New Trends in Hair

Part 10 in a series by Karen A. Stevenson, President, Studio K Salon

Fall is quickly approaching.  Beginning around September, the suntan starts to fade, hair naturally highlighted by the sun begins to look out of balance and too ‘bright’ with your fading skin tone, and chemically highlighted hair starts to look too ‘blonde’.  Many people believe their sun-kissed highlights need to ‘grow out’, and suffer through a pain-staking root situation that takes away from otherwise beautiful hair.   That is probably not so. Matter of fact, as long as you haven’t used a metallic dye or highlight facilitator with metals, such as Sun-In, you are in perfect shape to have a salon low-light your hair back to your more natural color, or tone your hair a few shades darker without damaging the integrity of your hair. 

Low lighting is simply adding color back into your hair to achieve a more blended look with either foils or cap, depending on the length of hair.  It is a very natural, smooth transition that doesn’t cause any root re-growth, and the future maintenance of your hair is your choice.  You can continue to low light even more in the future until your hair is all the way back to your natural color, or you can continue with highlighting the next time a service is needed to keep the multi-dimensional look. 

The good news is multi-dimensional hair color is extremely ‘in’ this season, so altering your hair color by adding darker tones is a graceful way to give you a continued up-to-date look.   You’ve probably noticed how popular the tones with gold mixed in the hair has become. 

Now that pool season is ending, it is time to analyze your hair porosity to see if too much chlorine has damaged it.   Some ways to know for sure is if the hair has a green cast to it’s color, or when you shampoo, it is stiff, firm, feels rough and not soft.  If you need too much cream rinse to comb it out, or you may notice the comb drags when combing through the hair.  There can also be damage to hair if it’s been exposed too much to tap water by the ocean.  Hair that is already overly porous will collect the minerals, calcium deposits, or iron in various geographical locations and deposit into the hair shaft and needs to be stripped back out with a salon approach to get hair back to its natural healthy condition. 

Sun worshiper hair looks lovely in the summer, but as the cooler weather approaches, clothes change from shorts to sweaters; your hair deserves a new, fresher look as well. 

If your hair is already a darker shade of brown, and didn’t naturally highlight during the summer months, you may wish to consider adding a beautiful walnut, or chestnut color shine to your hair to add glistening effects and have that be your fashion statement this fall.  It will look lovely with the darker browns and black clothing that is so popular during the cold season.  You don’t need to be worried about it’s maintenance if you simply have a designer add the color with a semi permanent that will eventually fade or wash out over a few months and your natural color hair will return on it’s own.  You could also change your whole look by foiling or highlighting a beautiful caramel or honey to add interest. 

Whatever your situation, hair color is an extremely popular way to update your hair, add body, create intrigue, and make a statement.  Color is also the easy way to change dull and lifeless hair into beautiful expression.  It is not something to be intimidated by, but rather to explore, enjoy, and have fun with. 

Your hair designer will help you determine the best color for your look.  Make an appointment with him/her and explore your options.