Color Me!
ABCDlady's First-Ever Guide to Transforming Your Locks
In case you haven’t heard, hair color is
no longer for the old and gray! Now that head-turning hair is all
over celebrity mags, more and more young women are beginning to
view hair color as a necessary accessory – not just a secretive
age cover-up! But before you breeze into a salon, it’s important
to know what you want.
If covering a few grays or going a shade darker
is the only thing on your hair agenda, color-in-a-box could save
you time and money. But if you’re feeling nervous, want to
add highlights or want to make a drastic change to your current
hair color, going to a salon is a good idea. Stylists can help you
decide how light or dark you should take your hair color based on
your personality, skin-tone and hair type. They’re also in
tune with current color trends – and how to make these trends
work for you.
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 Model:
Rachna Vohra. Photographer: Isabelle
Paille
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If working with a stylist to achieve
your new look sounds appealing, here are a few things to think about
before you jump into the salon chair. |
| 1. Before you arrive at
the salon, understand how dark your natural hair color is.
Many dark haired women come to stylists and expect to have natural
looking highlights added to their hair. This may or may not be possible.
Hair color shade is judged on a scale of one to ten, with one being
the darkest. Most South Asian women have a natural hair
color that falls between one and four. The lighter your natural
hair color is, the more likely it is that you can work with your
stylist to create natural-looking highlights that don’t involve
extensive processing, upkeep or damage to the hair.
2. If you have used henna or other natural
hair dyes to color your hair in the past, make sure you tell your
stylist! This one is extremely important. Henna and other
natural hair dyes can have adverse effects with the chemicals used
in hair color. That means unpredictable results or damaged hair.
3. Why do you want to color your hair?
Based on why you are coloring your hair, the stylist can work with
you to make sure the products she uses are the best ones for you.
Are you looking for a drastic change? Are you just looking to go
darker or cover a few grays? Do you have extremely tight, curly
hair that may need relaxing? If so, your choices for hair-coloring
products immediately after the treatment will be limited.
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| Lights On!
It seems like everyone is getting highlights! But what exactly
does it mean to highlight your hair?
Highlighting means adding a color lighter than the base hair
color to particular strands of hair to enhance dimensionality.
Highlights can be chunky, evenly spread throughout the hair,
only in certain parts of the head or different colors.
Low-lighting is similar to highlighting, but particular strands
are actually taken darker than the base hair color. This can
also enhance the dimensionality of a hairstyle.
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4. Embrace your hair color! Trends
in fashion and movies have popularized dark hair. Hair color companies
are more eager than ever to launch products that deliver rich, dimensional
results with dark-colored hair. So next time anyone asks you if
your fabulous dark hair is natural, remember to smile and say, “Absolutely!”
| Roll the Dyes
With so many different types of hair color in the market,
it’s hard to decide which one is right for you. Here
are the major types of color you’ll find in most salons:
Permanent – This type of hair color changes your hair
color permanently. It has the ability to make your hair lighter
or darker. It usually provides the best gray coverage and
is the best choice if you are looking to make a drastic change.
Permanent hair color can be harsh, however, including ingredients
such as ammonia. This is necessary to achieve the lift (lightening)
and permanency of the hair color.
Demi-Permanent – This hair color does
not make hair lighter, but it can blend gray and add a touch
of color and glossy shine to your hair. It lasts anywhere
from 15 to 24 shampoos. The processing time is shorter than
permanent, and the chemicals in this treatment are usually
not as strong. Many men choose to use this color because the
gray coverage is slightly more translucent, allowing them
to easily achieve a “salt and pepper” look.
Semi-Permanent – If you relax your hair, or it has
undergone other strong chemical treatments, your only option
may be a semi-permanent color. Generally, it is not recommended
to use permanent hair color until a week after a texturizing
or relaxing service because the chemicals could severely damage
your hair. Semi-permanents, however, are gentler and usually
do not contain ammonia. Semi-permanents can darken but not
lighten, and they only last 6 to 8 shampoos.
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Vidhya Ravi is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. She has worked in the beauty industry for nearly five years and currently works in hair care marketing for Procter & Gamble.
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