COLORING 2019
Hair coloring is an art that many adults engage in, and this practice which is becoming increasingly popular by the day as indicated by a study carried out by the University of Copenhagen. More than 75 percent of women and 18 percent of men living in Copenhagen, for instance, have used a hair dye at one time or the other, using ombre and balayage concurrently. It is alleged that at-home hair coloring in the U.S. reached as high as $1.9 billion back in 2011 and has risen far above $2.2 billion by 2016.
Hair coloring can be done independently at home or by a professional hairdresser. As you may have noticed, today’s hair coloring trends are more artistic and highly creative, thanks to the skill of the hair stylist that works on developing flattering and incredibly natural looks for every customer.
So, whether you prefer bright, funky colors or sun-kissed, sweeping locks, balagaye, somber, and ombre styles, there is something for everyone.
These names – balagaye, ombre, etc. – are French words and although they sound relatively pretty, they can be confusing. You need to be conversant with each trend so that you can know the color treatment you should ask for from your hair stylist.
Balagaye
Balagaye is a highlighting technique and a French word, and it means “paint” or “swept.” It is a hand-painted, sun-kissed, and customized look – a coloring technique that is utilized to create natural-looking, highlighted appearances.
Balayage creates dimension and depth, i.e., the dimension is throughout the hair, which is in direct contrast to the dimension that is limited to the tips of the hair. The latter is more common with ombre application.
Ombre
Ombre hair is that unique hair coloring effect in which the bottom hair portion looks much lighter than the top portion. This effect can be achieved when the lower hair portion is bleached, and the ombre is evened out with the use of a dye on the bottom part after the bleaching procedure.
Ombre is very stylish and trendy, and a lot of ladies have adopted it as the best dyeing technique, as far as they are concerned. But then, just like most of the other hairstyles, you need to remember and also consider several things if your aim is to get the best results with your ombre hair:
Keep in mind that tone is everything: A brassy or off-color tint with the ombre coloring will not make the grade. This occurs when bleach is applied on dark hair with blackish-red undertones.
Colorists can deftly avoid this effect by following the highlights using the correct toner. If you are applying the color to your hair yourself, you may need to consider adding some cool or achy color depositing hair toner. This will be able to get rid of orange and yellow tones.
Take it easy with the colors: If you want to get the best out of ombre hair, then you need to keep to natural hair colors. For dark brown hair or black hair, the ombre should not be lighter than light brown or soft medium. Blonde hair, as well as light brown hair, go well with lighter color toward the end of their hair.
Do not be too drastic with your hair color choices so that it can come off with an excellent finish.
Avoid harsh lines as much as possible: In most cases, demarcation lines that are somewhat too harsh don’t look good. Taking the hair from light to dark too suddenly will not be a good idea. You need to make it look like a natural process, and so it can appear naturally sun-kissed.
This hand-painting technique can be used effectively to distribute and blend the lighter pieces evenly. The same excellent results with ombre can be achieved if the hair strands are mussed up.
Choose to work with a hair stylist that is trustworthy or reliable: You should go for a trusted or reliable stylist to avoid a messy ombre. Skilled hair colorists also use the best product choices for their clients.
Highlights
Highlights refer to changing an individual’s hair color using lighteners to add color to the roots of the hair or hair strands. There are basically four types of highlights:
i. Hair painting;
ii. Foil highlights;
iii. Chunking; and
iv. Frosting.
Color highlights also come in 4 different categories:
i. Temporary
ii. Semi-permanent
iii. Demi-permanent
iv. Permanent
Highlights can be done on both natural and unnatural colors. Hair that is lightened with permanent color or bleach will remain permanent until new growth of hair starts to appear. Hair that is highlighted appears fuller, and this is why it is usually recommended for people with fine or thinning hair.
Highlights are also recommended for individuals who have at least 50 percent gray so that it can blend easily as well as lessen the line of demarcation – which may otherwise be conspicuous – once the new growth starts showing.
Hair painting
This is a method of highlighting hair at home and involves permanent painting methods. It usually requires the use of a simple, hair-painting brush and can also be used with semi-permanent and temporary types of brushes.
Although brushes are more commonly used in hair painting, the use of combs to highlight or paint thinning strands of hair is also allowed.
Balayage falls under this category since it is a free-form painting technique on clean, styled hair and Leopard hair print fall under this category.
Foil highlighting
This is the style of highlighting in which foil is utilized to separate strands of hair that will remain in its natural shades from strands of hair that will be lightened. It is a process that involves the application of hair lightener to woven hair and separated with the use of an applicator brush.
The foil is folded to protect both the hair and the area surrounding it during the processing period. Hydrogen peroxide is usually mixed with pigment to change the color of the strands.
Chunking
Chunking can be said to be a style of highlight which is thicker and larger than the conventional highlight. Most of the time, chunky highlights are offered in a wide variety of bold and natural colors as well as a large number of unnatural – or artificial – colors, thereby creating more contrast as against traditional, thinner highlights with subtle texture.
Frosting
Frosting is a hair treatment process which involves lightening the tips of the hair using the free-hand method. It is usually performed on women and men with short hair.
Conclusion
Hair coloring is a trend that shows no sign of slowing down soon, and even adults are engaged in it. It is, however, crucial that you hire the services of a professional stylist when coloring your hair to avoid accidents that may be irreversible