oh my highlights! There are many ways to highlight the hair I could go on and on…
Deciding on a look and maintenance plan is the 1st step in figuring out which method is for you.
I use 2 main highlighting methods. Foil highlights & Balayage highlights.
Foil highlights are great if you like to see more boldness at the root & diffusion through the ends or lots of high contrast. I usually use this technique more for heavy blondes, grey blending & corrective color situations. Think Jennifer Aniston & Gwyneth Paltrow. see pictures below of examples.
Maintenance: With foil highlights the hair is painted inside of a foil packet, horizontally. When it grows out it’ll all grow out the same way, creating more of that line of demarcation aka grow out line. This method is more on the high maintenance side. Usually in 4-6wks you’ll start to see those "roots" and want to come get it touched up.
Don’t have a ton of time? Don’t worry i got you ;D …
You can come in, in between highlight appointments, usually every 4 weeks, and get what I like to call a "Smudge" service. Total appointment time 60mins from start to finish! We apply a light amount of color at the root which slightly lightens that grow out line, "smudging" it so its appears softer, so you can go a little longer before getting a a full retouch done.
Need even less maintenance? One word…BALAYAGE.
Balayage translates " to sweep" in French. Feels fancy already right? This Method originated in paris in the 30's & was only applied to the extremely wealthy. I wont go into a history lesson but it started gain popularity in the states when it was mentioned on “The Soprano’s” & now everyone knows what boil_iage, biolage…Bahl-Ay-Ahge is ;D
What about this maintenance you ask? 3-6 months! yes you read that right.
Balayage is a awesome because the effect you get is a very natural sun-kissed look. It’s super customizable to your skin tone, face shape, lifestyle, & haircut design. With this highlighting method you can achieve anything from soft subtle highlights to bold bright pieces to multidimensional & blended highlights. I love this look because it just enhances your own unique features and... you look like ... you, not someone else. Which is what I think beauty is all about. Beauty to me is celebrating who you are inside and shinning a light on that.
Head over to the contact page to request and appt or book online for these services here
Make your life easier and get a smoothing treatment. Its going to strengthen your hair and make styling a whole lot easier. common side affect: more time to do you… instead of fussing with that hair ;)
This color is so fun right? It so great that we have so many options to express ourselves these days. I love it!
How does this process work?
i’ll keep it as short as possible… There are many different types of haircolor. Permanent, demi-permanent, & temporary. These “fun colors” would be under the temporary. They basically stain the hair. Meaning they do not lighten or change the natural haircolor they just add color to the hair. So if your hair is dark brown & you add pink to it it will not show up.
Its a 2 step process..
In order for you to get your dream color we have to lighten it first to the appropriate brightness in order for the pigment to even show up & then we can color the hair to the color of your choice.
how long does it take?
This process isn’t for your lunch hour, thats for sure. The time it takes to lighten it & dry it would probably be 2-2.5 hrs. However, if your hair doesn’t reach the required lightness in the 1st session then we will need to do it a second time. Then we will need to color over that on dry hair, let that process for about 30-45mins and then style so you can walk out with your fab self. I would plan for 3.5-5hrs in the salon.
A consultation is required prior to booking this one.
I need to make sure I actually have adequate time for this project. This is not something we can rush. When booking online, book for a “new client consultation”. I’ll contact you from there & either do a digital consult or have you come in to the salon where I can check out your hair in person.
How long will it last?
Sadly because these are stains it is a very high maintenance service to maintain. results can vary sometimes it stays vibrant for 4 wks and sometimes it washes out in 2-3 washes. it all depends on you hair and the color choice.
Luckily there are some alternative options that you can do at home. we have some take home treatments that have pigment in them. We carry Kevin Murphy which has a coral, grey & a beige treatment.
Pro Tip I wouldn’t trust just any brand though because when you want to change to something more classic, the wrong product can make it a nightmare to remove. I’ve seen purple turn neon green.
Conclusion: These colors are So fun but be prepared for the high maintenance.
I know how fun it is to change it up so i make sure and use a demi-permanent color that sits in between the center of the fiber and the surface. this way it isn’t hard to remove when your spirit hair changes from dark angel to light angel.
I also you a pigment that doesn’t remove much of your natural pigment at all.
why is this important?
underneath that beautiful natural color of yours is something we call underlying pigment. & its usually a brassy red, orange, yellow or mixtures of the 3. The product i use hardly removes any of that but just enough so the colorant latches on.
what about grow out? The color i use has more of a translucent appearance which mimics natural hair. Instead of flat matt and opaque look ( like from a box) you get uber shiny, translucent, luminous color that blends with your natural hair so your grow out doesn’t look like a line.
Maintenance? I recommend alternating services every 6wks from an all over color to a root touch up.
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What do I do if I don’t need my hair colored or highlighted yet but I’m feeling blah?
Since most of my clients get balayage and have that lived in effortless hair we don’t need really do much other than maintain the shape ( snip snip ) shine & condition ( treatment) & tone ( gloss ) the hair in between services.
But i want my hair to grow. why do i need to cut it?
I hear ya girl. all we need to do is maintain the shape so you dont end up with stringy broken hair. when you get a balayage its like painting a haircut so if the canvas is getting warped the color will start to look different. Haircuts are also designed to accentuate your unique face shape. you’d be surprised, a 1/2 inch will give you volume and a mini face lift. No needles required. :)
Does getting a treatment really do that much for my hair?
When your hair is strong enough it can hold the color properly and elongate your color service. When its hydrated enough it appears supple and gains that elasticity factor so you hair can bend & stretch rather than be stiff and break. lets be real healthy hair always looks better than unhealthy hair and these days there are all kinds of fun tools that we love to use to create those styles. We just gotta make sure we honor our hair and don’t tear it down.
What does a toner aka gloss do?
Depending on your hair goal we would use a toner to enhance the tone your hair lightened to or de-emphasize an unwanted tone like “brass”
Sometimes the hair can lift inconsistently normally when there previous haircolor on the hair so we would need to balance out the shade so it doesnt have that brassy raw look.
And lastly… everyone has a warm underlying pigment. from a medium brown down to black theres red under there ya’ll. Light brown to blond is orange. yikes! and blondes have yellow. Most people dont love warm tones at least thats the style up here in the PNW. So we need to tone the hair to cancel out those unwanted tones.
toning it also gives a glossy effect after too. shine is always a plus for me!