Beauty Blog » Hair Color

With summer in full swing, I am curious to see how many of you beauty freaks have made the hair color switch from dark to light, if you’ve made one at all.  Light haired gals, freshened or brightened any blonde or red coloring?  Summer brings an urge in some women to lighten their hair color, wanting of course to go with the season.  It’s not always necessary though.  Making the choice to go lighter in the summer, and darker in the fall will eventually do a number on those tresses.  Sometimes, it isn’t always necessary to dye the hair according to the seasons.  I haven’t dyed my hair in well over a year, and healthy?  Yes, it is.  I did get it cut though!  Finally!!  This was a big step for me and I absolutely love it, but I’ll get into that in another posting next week.  Back to color . I saw three of my friends this last week, all of whom had dyed their hair.  The first did hers over a month ago, pre-June and went for some blonde highlights, but shortly after only having for a few weeks, went back to dark.  I asked her, why did you switch?  “Because it’s summer and you get highlights in summer..” was her response.  Fair enough, although I was happy to see her go dark.  It had looked so good, the blonde wasn’t ever necessary…not this year at least.  Then I see girlfriends two and three this week, one had gone darker, the other lighter, but no blonde was involved it was more auburn with a sun-kissed look.  Both looked beautiful!  And they had freshened up their looks without feeling the need to go light.  If you want to make a change, keep it subtle and go for a sun-kissed look, this includes highlights.  You can request for you hairdresser to tone the highlights and blend them so they aren’t so strikingly bright and unnatural looking.

Observe the good:

Now, observe the bad:

If you are going to lighten up, there is a technique called the balayage technique.  It’s a different way to put highlights into the hair, and less damaging than the traditional foils that are used.  It’s more of painting in the color on smaller pieces than sectioning off chunks of hair which can sometimes leave you looking overdone because too much was highlighted.  Balayage is a more ‘natural’ looking method, since apparently hair and hair color au natural is all the rage lately.

Image Source:elle.com, people.com

It seems as though Julia Roberts gets more beautiful with age!  She tends to go back and forth between brunette and blonde, but the latter definitely works better for her I think.

Many women choose to go lighter for summertime which is usually complimentary to sun-kissed skin, but beware of frosty looking highlights.  Here, Roberts has a honey-colored base with golden highlights.  A lot of celebs go back and forth between colors, it works on some of them, but on others, highlights just make them look older.

Kate Hudson recently made the switch to dark brunette which looks very beautiful on her here at the Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic.  The brown suits her although I can’t help but think her trademark blonde locks keep her looking younger.

Fergie looks better with lighter hair also.  Her look below at the MTV Video Music Awards in Japan is so hard looking, whereas the blonde softens the curves on her face a bit more.

Whether you decide to go darker or lighter for summer, my best advice would be to ask your stylist to use a really conditioning formula on your hair.  Maintenance is also really important so the color doesn’t fade or get brassy.  Shopping around for good color-saving products wouldn’t hurt either.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for deep conditioning treatments.
Discounts on color protecting shampoo and hair dye.

Image Source: extratv.warnerbros.com, glamour.com, people.com

John Frieda Luminous Color Glaze is the perfect hair fix for ” in-between” coloring. Well you know how we have done some posts in the past about retaining “red hair color” or any color - not to mention SHINE!!

Well look no further ladies, try John Friedas Luminous Color Glaze! It’s super easy to use and designed for use in the shower so this simple glazing creme boosts lackluster locks (real or dyed) imparting a hint of color and lots of sexy shine. Frieda’s formulation works as well as salon glaze, and you can repeat it more often. It is available in five hair colors, plus a “clear shine”, which works to get any hair hue glowing!!

Best part is unlike expensive glaze procedures at the salon this stuff only costs $8 bucks - woot, woot!!

If you want to shop for John Frieda Luminous Color Glaze - Click here!

I can’t recall when or where I heard it but someone once told me that; in the summer you highlight or dye your hair lighter shades whilst in the fall and winter seasons most women go deeper and darker.

Makes sense the funny thing is that ever since I heard that rule of thumb, the rebel in me tends to lean the other way and I often do the reverse. I often dye my hair lighter in the winter and dark in summer and spring. Kooky, huh?

Well I have been feeling that itch again, I am thoroughly sick of my current shade. I want to go red! Only drawback is red is notorious for fading and I am not a big fan of the “Oompa Loompa” orange shade Asian hair tends to turn when you attempt to go red. I am a fan of the deep plum tones and I think I look best in Burgundy wine shades. Goes well with my skin tone and what not.

So here’s a little hair color secret from me to you!

My favorite shade and at home color result is - Feria by Loreal hair color in Burgundy! 

Every time I crave a reddish change, I go to my local Target and pick up two boxes. Turns out nice every time. The shade varies based on how light my hair was prior to application but in every case the shade is rich and I am often complimented.Of course, the shade like all reds needs some pampering but what are you gonna do?!

If you are interested in shopping online for discount assorted hair colors, click here.

What affordable over the counter color have you tried and become a fan of?