This week at Morphic Beauty, Mishi answers the most commonly asked questions about Ombre hair coloring:
Q: Will Ombre look good on me?
A: Seriously?! Of course it will.
Q: Is Ombre out of style yet?
A: No, the Ombre trend is really just starting. There are many variations of Ombre - from a natural to a dramatic look. It’s like bangs: they come in all kinds of variations, and are here to stay, just like Ombre.
Q: Is Ombre damaging to my hair?
A: Well let’s just start with this, ALL hair color is damaging at some level, so just keep in mind that if anyone tells you any thing different they are lying. There is no color on the market that does not damage the hair at some level. However, I use Loreal Professional color, which is a top of the line product with the highest quality of ingredients. It is made to deliver your color with as little damage as possible, and actually helps to protect and condition your hair.
Also the degree of damage depends on how light you want to go. Whenever I have clients that want to go really light with their hair color, I will do it in two different sessions as a way to minimize the stress on the hair. Thankfully (for an extra $30) I have awesome conditioners and oils to add to the color that will help to protect your hair. And to be fully sure that your hair stays healthy and gorgeous in between services, Rene Furterer offers great color safe and conditioning products.
More importantly, having someone color your hair that doesn’t know how to do Ombre can damage your hair. You want to be sure that the person you go to is a pro.
Q: What’s the maintenance?
A: There really isn’t a whole lot of maintenance, because you can grow out this look without a line of demarcation. So in a way it’s low maintenance in terms of color, but you need to keep your hair healthy, so I recommend you come in 6 weeks after your initial service for a trim to clean up any rough edges, and then come in for trims every 6-12 weeks after that.
Q: How light can I get my hair with Ombre?
A: For the safety of your hair, it takes two color services at different times to go from dark brown to light blonde. Typically the hair will become visibly damaged if it is processed in one shot. Trust me these celebrities you see with it have done it more than once. On a regular basis, I have to fix damaged hair on clients that has been processed too quickly from other colorists in town. Typically hair will go from darkest brown to a medium brown or a dark blonde (from a level 3 to a level 7 shade) depending on the texture of the hair (fine, coarse, etc.). Then from a natural dark blonde you can easily achieve a light blonde color (a level 7 to a level 10). Of course, ultimately this all depends on the look you are trying to achieve.
Any questions you have about Ombre that I didn’t address?
Did you know that in 1907 the first synthetic hair dye was invented by French chemist Eugene Schueller? He unlocked the hidden potential of a chemical called parpenylenediamine, which was developed into a formula that was to become the world’s first safe commercial color. By 1909 Schueller achieved his dream of creating a company whose mission was to be a leader in innovation and beauty. It was here that the original L’Oreal was born.
Today L’Oreal is the worlds largest beauty brand, housing many of the companies we are all so familiar with: Maybelline, Kerastase, Kiehl’s, Lancome, Giorgio Armani and YSL Beaute, just to name a few. L’Oreal plays an active role in dermatological and pharmaceutical research, making sure that the products they produce and brands they partner with are the best of the best.
