by Rebecca Prescott

Current hair color trends are defined within the move towards relaxed glamour. Healthy, shiny hair, with lots of movement, yet still well groomed. Color is defined - it’s either pastel blondes, in clean, icy tones. Or cool browns, or brilliant reds. The move has definitely been away from red browns, although if that’s a personal choice, or suits your skin tone best, don’t be a slave to fashion!

Here are some ideas to incorporate the latest hair color trends into your style:

Double sided coloring - underneath, choose a darker color like chocolate, and over the top, and for most of the hair, choose lighter shades like copper and bronze. The darker color will frame your face, and if you go for any flicks or curls when styling, you’ll see it contrasted against the lighter colors. But the main colors when hair is straightened will be the lighter ones. It’s great for variety.

Try color combinations like coffee, honeycomb and golden syrup for a more subtle, layered effect.

For brunettes who like their chocolate browns, try a few golden highlights to break up the block of chocolate, unless your face and skin color can handle the density of such a rich dark color. It really helps define your hair style, and is much easier to wear.

If you like very dark colors, try a brown black instead of a straight black. Or get your hairdresser to mix in some blue black into the brown black to give it more intensity, but without the harshness of a solid black that is not flattering to all skin tones. Also, try mixing in some caramel and pink-red foils with a violet brown black base. If they’re used creatively, and with restraint, you can keep the overall look very dark and mysterious, with a few hints of color showing.

For blondes, try mixing golden blonde with a very light ash. Or for a more subtle but contrasting look, have the ends of a bob colored a pale pastel coral.

If you want to try platinum shades, instead of going for a harsher white white, try a softer platinum white tinted slightly with pink.

For a pretty natural blonde look, try splicing a few clove and light ash foils through a pale, golden base shade.

Redheads: Go for a rich, fiery copper with a darker brown underneath, like clove. This works well on long hair and mid length hair.

For another red combination, try cayenne, nutmeg and paprika.

For really vibrant colors mixed with a darker base, away from the coppers, try a pink red combination of cassis and raspberry coulis.

For something a little more outrageous and individual, go for a brightly colored fringe, say in pink, and a few purple ends.

If you want something quite striking, but not so colorful, just go for a lighter than usual highlight. As long as it’s tastefully done, it’ll look great. Don’t try this at home!!!

When choosing colors, be aware of whether it’s a warm shade or a cool shade. And keep in mind how much of each color is going to be on your hair. Which shade, or tone, do you want the dominant one to be? Do you want a subtle effect, or a more striking one? Unless the contrasting color is going to be in small amounts, keep warm tones together, and cool tones together, irrespective of whether they are blond, brown, black or red. For example, chocolate brown highlights look good with warm vanilla, even though the colors themselves are quite distinct.

You can use different tones together. But it depends on both your skin tone, the way the colors are applied, and how much of each are used. If you’re going for this approach, think of the contrasting tone as a painter would, and be judicious about it’s placing.

References:
1. Hair Now, N2/06

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by Michael Barrows

Hair color correction is a big money maker in salons nationwide. The reason: over-the-counter hair coloring products have given consumers the impression that hair color is easy and extremely affordable. One look at a professionally-colored model on a commercial or glossy magazine page, and many people clamor to the closest drug store to purchase a $5 box of color with the hopes of receiving a $50 salon look.

The results are often disastrous, and it can take hundreds of dollars to correct a hair color problem that could have been prevented with just a tiny bit of knowledge and planning.

The most common problem seen with hair coloring at home and in salons is choosing a hair color that is too light for the natural shade of hair. Realistically, color can only lighten hair beautifully by a few shades. If you go any lighter than a few shades, you need to choose a high-lift product such as bleach or a professional highlighting system. Failure to do this often results in hair color that is much too brassy or even orange.

Word to the wise: high-lift hair coloring should only be performed by professionals. The controlled chemicals used in the process, if used incorrectly, can result in irreparable damage and/or chemical burns on the scalp and skin.

Another hair color mistake that is seen quite often is choosing a color that is too dark. Extremely dark hair color can be the most challenging to correct because dark color can actually stain the cortex (inner layer) of the hair, making it almost impossible to lighten. Again, avoid choosing hair colors that are more than a few shades darker than your own to prevent a costly cortex stain.

When it comes to choosing the right shade of hair color to use, pick tones and shades that flatter your skin tone. Choose warm shade of hair color (reds and warm browns) if you look best in warm-colored clothing such as reds, pinks and oranges. Choose a cool shade (beige, pale blonde highlights and neutral colors) if you look best in blues and greens.

As you can see, just a little bid of planning and knowledge can save you from costly hair coloring disasters. And by making an informed decision before you purchase hair color, you will not only save money, you will also save your hair from needless damage.

Hair color is a chemical, and every time you chemically process your hair, you damage it to some extent. The damage can be minimal, as is usually the case with high-end professional hair coloring systems, or can be extreme. And each time you use hair color to correct a problem, you are damaging your hair even more.

