If you have a light skintone, you want to go with a medium brown shade. Warm red tones can look stunning, with strawberry  blonde colours as highlights. Avoid brown hair that is too dark, as this will tend to make your skin look too pasty and you can easily look washed out.

For those with sallow or yellow undertones, medium browns are great. You have more versatility here and can go lighter or darker from a caramel shade to a rich, auburn shade. Just keep it more neutral and don’t go too warm (blackish) or too cool (blondish).

For olive skintones, dark colors work best and look the most natural. You can pull off deep tones of brown with darker red highlights. If you have pink undertones in your skin, try something softer, like an amber shade. Again, stick within two shades of your current color. Avoid going too light as this will clash with your skin.

Trimming your hair beforehand can get rid of split ends and prevent them from travelling further up the hair shaft. Snipping off the unhealthy ends also creates a better surface to be used by the bleach or dye and creates a smooth look when finished. Another important step is to use a clarifying shampoo to get rid of product buildup in your hair before colouring it.

Reduce the amount of heat styling and blowdrying as your hair needs to be as healthy as possible. It is also a good idea to condition your hair as much as possible so that it will be at it’s most healthy condition when you apply the dye or bleach. And last but not least, remove any previous colour with a colour remover if your hair has been previously coloured to prevent colour build up and for a more superior colour result!

1. Extensions

If your hair is thin and naturally straight, you may want to consider adding in hair extensions to boost the volume. There are many types of extensions to choose from. Clip-ins offer a temporary solution, while pre-bonded extensions create a very strong, healthy and long lasting bond that ensures long-term results. Keratin bonds are easy and safe to remove. With regular maintenance and checkups in the salon, clients can often wear their hair extension for up to six months.

 

2. Graduated/Layered Haircuts

3. Highlights

It is important to choose shades that will compliment your skin tone as well as wardrobe choices. A person can choose one to three colours to create the perfect shade for the ombre effect. In the warmer months, shoot for lighter, more vibrant shades and in the winter months, choose cooler, more ash tones.

If you have previously coloured your hair, you will unfortunately not be able to achieve the “Ombre” effect successfully without some color correction, or even bleaching as a last resort. And finally, although this effect may look simple to do at home, it is definitely worth a visit a professional establishment for best results.

Traditional relaxers for straightening hair are known to damage the hair and only last about six to eight weeks, which requires quite frequent touching up. Hair can become more dry and brittle with each application, and it can even cause permanent hair damage.

However, Keratin Hair Straightening does not contain any formaldehyde and after treatment, the hair has more elasticity and is still soft and pliable. This technique works for almost all kinds of hair types and or women of all ethnic and racial backgrounds. Although the end result of this treatment is straight hair, its softness and pliability still allows for curling and styling.

Even better, whatever hair is treated will stay straight permanently and only the regrowth needs touching up. So, be sure to try out this great straightening option if you’re looking to go straight this season!

Choose a shampoo, conditioner and styling products that are designed to cater for coloured hair, and even more specifically, those tailored to every different hair colour. Some good products feature soy-derived vitamin E and other enriching plant-based ingredients.

Don’t wash your hair every day. Frequent washing strips the colour from your hair, causing it to look faded and dry. However if your hair tends to be on the oily side, minimise the amount of shampoo you use and lightly massage it into your scalp and try and prevent it from running through the full length of your hair. Treat your locks to a deep conditioning treatment at least once every two weeks to keep it protected and strengthen.

Thermal Reconditioning  is a permanent reforming of the structure of hair, done with the same chemical solution as used in perms, but with a flat iron instead of perming rods. Thermal reconditioning is better for wavy hair rather than kinky or curly hair, which will show a curly root too quickly. Results last six to ten months, and then only hair regrowth needs to be thermally reconditioned.

A flat iron is pulled through hair to achieve a temporarily straight appearance. Due to high heat and direct contact on hair, flat-ironing can be damaging to hair, so don’t do it every day. Silicones and straightening balms will protect hair when used before ironing, and will set it and lock moisture out when smoothed on when done.

Blowouts are a conventional hair-straightening method that is applied when hair is pulled over a brush (round for more volume, flat for a straighter look) and dried with hot air. When getting a blowout, do not let the hair dryer touch the hair, and prep with products designed to protect during styling. New dryers, like ionic dryers, allow drying time to be cut dramatically, thus lessening the damage to your hair.

Start off by squeezing a pea sized amount of smoothing hair serum through damp hair.  If your hair is fine, you might also want to use a volumising spray or mousse. Hold your round brush in one hand, and your blow dryer in the other. When using a hair dryer, try to keep it pointed down and away from your roots to minimise damage and keep the hair follicle smoothed down. This will keep your look shiny and sleek.

Roll the brush down as you blow down. If you like a little curl or flip, curve your brush out in whichever direction you choose as you reach the tip. Depending on your cut, you may want to also style any other shorter layers around your face.

If you¹re keeping the fringe around your face pin straight, or if you have a stubborn cowlick that blow drying just can¹t seem to handle, heat up that flat iron. The longer side pieces can be ironed straight down, but angle your iron to whichever side opposite your part when doing the actual bangs. Only iron from about halfway down each piece of hair so as not to remove the volume you just painstakingly gave your roots. From there, you can either blow dry the rest of your hair, straighten it, curl it, or let it air dry.

Bleach causes damage by stripping your hair of its essential oils that keep it moisturised, so if you plan to continue to use bleach you need to ensure that you replace the moisture that the bleach is taking away. One important thing you can do for your hair is to apply a deep conditioning treatment, which will help restore hair and get rid of dryness.

Other ways to treat hair damaged by bleach include spraying a leave in conditioner into your hair daily after washing your hair and trimming your hair every month. Getting regular haircuts or trims allows newer and healthier hair to grow in while getting rid of damaged and dry hair. It is important to nip split ends in the bud before they have the chance to climb up the hair shaft, causing more damage.

This is a bold look that goes well with a smudged cat-eye, nude lips, and spike studded dress. We love the idea of not having to shave your head in order to attain the rocker appeal of an undercut. The edgy, side-of-the-head buzzed look is given a romantic spin with a tight french braid. It’s perfect for any kind of hair at any stage of cleanliness. We’re totally obsessed with this new way to rock out!

This hairstyle can also be done with tighter cornrows instead of french braids. A cornrow is basically a french braid but instead of weaving one strand of hair over then under the other two, you start with the outside strand going under the middle strand then over the other. The result is a braid that pops out a bit more and is tighter because as you go, you’re picking up hair from directly below the braid.