First
mistake countless individuals make when searching a beauty aisle for that perfect hair dye is assuming “If the lady on the box is that shade, I will be
too". Use the box only as a guide, not
an exact illustration. Everyone is unique and so is their mane. Just because
your girlfriend has this hot hair tint that looks amazing, do not fool yourself
into believing it will compliment you. There’s a great deal to consider before
selecting the ideal hue.
BEFORE CHOOSING THAT BOX, ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
Once you become conscious of these details you can then decide on what type, color, and level of hair dye you want to go with.
FINDING THE RIGHT COLOR
Eye color and skin tone play a major role in picking the best shade. The proper tint will flatter both. Achieve this by figuring out what tone category you fall into. There are two groups cool and warm.
WHAT’S YOUR TONE?
Individuals with cool tones tend to look good in white, pink, fuchsia, blue, silver, black, blue-green and blue-purple these really bring out the best in cools. Warm toned usually do well in earth tones such as yellows, oranges, browns, yellowish-greens and orange based reds. Black usually does not compliment them very well if worn to close to the face. They also look great in peach, olive-green, bronze and rust colored clothing.
Another way to tell your tone is by looking at the inside of your forearm. What color are the veins you see? If they are green then you may be warm toned if blue, cool toned.
Neutral skin does not fit into either of these categories completely. They look equally as good in both cool and warm colors. If you are neutral you are very lucky, you can pull off almost any hair color.
COOL TONED
Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, a photo by The Seven Book on Flickr.
WARM TONED
In Kansai Airport, a photo by JAQ'S PhotoStorage on Flickr.
LEVEL OF COLOR
This determines how light or dark you want your color. This is represented by numbers, 1 (black) all the way to 12 (light blonde).
JUST
LIKE SKIN YOUR HAIR HAS UNDERTONES ALSO
Now that you know whether you need a cool or warm tone and you understand tones and levels, you're ready for the next step. Understanding the natural pigment in your hair and adding artificial pigment (color product). This is where the color wheel comes into play.
Complimentary colors are colors opposite on the color wheel. Red-Green, Blue-Orange etc. What does this mean to you? Well, if you have golden blonde hair, your hair tone is either red, orange, or yellow warm tones. So if you put a cool colored tone on like ash. You're hair is most likely to turn green.
colour-wheel, a photo by Jasmic on Flickr.
Look at the wheel. Let's say you have yellow under tones to your hair, and you want to cool it to an ash. You decide blue undertone ash toner will do, since it is a cool undertone. Well, by doing this you'll end up with green hair! As you can see, on the wheel that blue and yellow make green. If you want to cancel out whatever undertone you have, you should use the opposite color on the wheel. In other words, if you have brown hair with red highlights and you can't stand the red, then you would use the opposite color on the wheel to neutralize the red. In this case, the neutralizing color would be green (ash).
ALSO REMEMBER:
Continue Reading...
ASPECTS
THAT AFFECT THE LOOK OF ARTIFICIAL COLOR (HAIR DYE)
v Your natural shade
Aids in determining the
undertones of your mane, in addition gives an idea of how a particular color
will turn out.
v Do you have any artificial
color
Knowing the form of dye you have prevents mistakes
(ex. turning hair green or picking an unflattering color).
v Does your hair have chemical
processes
Helps establish how your
hair will accept the color and if it is safe to continue.
v The condition of your
tresses
Damaged and over-processed
hair will not take certain dyes properly. By knowing the condition of
your locks, you can pick the best brand. Going for the wrong product may cause further
harm to your mane.
BEFORE CHOOSING THAT BOX, ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
v “What am I trying to
accomplish?”
Do you want to cover
gray, drastically change your hair color (ex. black to blonde), make your
natural shade luminous or put in highlights.
*Helps you choose the
right type of dye (ex. permanent/temporary).
v “What tone am I?”
Uncover what tone category
you fall into. There are two categories: warm and cool.
*Helps reveal the most
flattering hair shade (ex. golden blonde/dark cherry red).
Once you become conscious of these details you can then decide on what type, color, and level of hair dye you want to go with.
DIFFERENT
TYPES OF HAIR DYE AND WHAT THEY ACHIEVE:
vPermanent
Color molecules actually
penetrate the hair shaft, contains a high level of peroxide and ammonia. A process
that is permanent. Requires touch-ups every 4-6 weeks to tint the newly grown
hair (new-growth/roots). Bleach falls under this category, bleaching is a basic
method used to lighten the mane.
Best for: long lasting color, extreme
color change, covering gray
Avoid: those with damaged and/or
over-processed hair
vSemi-Permanent
A colorant that partially
penetrates the hair shaft contains a very low level of peroxide and ammonia. Non-permanent
dye that washes out after 6-12 shampoos and tends to fade after a few weeks.
This form does not lighten the hair.
Best
for: enhancing
natural hair color with a more realistic result, safer for those that
have over- processed or damaged hair
Avoid:
Persons with gray, does not cover well and may leave a tinge of color to the
hair.
vDemi-permanent
Color that has a
very low level of ammonia, it is non-permanent in addition longer lasting than
semi-permanent. Typically rinses away in 20-28 shampoos. You can go about one
shade lighter or up to two shades darker. Offers better coverage of gray than
semi-permanent but not as well as permanent.
Best
for: covering gray, gentler for use
on over-processed and/or damaged hair
vTemporary
Tint usually called
a rinse. Color does not penetrate the hair shaft. It fades and rinses out easily,
normally within the first shampoo. Also adds a rich color effect to the hair.
