How do you decide how you would like your hair? I find looking at images on the internet very helpful, I do this for choosing my own hairstyles to see which I am
drawn to. Decide whether you want short, mid-length or long hair, it is also useful to search for similar hair colours to yours so you get a better idea of how it will look. It can be
quite difficult explaining exactly what you want in a hairstyle and, of course, a picture speaks a thousand words! Some hairdressers don't like it when clients bring in pictures as
it isn't always possible to create the same image with your hair length and type, so you do have to be realistic.
All hair stylists have their own creative techniques, we are all different and I love re-styling people's hair, there's no rushing with me as I like to take my time
to give you the best cut, and the consultation is very important so that I know exactly what you have in mind, I'm also happy to advise you on what will work with your hair.
Tinting is most effective on natural hair that has not already had any chemical treatments. If you have used home colour kits to dye your hair they may not be compatible with the
professional tints used by your hairdreser and the colours and tones may be completely different. There are a few techniques of colouring that can be used depending on the effect you
want to achieve.
Full Head Colour – for an overall change of bold colour or to match your natural colour when grey coverage is needed, maybe you would like to keep your base shade but add
gold, copper, red or warm tones to give your hair a really shiny lift. Wanting a change from full head blonde, on the right, 2 colours were used to create this full head, dark underneath
to add depth to the strong red, framing the face and bringing out the texture of the fringe at the front.
Low-lights – keeping most of your natural colour, adding a little variation can make fine hair look thicker. If you have a shorter style it can bring out the texture of a
cut and emphasise layers. You can even have more than 1 colour, 3 colours through the hair gives you that high definition look.
Block Colour – adding a panel of colour either at your crown can give your hair a dramatic change without tinting your whole head of hair, alternatively you could have the
underneath tinted in a block to add definition framing your face.
Slicing – similar to low-lights but giving a more dramatic effect, can be done throughout the hair or just at the front to add a little interest to your style.
Colour Remover – gently lifts unwanted tint from your hair, you may need more than one application depending on how much colour build up there is and how long it is since you
had it done. It is always more effective soon after tinting. There are some that actually bleach hair rather than removing tint but they tend to be very harsh and I prefer to keep the
hair in as good a condition as possible, for this reason I always include an intensive treatment hair mask when removing tint.
Back To Natural – if your hair is too light and you would either like to darken it a little or go back to your natural colour, if you have lightened your hair many times,
doing a full head tint may produce patchy results due the uneven texture of the hair, dryer ends or over lightened patches, a lot of fine low-lights are the best way to do this to give a
more natural effect.
Evening Out Colour – taking tint through to the ends every time you dye your hair can either produce an overload on the ends making them darker or, as in the photo on the
right, with a hi-lift tint it will make the ends extremely light. The only way to even out such a dramatic difference is to treat each area of colour seperately, the roots need lightening,
then ends need colour adding and the mid-lengths need colour correction to tone down the copper tones.
Full Head Hi-lift Blonde – regular tint takes the hair up to 3 shades lighter with a high volume peroxide, hi-lift tint can take it to 4 and a half shades, to go very light
you may need full head bleach, especially if you would like a more white effect. To keep up to full head blonde you would need your roots re-touching every 4 to 6 weeks.
Hi-lights – as with low-lights you can have more than one colour through your hair giving a much more natural looking blonde, plus you don't get the solid root re-growth that
you will get with full head so you can leave it longer between appointments. Cap hi-lights are great if you are wanting them really light but you could only have one colour or bleach.
Slicing – like hi-lights only bolder and you can use more than one colour blonde.
Frosting or Tipping – sun-kissed ends, beach look, great on really short hair that can't be weaved or pulled through a cap for hi-lighting
(Back to top)
(Back to Amethyst's Home page)