Educate me about a specific hair look
July 10, 2015 9:58 AM Subscribe
How do I achieve this hair colour Here. I am concerned about damage. Questions inside.
So I want this dye job on my belly-button length hair. I want my natural hair colour on the top, maybe top of ears up, and subtle highlights that get lighter towards the bottom. My hair is completely virgin and pretty healthy. The last time I had done anything chemical to it is about 5 years ago. It's also straight and thick and coarse, the typical Asian black hair. So...
1) Can I achieve this look without using bleach? What sort of colour formula that is least damaging but yields the closest results I want or is that even realistically possible?
2) What do I communicate to my stylist to get this look? What is this colouring style called? Doesn't really look like ombre because it's more soft and subtle highlights than like dip-dye.
3) Can it be achieved in one single sitting or is it something that has to be developed over a period of time and multiple sessions? It seems the base is gradually dyed brown with highlights added on top? Am I even describing this right?
4) How do I minimise damage before and after the colouring job? Every time I coloured my hair before ruined my hair to a dry, tangled mess. Which is why I chopped everything off and went natural for 5 years.
TIA!
So I want this dye job on my belly-button length hair. I want my natural hair colour on the top, maybe top of ears up, and subtle highlights that get lighter towards the bottom. My hair is completely virgin and pretty healthy. The last time I had done anything chemical to it is about 5 years ago. It's also straight and thick and coarse, the typical Asian black hair. So...
1) Can I achieve this look without using bleach? What sort of colour formula that is least damaging but yields the closest results I want or is that even realistically possible?
2) What do I communicate to my stylist to get this look? What is this colouring style called? Doesn't really look like ombre because it's more soft and subtle highlights than like dip-dye.
3) Can it be achieved in one single sitting or is it something that has to be developed over a period of time and multiple sessions? It seems the base is gradually dyed brown with highlights added on top? Am I even describing this right?
4) How do I minimise damage before and after the colouring job? Every time I coloured my hair before ruined my hair to a dry, tangled mess. Which is why I chopped everything off and went natural for 5 years.
TIA!
The word you can probably use is "balayage", which is similar to but more subtle than ombre.
posted by theraflu at 10:09 AM on July 10, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by theraflu at 10:09 AM on July 10, 2015 [11 favorites]
It's ombre but I think the style of application is called balayage. It gives you a softer, more subtle transition.
1) I don't think you can do this without bleach. I just recently got ombre done on my hair (completely virgin thick coarse Asian hair, never dyed in my life) and to get colors to show at all you have to bleach it. Otherwise the color will be incredibly subtle and not show unless you're under direct sunlight.
2) To achieve this look, just bring in sample pictures and maybe ask about ombre/balayage. Any reputable stylist/colorist should be able to interpret this.
3) I had my hair done--bleach, color application (plum purple), cut--in one 4-5 hour sitting, but it really depends on the length of your hair. Also it depends on how light you want to go. For the image you showed, one bleach job is probably good so it can be done in one sitting. For someone who wanted to go really light, like a lavender, I would think they'd space out bleaching between a few weeks to minimize hair damage.
4) Maintenance was the most difficult part for me. My hair did end up insanely dry when I tried to style it at all, so in the end I just went to a blowout bar if I needed to be styled for an occasion. They were much better at heat treating hair than I was, but I'm pretty bad at styling my hair in general. Wash with cold water (try to space out how much you wash your hair) and try not to use too many heat tools on it. I also use argan oil on it.
Hope that helps! If you want pictures of how my dye job turned out I can also post those. I ended up pretty please and I would totally do it again.
posted by sprezzy at 10:14 AM on July 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
1) I don't think you can do this without bleach. I just recently got ombre done on my hair (completely virgin thick coarse Asian hair, never dyed in my life) and to get colors to show at all you have to bleach it. Otherwise the color will be incredibly subtle and not show unless you're under direct sunlight.
2) To achieve this look, just bring in sample pictures and maybe ask about ombre/balayage. Any reputable stylist/colorist should be able to interpret this.
3) I had my hair done--bleach, color application (plum purple), cut--in one 4-5 hour sitting, but it really depends on the length of your hair. Also it depends on how light you want to go. For the image you showed, one bleach job is probably good so it can be done in one sitting. For someone who wanted to go really light, like a lavender, I would think they'd space out bleaching between a few weeks to minimize hair damage.
