Our Colour team blog about keeping your hair colour and hair in tip top condition.
Did you know that the Ancient Egyptians were among the first people to use Henna giving their hair a rich reddish brown colour? Ever since the forward-thinking Egyptians, colouring hair has been in fashion! Luckily for us, today’s products are so sophisticated that hair is protected and colour should keep the hair shiny and with a fine lustre for a while – however, this does depend on you, your hairdresser and the products that they use.
Highlighted hair has been bang on trend for quite a long while now and still remains the top of the request list from our customers. There are so many different highlighting methods, from feathering to hair painting and even a technique called “chunking” which, as it sounds, gives chunkier blocks of colour to the hair often in bolder and brighter colours – probably for the more daring among you!
Lowlighting is the same as highlighting but with darker colours, people with very fair hair may want darker hair so we do the same procedure but with the darker tones – hence the “low” lighting term. “Multi-Toned” highlights are very popular as you can visibly see the hair move in the light and pick out different shades of colour while retaining a strong natural look. We personally love a really naturally looking head of coloured hair and know the secret but does everyone else?
Currently, we get a lot of requests for Balayage hair colour, which was developed in the 1970’s in France and it is a freehand hair colouring technique where the stylist ‘sweeps’ hair dye into a few strands or chunks at a time, depending on the desired look. This is different from foils where you take a section of the hair and fold it into square pieces of foil.
We ONLY use the very best products and take great time and care in application. We have also had many customers coming in to have dip dyes removed which was popular last year (we do this by using their natural colour brushed over the dip-dyed ends) but sometimes the ends of their hair have been extremely damaged from the bleach and the colours placed on top of the bleach tend to fade out very quickly, leaving sorry looking locks.
We try our best to repair the ends that have been damaged but it’s not always possible. Beware who does your hair colour and make sure you use Olaplex and the correct home care products to keep your hair in the best condition possible.
It’s important that your hair is in good condition if you want to get it coloured, as products can be drying and if not done properly or in a professional setting you run the risk of damage and in severe cases, breakage. We always assess hair before colouring as we would never want to cause any problems for my customers; and suppose that’s why they keep coming back to the Joshua Altback London hair and beauty salon for their colour, because they know they can trust us to keep hair looking healthy and happy.
For those of you who prefer to use home DIY colour kits, beware, they do bring their own set of cautionary tales too – if you don’t do a skin test, you can end up with adverse reactions to PPD in the dyes, take note that if you are using a darker colour, these have more PPD content than the lighter ones. We have, unfortunately, seen a few clients recently who haven’t been following the instructions on home kits properly and have left the colour on for far too long. This means the colours “grab” more and you can go darker than intended. Also, if you keep going over the ends each time you apply a home kit, you will create a “build-up” of colour which can be extremely difficult to get rid of if you decide to change your colour in the future.
When you have achieved the hair colour you want we suggest you keep your hair in the best condition possible. The JA Salon stocks lots of terrific new products which will maintain your hair’s health and keep the vibrancy of colour as long as possible.
The new REDKEN Heatcure treatment is a great way to improve the condition of your hair.
WHAT MAKES HEATCURE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE DIFFERENT? The Heatcure Professional in-salon service performed by your stylist restores the look and feel of damaged hair as the specialised formula with caring agents penetrates deep through the hair’s cuticle up to the cortex—leading to restorative results that can last up to 10 washes. The unique formula can only be activated when used in conjunction with the specifically designed tool.
The care also continues at home with weekly Heatcure at-home Self-Heating Mask that can be self-applied in between services.
Finally, the summer is over so your hair won’t be exposed to the British or holiday sunshine for a while but just in case the sun shines for the rest of the month, or if you’re going away – protect your hair and wear a hat! This will stop the colour lifting and prevent it drying out! Also, if you are somewhere hot, regular treatments and loads of conditioner will help keep it strong. Don’t forget that if you want a professional consultation on your dream hair colour, we are available at the JA Salon, where we will advise on what will suit your lifestyle, hair type and skin tone.
