
Shield: Go for weekly deep conditioning treatment. Use a protective serum with UV filter post every hair wash on towel-dried hair to keep your colour on.
Be faithful: Once you find a hair technician who knows what you want and how you want it. Stick with him or her. The chemistry between the two of you is crucial for a good colouring job. After all you will need to trust the person completely.
