If you read my last post about turning 35 and how my hair and personal style is more consistent, please disregard as I embark on a new hair color journey for the spring (minus the life changing events).
My hair story for the past few years has been very low maintenance and natural. I add some subtle caramel bayalage last summer. If you’re not familiar with bayalage, it’s a french word that means to sweep or to paint. Instead of highlighting hair with traditional foils, they are hand painted on giving a more natural, sun-kissed look. I love it because it’s so low-maintance with no obvious growing out lines. This technique has been around forever, but has been gaining a lot of steam lately.
Rewind to last week. I had been thinking about punching up my color, as it had been 7 months since I last had color done (when I said bayalage was low maintenance, I wasn’t kidding). When my hairstylist, Susan (Salon Vanity in Philadelphia), suggested we go lighter, that was all I need to hear to take the plunge.
no foils here—it’s a plastic wrap party!
We decided to leave my natural dark brown base as is and not lighten it. That way the color is still relatively low maintenance. I was there for a 2-3 hours, but the results were well worth it.
Color after being blown out
Lightened locks definitely need some TLC. I’ve been using Shu Uemura Brilliant Glaze Collection to help preserve and protect my new hair color.
Some tips on going transitioning to a lighter color this spring:
- If you plan on going darker again in the fall, don’t go too dramatic with the color as you want something easy to transition to back to.
- Keep in mind your summer activities. If you do a lot of swimming, either in chlorine or salt water, remember colored treated hair is particularly sensitive to these activities.
- Help keep color from fading with a gentle, sulfate free shampoo. I’ve been using Shu Uemura Color Lustre collection to keep my new color looking fresh.
- Need color inspiration? Look to your kids. A friend of mine used her daughter’s sunny blonde as a starting point for her newly lightened hair. No kids? Find a picture of you as a child in the summer.
