Hair

3 Tips for Low Maintenance Hair Color

posted on July 21, 2018 | by Jessica Sclamberg

As a professional hair colorist, I think there is nothing more important than keeping it real with my clients. Whether it’s about what it takes to actually maintain their desired hair color or what will or won’t work, I want to keep things easy (and honest). So here’s my dose of knowledge and advice when it comes to keeping your colored hair looking amazing – whether going lighter, covering gray, and my favorite at-home hair care tip.

Going lighter

As I always tell clients, if you want to go lighter, then the Balayage technique is the way to go. Instead of traditional highlights, with Balayage, you only have to come in every 3 months and you can still be happy as the color grows out. You may be wondering, why does Balayage allow me to go so much longer between appointments? Let me explain real quick!

Balayage (pronounced Bal-e-aj) is a hand-painted hair coloring technique that only colors one side of the hair strand. This makes the color look more natural. When getting highlighted with traditional foils, the hair is colored on both sides. Foils are square and when applied all over your round head you end up with those obvious lines showing as your hair grows out. Not ideal for a low maintenance look! But if you’re in love with the way your hair looks using foils (many of us love our foils), then just ask your colorist to apply a root shadow. The root shadow technique diffuses that line so as your hair grows, your look is way more manageable (and dare I say low maintenance).

Covering gray

Now for clients who have some gray (some meaning up to 70% gray ), I recommend coloring your hair with Demi-Permanent hair color. This means that the color will cover your grays
without shifting your natural hair color. Want to know the best part about this coloring choice? Of course, you do! When your hair grows out you won’t have a harsh line revealing where your
hair was colored. The color fades out naturally and your grays end up taking on a more sparkly dimensional look. Demi-Permanent hair color is gentle and leaves your hair looking very shiny.

At home hair care to keep your color looking fresh

If you want to keep hair color looking good at home, I’ve got you! Here are some of my favorite at-home products that do the trick (and I’ve tried a lot): Kevin Murphy makes tone supporting treatments (use as a conditioner). These come in 4 different shades: Blonde Angel, Sugared Angel, Cool Angel and Autumn Angel. Blonde Angel is a purple toned treatment. For blondes that hate any yellow in their hair, this is perfect for you! Sugared Angel is for those brunettes who like a soft beige tone. Cool Angel is even cooler than purple because it has a blue base to it. This is better for someone who wants to be more silver. And last, Autumn Angel is for our redheads. Autumn Angel keeps your red hair looking rich in tone.

As a colorist, I love seeing my clients frequently, but what I love even more is giving you color that works for you and your lifestyle. So I hope these tricks get you to that place!

What color choice will you make next time you’re in at the hair salon?