How to Color your Hair Like a Professional Hair Colorist
How to Color your Hair Like a Professional Hair Colorist
Are you colouring your hair for the first time or do you want to improve your application technique? Follow these tips and attain professional-looking colour and undertones.
1. Black, blonde, brown or red: Choose your colour level
First things first, you must decide how light or dark you want your hair to be, and which overall colour suits your skin tone and hair goals. Do you want to become a brunette, a blonde or a redhead? When it comes to Garnier’s Olia formula, there are 10 colour levels, grouped on a scale going from the darkest black (represented by the number 1) to the lightest blonde (represented by the number 10). For a natural-looking results and easy maintenance, the pros suggest never straying more than two shades from your natural base.
2. Understand the importance of undertones
If you’ve never thought about hair undertones, now is the time to do so. The right undertones are essential because they transform, flat, ordinary colour to a multidimensional shade that will turn head. With more than nine undertones at Olia, you have access to a wide range of hues: natural, ash, violet, gold, metallic bronze, intense copper, auburn and red.
3. Choose your undertones
To find the hair colour that complements your complexion and eye colour, you need to consider the undertones that will reflect off your hair in sunlight. If your skin has shades of pink or red, you have a cool complexion; you can’t go wrong with undertones such as ash or violet. If your skin is more yellow or olive, you have a warm complexion and will look most natural in warmer tones such as gold and copper.
4. Go for a gentle, ammonia-free formula
Given the variety of hair colour available on the market, it can be hard to figure out what to choose. If you want to ensure your hair’s health and shine, choose an ammonia-free dye with pigments that are transported by nourishing oils. Olia’s formula, made up of 60 percent oil, guarantees long-lasting results and can cover grey up to 100 percent. Each time you colour your hair, the flower oils will condition your strands to prevent excess drying and breakage.
And remember that if you have very thick or long hair, you should buy two boxes. It’s better to be over-prepared than run out of dye with only have of your colour completed. Also be sure to conduct an allergy test at least 48 hours before colouring at home.
5. Apply like a pro
- Focus. Colouring your hair only takes an hour, including rinsing, so dedicate yourself to your dye job for those 60 minutes.
- If you have grey hair, start by colouring the areas where there is the most grey to allow more time for the pigments to cover any stubborn grey hair.
- Apply section by section, taking your time to ensure all areas are saturated.
- Follow the setting time in the instructions.
- Enjoy the experience. Olia’s formula smells divine and doesn’t run. It’s almost like applying a conditioning mask to pamper your hair.
6. Rinse once. Then rinse again.
Once your colour has set, rinse your hair with warm water. Gently massage your scalp as though to lather it. Repeat until the water runs clear. The massage process will also help the pigments to uniformly penetrate each strand and the oils will be able to work their nourishing, hydrating magic. In the end, you’ll have brighter colour and a more uniform application.
7. Prevent fading
- Pamper your newly done colour job by using the conditioning solution found in the colouring box. It will make your hair silky and shiny. Have some left over? Keep it for your next wash (at least 24 to 48 hours after your colour application) and let it sit on your hair for a few minutes after rinsing out your shampoo.
- Equip yourself with products for colour-treated hair, which have UV filters designed to prevent colour from fading or tarnishing in the sun.
- Apply a nourishing hair mask once a week. Look natural ingredients such as avocado oil, olive oil and argan oil.
8. Re-colour only when necessary
With a quality formula, you should only touch need to touch up your re-growth every four to six weeks. Unsure whether to simply retouch your roots and colour roots to ends? Put your ends next to your roots. If you don’t notice a difference, focus on your roots only. If there is a notable difference in colour (at least two shades), it’s time for a roots-to-ends refresh.