4) Maintenance was the most difficult part for me. My hair did end up insanely dry when I tried to style it at all, so in the end I just went to a blowout bar if I needed to be styled for an occasion. They were much better at heat treating hair than I was, but I'm pretty bad at styling my hair in general. Wash with cold water (try to space out how much you wash your hair) and try not to use too many heat tools on it. I also use argan oil on it.
Hope that helps! If you want pictures of how my dye job turned out I can also post those. I ended up pretty please and I would totally do it again.
posted by sprezzy at 10:14 AM on July 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
1) No way to do this without bleach. Even on hair considerably lighter than yours.
2) Ombré or balayage but with the final colour darker than straight bleach blond. They'll probably have to take the color out of you hair and then re-dye with brown (not sure, just have dyed hair).
3) One long session would be fine.
4) I like bumble and bumble's heavy duty leave-in moisturizer but my hair is totally different than yours. As long as you keep your hair generally moisturized, I think the damage isn't apparent (still there because you need to damage the hair to dye it but not noticeable).
Good luck! Have fun!
posted by hydrobatidae at 10:18 AM on July 10, 2015
2) Ombré or balayage but with the final colour darker than straight bleach blond. They'll probably have to take the color out of you hair and then re-dye with brown (not sure, just have dyed hair).
3) One long session would be fine.
4) I like bumble and bumble's heavy duty leave-in moisturizer but my hair is totally different than yours. As long as you keep your hair generally moisturized, I think the damage isn't apparent (still there because you need to damage the hair to dye it but not noticeable).
Good luck! Have fun!
posted by hydrobatidae at 10:18 AM on July 10, 2015
This article seems to line up well with my experience with balayage.
I have my hair colored about every six weeks anyway, so my current color was done in a number of steps. I think first was low lights, using a cap. Next visit was mostly my roots. Most recent visit was all-over color a few shades lighter than I was, with bleach painted on by hand to the ends while the overall dye was still on. The result is an incredibly convincing tobacco brown, with blonder highlights that look like sun exposure.
You need a good colorist with good instincts.
posted by Squeak Attack at 10:21 AM on July 10, 2015
I have my hair colored about every six weeks anyway, so my current color was done in a number of steps. I think first was low lights, using a cap. Next visit was mostly my roots. Most recent visit was all-over color a few shades lighter than I was, with bleach painted on by hand to the ends while the overall dye was still on. The result is an incredibly convincing tobacco brown, with blonder highlights that look like sun exposure.
You need a good colorist with good instincts.
posted by Squeak Attack at 10:21 AM on July 10, 2015
I just had balayage colouring done to my hair yesterday. (this is my question from a few weeks ago) I have thick curly grey hair. My hair was badly damaged from years of home colour jobs and felt like straw and is down to the small of my back. They ended up having to colour my hair down so it was the same base colour (grey roots & faded ends) then put in the highlights and lowlights then put a toner colour over it. My hair feels in so much better condition than when I went in. My colourist had several pots of colour, that they brush on as they go, cover with plastic wrap then do the next layer so I imagine it would be easiest to do in one very long session.
Having said that find a colourist who will consult with you before you go in, explain your concerns. I did that before hand, as I was worried about further damage and actually went to 3 different salons until I found one that would bother to answer my question. I was so happy with the end results I cried.
posted by wwax at 10:48 AM on July 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Having said that find a colourist who will consult with you before you go in, explain your concerns. I did that before hand, as I was worried about further damage and actually went to 3 different salons until I found one that would bother to answer my question. I was so happy with the end results I cried.
posted by wwax at 10:48 AM on July 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
What everyone else said about balayage. Mine was done in one sitting. However, my stylist told me that the toner that they put on top of the bleached hair will get progressively lighter, so if I want it to look the same, I will need to have the toner applied again in 1-3 months. It hasn't been that long for me, so I can't confirm. Also, they gave me special shampoo and conditioner to use for colored hair, as well as heat protectant for when I iron my hair.
posted by pizzazz at 1:57 PM on July 10, 2015
posted by pizzazz at 1:57 PM on July 10, 2015
« Older What do I call my multi-functional team? | What are some trainings/conferences in my field... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rtha at 10:02 AM on July 10, 2015 [2 favorites]