Personal Hair Advisor:
Lighten Too-Dark Haircolor
Personal Hair Advisor: You might have heard your stylist say that color can’t lift color, meaning once you put a color on your hair, you can’t use another color to try and make your hair lighter. Tint isn’t designed to do that. You’ll have to resort to some kind of decolorizer or bleach to lift out the color. And that’s something you should definitely let a colorist do for you.
Personal Hair Advisor:
Choosing a Haircolor
Personal Hair Advisor: When you are on a quest for the perfect hair color, there are two things you must take into consideration: the type of color that is best for your hair and the shade that will best complement your skin tone.
The two main types of hair color are permanent and semi-permanent. Permanent color is the only color that can cover gray. If your hair is more than 30 percent gray and your primary motivation for coloring it is to cover the gray, permanent color is your best option. Many people shy away from permanent color because they are afraid it will cause serious damage to their hair. But with the improved formulations most products have today, this is very unlikely. In fact, permanent color can actually make gray hair less wiry and can create a smoother, softer texture.
When it comes to maintenance, permanent color usually lasts for about five to seven weeks. After this, roots start to show and it’s usually time for a touch-up. Semi-permanent color will also last for about five weeks, but does not contain the peroxide and developer of permanent hair color. Unlike permanent color, it does not penetrate the hair shaft — it only coats the hair. Consequently, it will not effectively cover gray. Semi-permanent color is a great option for women who already have beautiful color, but would like to add more shine, depth or shading to their natural color.
Now that you’ve selected the type of color that’s best for your hair, it’s time to pick a shade. Here’s a rundown on popular color options:
Auburn: This is a very popular color with many women, but overall I recommend avoiding it. Auburn hair can bring out red tones in the skin, and might make you look older.
Blonde: As a general rule, only a fair-skinned woman with some pink undertones in her complexion should attempt the blonde transformation. Women with olive and darker complexions can end up looking a little green when they go blonde.
Brunette: Overall, this is a very flattering shade for most women. It’s great for olive-skinned and darker-skinned women, but the contrast can also be striking on fair-skinned women.
Red: A color I love. If you have naturally blonde locks, this fiery shade will warm up your skin and look fabulous. Women with darker skin can also go red, but should opt for a darker hue.
All of these shades are also options for highlights. Many women think highlights have to be blonde, but coppery, amber or tortoise highlights are also lovely. And if you do choose blonde highlights, you don’t have to go with a bright blonde. Also, if you’re just starting to go gray and are not ready for permanent color, highlights are a great way to cover the gray and avoid harsh roots. Have fun picking your color!
Personal Hair Advisor:
Highlights and Lowlights
Personal Hair Advisor: Unlike all over hair color, highlights and lowlights are spot color processes. They can be used over permanent color or on virgin hair. Highlights use bleach mixed with peroxide to bring your color “higher,” or lighten it. Lowlights use color to bring your natural shade “lower,” or deepen it. They can be used separately or together. When used together, highlights and lowlights create a rich, natural color that brings out the best in your hair and skin tone.
Many women I see over-highlight their hair. Highlights should complement your natural color, so I often use lowlights to tone them down and temper the “frosted” look. Lowlights help create a vibrant hair color that brings out your skin tone and eye color. Your hair color should never detract from your complexion, and too many highlights can make your skin look faded. I recommend adding lowlights every third time you get your hair highlighted. They will help blend your highlights with your natural color, and you won’t have to run to the salon with dark roots every six weeks.
Women with dark hair should not go more than three shades lighter than their natural color with highlights. In terms of lowlights, reddish and tortoise (a blend of copper and gold) colors work best. When brown hair lightens naturally, it has to go through shades of red first. Thus red lowlights make highlights look much more natural on brunettes.
Natural blondes have more range in terms of highlights and don’t have to adhere firmly to the three-shade rule. Gold and copper lowlights are best, especially for blondes with very fair skin. They prevent the color from becoming brassy and won’t wash out a pale complexion.
When mixing highlights and lowlights, the colors should be well blended and natural. Also, don’t have the back of your head highlighted too heavily. The sun naturally lightens the front of your hair, so highlighting too much in the back will detract from the natural feel of your color.
Personal Hair Advisor:
Caring for Color
Personal Hair Advisor: It just takes a little special care to get the most mileage out of your color. The first step is to wait 48 hours after coloring to shampoo. Then use a gentle shampoo designed for color-treated hair. Rotate with a colorizing shampoo, such as Paul Mitchell’s Color Shampoo or ARTec, every third day. Try a conditioner with built-in sunscreen or run some sunscreen through your hair if you’re going to be outdoors. A hat will also help protect it from the sun — the main culprit of fading hair color. You might want to invest in a filtered showerhead as well. Most tap water has chlorine in it, another enemy to color. Treat your color well and you’ll have beautiful looking hair!
Personal Hair Advisor:
Color over Highlights?
Personal Hair Advisor: When you lighten your hair, you take out essential color tones that need to be put back as you darken it. Usually, it is not recommended that you put permanent color on highlighted hair by yourself. This is a corrective color and should be done by someone trained in coloring techniques. But if you choose to tackle this yourself, you can call a product companies 800# and ask for a recommendation. Please carefully follow their instructions.