Hair colour trends come and go, but we know for a fact that ombré is here to stay. There’s a reason why regular people and celebrities alike flock to this hair look: It’s flattering and subtle, and there’s a version available for almost every hair colouring, length, and type. But similar with most hair colour looks, we’ve seen a lot of good and bad. So keep the following ombré tips in mind to ensure that you stay on the good side of this hair colour trend.
- Understand that Tone is Everything
One of the most common mistake we see in ombré is a brassy tint, which is often caused by using bleach on dark hair with reddish undertones. A colourist knows how to follow up highlighting or bleaching with a corrective toner, but if you’ll be doing it on your own, make sure that you add an ashy or cool colour-depositing hair toner after bleaching your hair to get rid of the yellowish and orange-y tones.
- Keep Your Strands Healthy
Getting an ombré involves bleaching to lighten or remove hair pigment, which is a far more damaging hair colour process than darkening your strands. Ombré also focuses on the lengths and tips of the hair, which easily sustains damage than the areas closer to the roots. This is the reason why hairstylists recommend getting a trim before and after going ombré to avoid causing or worsening split ends. Also, get into the habit of using a colour-safe deep conditioner to keep your strands nourished and soft to touch.
- Ditch the Harsh Lines
A harsh line of demarcation where the hair goes from dark to light is never good to look at. Ombré should look sun-kissed and natural, instead of appearing as an obvious dye job. Most hairstylists use hand-painting techniques, and muss up the strands to evenly blend and distribute the lighter pieces. If you’re going DIY, a good technique that you can use is to rub the colour upward using a clean toothbrush to achieve a subtle gradient effect.
- Avoid Drastic Colour Changes
A good way to avoid having an ombré that looks fake is to consider your natural hair colour. If you have black or dark brown hair, your ombré shouldn’t go lighter than a soft medium to light brown; if you have light brown or dark blonde hair, however, you can go lighter towards the tips of your hair. As a general rule, the lighter your hair colour is, the lighter your ombré can be.
- Trust Your Colourist
Although a good DIY ombré isn’t impossible to achieve, it’d be best to leave colour processes involving bleach to the professionals – especially if you’re not skilled enough in home dyeing. There’s just a lot things that might go wrong, especially if you plan to intensely lighten very dark hair. A good hairstylist knows where to place the highlights to give you a more flattering ombré look.
Just like with other dyed hair looks, it’s quite easy to mess up an ombré look. So make sure that you keep these ombré tips in mind to achieve a flattering and natural-looking hair look.
