Today, Suzanne is back to talk about a topic that has exploded all over instagram and other social media outlets.
Blonde!
We have a more condensed video talking about blonding on our you tube channel, and it’s floating around facebook so you can always check that out, but we’re going to be a little more in depth here.
What are services that would be considered lightening hair? What are most popular right now?
Highlights - which will always be in for clients who want to have an overall blonder look… when hilights are done correctly each time a client comes in for a touch up the stylist should be picking up the previously lightened pieces and simply touching up the new growth. Not overlapping previous hilights, which can cause damage or breakage, and not lightening new pieces each time which would eventually cause the entire head to look solid blond. When this happens the dimension from having the lighter and darker contrast is lost. Stylist will sometimes add lowlights to try to fix this problem, when in reality it should never have happened in the first place had they been taking the time to simply touch up the new growth on the original hilights. *there are always exceptions… such as a client wanting to switch up the way hilights look or needing to add dimension because the natural hair color is quite light or even starting to gray.
Babylights - Which are basically just little tiny hilights. When this is the method used to lighten your hair you will have 2-3 times more foils in your hair then a traditional Hilight service which will increase the cost of the service because it is more work. And honestly, babylights look amazing when first done but can pose a problem when it comes time for a touch up. Because the babylights are so small it’s really hard to find and pick them out so they can be touched up correctly. Because of this a lot of stylists are overlapping previously lightened pieces causing a lot of damage and breakage.
Ombre/Balayage - Ombre - which simply means “shaded” - is the effect of gradually blending one color into another. The method used to create the ombre effect is usually a type of balayage. French Balayage is when color is painted directly onto sections of the hair, usually without foils. At Hair-Do we use what is more commonly referred to as American Balayage which incorporates foils into the service. The hair is still hand painted in a unique pattern customized to each clients desired look, but we use foils to encapsulate the lightner which allows us to achieve a lighter result.
Hairpainting
What is the effect of this and how is it different from foiling?
Who are good candidates for hairpainting and is it just a different technique for the experience or is there value to painting?
Foillyage?
We hear so many people want the blonde look in some form or fashion, but worry about the upkeep or forget that they need to care for the new hair, why is such a high level of upkeep needed with blonde services?
Once hair has been through a lightening service it is considered to be in a “compromised” state. Left alone in that compromised state you risk compromising it more by blow drying, curling, swimming, brushing, etc. We use Olaplex in all our lightening services which helps minimize potential damage or dryness, and while olaplex is amazing it cannot perform miracles. You need to take care of your hair. Because your hair is going to be dryer you’ll need more nourishing products, you’ll also need to get regular trims to avoid split ends. You do not want your hair to split because that creates weak spots which then become breakage. You’ll probably also want a toner at sometime to keep the color looking amazing. Ombre’s and balayages can go a long time between touch ups, but if you want us to be able to touch up your hair you need to make sure it’s in good enough condition for us to re color. We highly recommend coming in for an Olaplex treatment, a haircut and a toner in between services to keep your hair in tip top shape.
What can people do if they are noticing their hair being extra dry, broken, cotton candy-ish!?
Olaplex can help strengthen your hair internally by reforming the bonds that get broken when doing a lightening service, they have a take home treatment that can be done weekly which is amazing. I would also recommend leave in products that help protect your hair from the day to day wear and tear we put our hair through. (Save the Day) We also have a great treatment called KERATRIPLEX which lasts up to 6 weeks and adds a layer of strength and protection. The results of this treatment are immediate, which is really nice when your ends a really angry.
How does blonding effect thin hair versus thicker hair?
I’ve heard clients be upset that a toner was used
Why are toners used and does that mean the stylist did something wrong?
We’ve seen many people come into our salon after a mishap with their stylist with an orange/brassy look - why does that happen?
Be careful on instagram about this icey movement...many people get there, but
It’s expensive and not easily achieved
We have noticed these bloggers pictures, where the photo is filtered to look lighter, but just jumping on their instagram has shown it’s not as light as the picture.
It takes great care on your part to upkeep the color, tones only last about 4 weeks.
What’s important to know about extending the color/tone?