If you’re considering coloring your hair, you’ve probably got a specific vision in mind: an allover rich russet color, perhaps, or maybe chunky caramel-colored highlights. Whatever look you desire, your first step should be to work with your colorist to determine the most flattering color for you, as well as which of the many hair-coloring techniques is right for you.
“Hair color is not just a salon service — it’s really an art form,” says Beth Minardi, a celebrity hair colorist and co-owner and color director of Minardi Salon in New York City. “If done correctly, it can really enhance any woman’s appearance.”
We asked Minardi to discuss different hair-coloring techniques and what women who are considering coloring their hair need to know.
Highlights. A highlight is any piece of hair that’s lighter than the base color.
Lowlights: A lowlight is any piece of hair that’s darker than the rest of the hair.
Both highlights and lowlights can be created using different methods. Two popular methods include foils and baliage:
Foils: Using foil to highlight hair provides a barrier and ensures that no color drips onto the adjacent hair. It’s a method that offers the colorist more control.
Baliage: Baliage is a French word that means “to sweep” and is also commonly referred to as hair painting. The method offers less control, in Minardi’s opinion. “Some people believe it’s a faster technique, but when it is done correctly, it takes more time,” she says. Baliage has a reputation for creating the most natural-looking highlights.
Regardless of the method used, when hair is colored with both highlights and lowlights, the combination “can create the most beautiful hair color in the world,” Minardi says.
When it comes to allover color, there are several different formulas available:
Semipermanent color. According to Minardi, true semipermanent color doesn’t penetrate the hair very deeply and washes out after about eight to 12 shampoos. If you’re looking for a low-commitment way to lighten your hair, forget about using semipermanent color. This type of formula can’t lighten your hair color; it can only match or darken it.
Demi-permanent color. Demi-permanent color, a mixture of permanent dye and semipermanent dye, is Minardi’s favorite. Like semipermanent color, it can’t lighten your hair, only match or deepen it, but it penetrates more deeply than semipermanent color and does it “in a sheer, translucent way,” Minardi says.
Permanent color. Permanent dye can do it all — lighten, match, or darken hair color, and it can cover grays 100 percent. Like your natural hair color, permanent dye penetrates the hair in the same region where natural hair color occurs, the cortex. “So when you correctly choose a permanent dye, you actually get the most natural look,” Minardi says. The downside is that because permanent dye contains ammonia or an ammonia substitute, it can be drying to hair, so it has to be used carefully.
“Hair color is not just a salon service — it’s really an art form,” says Beth Minardi, a celebrity hair colorist and co-owner and color director of Minardi Salon in New York City. “If done correctly, it can really enhance any woman’s appearance.”
We asked Minardi to discuss different hair-coloring techniques and what women who are considering coloring their hair need to know.
Highlights. A highlight is any piece of hair that’s lighter than the base color.
Lowlights: A lowlight is any piece of hair that’s darker than the rest of the hair.
Both highlights and lowlights can be created using different methods. Two popular methods include foils and baliage:
Foils: Using foil to highlight hair provides a barrier and ensures that no color drips onto the adjacent hair. It’s a method that offers the colorist more control.
Baliage: Baliage is a French word that means “to sweep” and is also commonly referred to as hair painting. The method offers less control, in Minardi’s opinion. “Some people believe it’s a faster technique, but when it is done correctly, it takes more time,” she says. Baliage has a reputation for creating the most natural-looking highlights.
Regardless of the method used, when hair is colored with both highlights and lowlights, the combination “can create the most beautiful hair color in the world,” Minardi says.
When it comes to allover color, there are several different formulas available:
Semipermanent color. According to Minardi, true semipermanent color doesn’t penetrate the hair very deeply and washes out after about eight to 12 shampoos. If you’re looking for a low-commitment way to lighten your hair, forget about using semipermanent color. This type of formula can’t lighten your hair color; it can only match or darken it.
Demi-permanent color. Demi-permanent color, a mixture of permanent dye and semipermanent dye, is Minardi’s favorite. Like semipermanent color, it can’t lighten your hair, only match or deepen it, but it penetrates more deeply than semipermanent color and does it “in a sheer, translucent way,” Minardi says.
Permanent color. Permanent dye can do it all — lighten, match, or darken hair color, and it can cover grays 100 percent. Like your natural hair color, permanent dye penetrates the hair in the same region where natural hair color occurs, the cortex. “So when you correctly choose a permanent dye, you actually get the most natural look,” Minardi says. The downside is that because permanent dye contains ammonia or an ammonia substitute, it can be drying to hair, so it has to be used carefully.