Best for: adding color for a very short
period of time (ex. special occasions and Halloween) and young adults
Avoid: those with gray hair
FINDING THE RIGHT COLOR
Eye color and skin tone play a major role in picking the best shade. The proper tint will flatter both. Achieve this by figuring out what tone category you fall into. There are two groups cool and warm.
WHAT’S YOUR TONE?
|
TONE
|
COOL
|
WARM
|
|
COMPLEXION
|
GOLDEN, OLIVE, DARK BROWN OR DARK BROWN
W/RED UNDERTONES
|
BROWN W/PINK OR GOLD UNDERTONES,
PALE W/PEACH OR GOLD UNDERTONES, FAIR OR TAN
|
|
EYE COLOR
|
BROWN, BLACK, GRAY OR BLUE
|
GOLDEN BROWN, GREEN, TURQUOISE OR HAZEL
|
|
NATURAL HAIR COLOR
|
WHITE, SALT N PEPPER, BLACK OR BROWN
|
DEEP BROWN WITH GOLD OR RED
|
|
FOUNDATION
|
PINK BASED
|
YELLOW BASED
|
|
TAN
|
TURNS RED, BROWN OR BRONZE
|
GOLDEN/TANS VERY WELL
|
|
JEWELRY
|
PLATINUM
|
GOLD
|
|
CLOTHING
|
PURE WHITE, BLACK AND BLUE
|
CREAM, IVORY AND RUST
|
|
BEST HAIR COLOR
|
REDS, PURPLES, BLACKS, ASH-
BROWNS, COOL BLONDES, MINK, PLATINUM AND ICY WHITE
|
WARM GOLDEN COLORS SUCH AS WARM BROWN,
CHESTNUT, RICH GOLDEN BROWN, AUBURN AND WARM GOLD
|
|
BEST UNDERTONES/BASES
|
ASH AND BEIGE
|
RED, ORANGE OR YELLOW/GOLD
|
|
BEST HIGHLIGHTS
|
WHEAT, HONEY, TAUPE OR ASH
|
COPPER, RED, GOLDEN-BROWNS AND
GOLDEN-BLONDES
|
|
STARS
|
ELIZABETH TAYLOR, SANDRA
BULLOCK, EVA LONGORIA, MEGAN FOX, JENNIFER HUDSON, PENELOPE CRUZ, OPRAH
|
NICOLE
KIDMAN, ELLEN DEGENERES, CAMERON DIAZ, NICOLE RICHE, MEG RYAN, JENNIFER
LOPEZ, BEYONCE
|
Individuals with cool tones tend to look good in white, pink, fuchsia, blue, silver, black, blue-green and blue-purple these really bring out the best in cools. Warm toned usually do well in earth tones such as yellows, oranges, browns, yellowish-greens and orange based reds. Black usually does not compliment them very well if worn to close to the face. They also look great in peach, olive-green, bronze and rust colored clothing.
Another way to tell your tone is by looking at the inside of your forearm. What color are the veins you see? If they are green then you may be warm toned if blue, cool toned.
Neutral skin does not fit into either of these categories completely. They look equally as good in both cool and warm colors. If you are neutral you are very lucky, you can pull off almost any hair color.
COOL TONED
Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, a photo by The Seven Book on Flickr.
WARM TONED
In Kansai Airport, a photo by JAQ'S PhotoStorage on Flickr.
LEVEL OF COLOR
This determines how light or dark you want your color. This is represented by numbers, 1 (black) all the way to 12 (light blonde).
Now that you know whether you need a cool or warm tone and you understand tones and levels, you're ready for the next step. Understanding the natural pigment in your hair and adding artificial pigment (color product). This is where the color wheel comes into play.
Complimentary colors are colors opposite on the color wheel. Red-Green, Blue-Orange etc. What does this mean to you? Well, if you have golden blonde hair, your hair tone is either red, orange, or yellow warm tones. So if you put a cool colored tone on like ash. You're hair is most likely to turn green.
colour-wheel, a photo by Jasmic on Flickr.
Look at the wheel. Let's say you have yellow under tones to your hair, and you want to cool it to an ash. You decide blue undertone ash toner will do, since it is a cool undertone. Well, by doing this you'll end up with green hair! As you can see, on the wheel that blue and yellow make green. If you want to cancel out whatever undertone you have, you should use the opposite color on the wheel. In other words, if you have brown hair with red highlights and you can't stand the red, then you would use the opposite color on the wheel to neutralize the red. In this case, the neutralizing color would be green (ash).
For help with correcting a bad hair color, for example: you have
golden blonde hair (level 9) and you want to go darker to a light, medium, warm
brown (level 7). Remember you have yellow and maybe orange in your natural hair
pigment. So you would choose a neutral level 7 because neutrals have all 3
primary colors in them and almost always cancel out those bad colors like green
or orange. If you are a blonde, going darker, have a professional do it because
blonde hair is a little tricky when it comes to going darker. Usually, one
color application isn't enough because you will most likely come up green. The green will have to be neutralized. Check out more on this at http://styles101.homestead.com/haircolor2.html
For
some coloring your hair at home can be a difficult and is best if left to a
professional. Those who are experimental keep these tips in mind to make this
daunting task easier.
ALSO REMEMBER:
1. Stay
within three shades of your natural hair color if you prefer a realistic look with some flair.
2. It
is easier to darken the hair than lighten.
3. Take
your time.
4. Always read the instructions
completely before you begin.
Read
more at:
- Women's
Health: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty-and-style/hair-coloring-tips#ixzz1njTllwzm
- Styles 101: http://styles101.homestead.com/haircolor2.html
