Ever since Marilyn Monroe first “went blonde,” women have realized that new hair color can virtually change their lives. Whether you need ideas for an evening out or that all-important high school reunion, here are some tried and true hair color ideas to help you get there.
About Hair Color
Hair is not all one color. It is a complex merger of tones, highlights, hues, and a good cut. For anyone who has experienced some coloring mishaps along the way, it’s a good idea to get those problems corrected before going any further. This type of correction needs to be done by a coloring professional.
Hire a Hair Specialist for Hair Color
Hair looks best in its natural state, or at least when color is applied that replicates this natural state. To see what real natural hair looks like, grab a few strands, and hold them up to the light. Look at how each strand has different tones and colors. A professional colorist will be able to duplicate what Mother Nature did by combining the correct mixture of color and tone.
Go For Certified Hair Stylish
Most hairdressers don’t have the additional training necessary to provide expert coloring advice. Find a salon with at least one on-staff certified colorist.
Be Ready To Pay Dollars
Colorists know more than how to mix colors to achieve an inevitable result. They are trained in how and why these formulas work, and they understand the chemical reactions involved. Be prepared to pay top dollar for this expert knowledge.
Get Second Opinion From Your Hair Stylist
One benefit of using a professional colorist is that she will be able to analyze your skin tones and hair color and then make recommendations on the perfect color, and maybe even a different more flattering cut. Listen to her – this is what you are paying for. Don’t go there with preconceived notions of what you think will look best on you.
Be Creative
Even more, creativity is possible once your base color is done. Your colorist may suggest additional highlights around your face, or even near your part/root area. If you happen to wear ponytails or put your hair up for any reason, add some highlights and shading to the nape of your neck as well.
Some Exceptional Hair Color Ideas
For special get-togethers, there are all sorts of new ideas to make you look great. Try some temporary foils and highlights.
Pink on strawberry blonde looks fabulous, as does fawn brown on dark brown or even orange on a blonde. It isn’t just for teens, either! Something as simple as a little glitter can go a long way to dazzling the right person! Or try what they call “tipping.”
It’s been around for years but pretty much used only by the punk rockers. With a little updating, this process has made it to mainstream hair coloring, and even middle-aged moms love it. It can be done with either permanent or temporary color.
If something a bit more subtle is what you’re looking for, try a gloss overlay with either a hint of color or no color at all. This process adds phenomenal shine for about a month. Some quality does it at-home kits are available as well.
Hair Coloring Tips
Sometimes it feels like getting your hair colored is a science. You try to do it yourself, and the color just doesn’t come outright. You go and get your hair colored by a professional stylist, and you end up paying an arm and a leg, and you still don’t get the right color. Every once in a great while, we end up getting just the perfect shade. How does that happen? Well, there is a hair color guide that you can go by.
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While some women look good in any color, most women do not. If you are attempting to go blond, make sure that you do not go more than two shades lighter than your natural tone. If your hair is dark naturally, then blond may not be the right shade for your skin type.
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If you have ashen skin, then you may not want dark hair. You should consider going lighter. Really dark shades will make you look older and ghastly. Finding the perfect dark shade can be difficult, but if you buy your skin tone, then it will be much easier.
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Most people can go red. It is just a great color for most people. Finding the right shade of red is the tricky part. You may want to ask a professional for some advice on what shade will look good with your skin type. A medium red color looks perfect on most people. Ask your stylist for more information on how to pick just the right shade of red.
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The one issue that a lot of people is whether to color the hair or highlight. If you have great standard color, then you probably should go with highlights. If your normal color is bland, then you may want to go with the single-process color treatment. It is a lot cheaper than highlights.
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Highlights look good when they are at least two different shades. When you put more around your face, then your complexion will look brighter. Remember, though, that when your hair grows out, you will need touchups. Highlights do not need as many touchups as full color.
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There are essential foil highlights, hair painting, chunking, and low lighting. With foil highlights, you can get a lot of shades to help make it look very natural. Hair painting is excellent if you want to add natural stripes of color in larger areas. Lowlighting will add darker shades to your hair. It gives it much more contrast.
Wrap
So if you want a great head of hair, do your research. There are so many tricks to picking just the right shade. Find the shade that looks good on you, and most importantly – find a great stylist. A great professional stylist can help you pick just the right tone and can find a great process to make it look great. Choosing the right color can be difficult, but when you do, you will love it.