Here are just a few tell-tale signs that your hair has been over processed with hair color and other chemicals.

‘ The hair is limp and dull, and no amount of styling can bring back its luster and bounce.
‘ The hair color has faded dramatically, and you are left with brassy and banded hair color. (Banded hair color is evident by the sudden change of hair color along the hair shaft. For example: the hair may be dark until about 2′ from the scalp where it turns a brassy orange.)
‘ The hair is extremely dry and brittle. When it is wet, it is almost impossible to comb it without causing breakage.

You can avoid damage to your hair caused by hair coloring by taking the same precautions recommended for choosing the right hair color. Choosing the right hair color reduces the amount of color applications, therefore, reducing the chances of your hair becoming over processed.

Michael Barrows’ website gives great advice for good hair. Get your free ebook packed with hair style and hair care tips and advice, visit the great hair styles website.

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by Renu Dalal-Jain

Sometimes I feel that our hair has a direct line to our hearts… when we have a bad hair day, the whole world seems gloomy, and dark portentous clouds hang heavily over our heads (literally!). When our hair is healthy, gleaming, and full of vitality, so does the rest of our day seem just a little easier to handle… in spite of this, if you are like me, you can’t justify spending money on white truffles, champagne and caviar – especially when it’s all in an eighty-dollar bottle of Alterna® Shampoo! Fans of Alterna® reportedly include Jennifer Aniston, the long-standing queen of Hollywood hair. For the rest of us however, a trip to your local drugstore can hold many treasures, if you know what to look for.

Here are some picks for best hair products (that really work) for under $10.00 each:

Best Shampoo and Conditioner: Pantene Pro-V Smooth and Sleek Shampoo and Conditioner – for about $5.00 each, these are a perennial favorite among the experts. The shampoo retexturizes hair, smoothing the shaft and avoiding frizz. When used in combination with the conditioner, which helps reduce flyaway strands and provides deep conditioning, the company claims that you will have up to 65% smoother hair. Allure Magazine has given these products their “Best of Beauty” Award for the last seven years in a row.

Best Hair Serum: Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Weightless Smoothing Serum – with apricot kernel and avocado oils, this serum nourishes hair and keeps it soft, yet weightless. A word about de-frizzing hair serum: Thick ethnic hair like that of most Indian women will soak this stuff up, so use sparingly, avoiding the scalp, otherwise you’ll look like you went a couple rounds with a bottle of coconut oil! Really, only the bottom half of your hair needs serum to control split ends and provide shine.

Best Gel: John Frieda Frizz Ease Corrective Styling Gel with Encapsulated Silicone for Curly/Straight Hair – this firm hold gel controls hard to manage hair while being non-sticky and non-greasy. The silicone beads provide added shine and calms frizzies and fly-aways. This product is a staple when blow-drying my own waist-length hair! I also love this gel for men because it’s easy to use and has a very subtle, non-girly scent.

Best Gel for Curly Hair: Physique Spiral Gel – this gel aligns irregular air spaces along the strands of hair to enhance the definition of your curls. It is ph-balanced and gentle on color-treated or permed hair. This keeps curls bouncy and defined all day long, and through those crazy nights at the clubs!

Best Mousse: Helene Curtis ThermaSilk Volume Infusing Mousse – Forget everything you’ve ever known about the mousses that spawned countless tacky 80s - style hair that stuck straight up out of your head like a fountain! ThermaSilk Volume Infusing Mousse is heat-activated (like the whole ThermaSilk line) which conditions your hair while you blow-dry. I personally used the entire line (shampoo, conditioner, volumizing spray, and mousse) for about three months last summer, and actually had to stop because my hair got so silky and smooth that I couldn’t do anything with it! Clips and pins would literally just fall out of my hair. That being said…

Best Volumizing Spray: Helene Curtis ThermaSilk Heat Activated Volume and Shine Spray – This formula is made up of two layers of formula that you have to shake to mix together before using. The bottom layer contains heat activated resins that pump up hair and provide volume, while the top layer has silicone to add shine and swing. Real Simple Magazine recommends this spray after polling numerous hairstylists and testing it themselves.

Best Hair Spray: Umberto Giannini Glamour Clear Gloss Hairspray – this modern hairspray combines super hold with maximum flexibility; there is no flaking, even if you brush your hair after applying. I love the scent, which for some reason smells like the inside of Saks 5th Avenue to me. For some, it may be a little overpowering. At the moment, this spray is only available at the Rite Aid chain of drugstores.

Renu Dalal-Jain is a certified image consultant and owner of Flair Consulting in Philadelphia, PA. She is a graduate of The Image Maker Inc. School and a member of the Association of Image Consultants International. Before returning to her first love of fashion and style, Renu completed her graduate studies with Honors, in International Marketing, and worked in the pharmaceutical market research industry. Renu has also worked in the Indian fashion industry in India as a model, fashion show choreographer and clothing designer.

Copyright © 2005 – Flair Consulting

http://www.flairconsulting.com/

renu@flairconsulting.com

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