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MAKEUP HAIR COLOUR

hair you go Let your imagination soar by adding a dash of vibrant and mood-setting colours for a great look and glossy finish

Hi-Octane Orange

Atomic Pink

Deep Purple

Nuclear Red

LL BUREAU THERE’S A whole new range of hair colours to choose from in case you wish to stand out from the crowd. There’re special effects, manic colours, crazy colours and more. If sporting punk style, the rainbow is the limit when it comes to choosing bright and vibrant colours ranging from pink to violet. They came with fancy names as well—there’s Blue Mayhem, Atomic Pink, Deep Purple, Hi-Octane Orange, Hot Lava, Iguana Green, Nuclear Red, Purple Smoke, Sonic Green and Virgin Rose. Then, there’re a range of darker colours to suit Gothic hairstyles.

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INSPIRATIONAL DESIGN IS THE ULTIMATE LUXURY

“Change your hair, change your life�

April 2009 | www.lifestyleliving.in June

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MAKEUP HAIR COLOUR

PINK REQUEST Julia Roberts was spotted some time back at a fundraising event, sporting a new hair colour, though very little of it, only some at the tips of her hair. When queried by people present at the event, “You have a little pink?", Julia said with a laugh, "Oh, the pink!" The mother-of-three proceeded to explain her new hair colour. "Well, Hazel (my daughter) said, ‘Mommy, I wish you had pink hair’, and I thought, well, I don't know if all of it would look nice, so I just did a little patch."

In today’s eco-conscious environment, even alternative hair colours, with vegetable base, are available. New to the world of hair colouring? Well, have no fear; it certainly isn’t a roller-coaster ride. If wary, start with a semi-permanent colour; the idea being that if you don’t like the colour, you just have to shampoo a couple of times and voila, you are rid of it.

Primary hair colours include blonde, brown, black and red, and these are usually available in light, medium and dark shades. The key to choosing a colour that will suit you is to first decide what skintype are you. Is your skin warm or cool? Most hair colours fall into either 'warm' or 'cool' families. You're a 'warm' if you have golden, olive or dark skin and brown or dark eyes (most Latinas, Asians and African Americans fall into this category). You tan easily and the veins in your inner wrists are green. You're a 'cool' if you have fair skin and blue or green eyes. You burn before you tan and the veins in your wrists run blue.

If you have warm skin, select “golden”shades such as caramel and bronze in a shade darker than your skin. Avoid jet-black colour, which will wash you out.

Also, if you choose a golden shade, don't go for too light a colour or your hair could turn orange. If you have cool skin, avoid colours such as gold, auburn or copper, which will highlight the‘ruddiness’ of your skin tone: Ash blondes and cool browns work best.

You’ll make a great ‘blonde’ if you had blonde hair as a child. But even if you didn’t, fair skin anywhere in the world goes best Iguana Green

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with blonde. If legally blonde is what you’re after, avoid brassy blonde colours or highlights with a warm skin tone. Opt for a mix of highlights and lowlights. You’ll discover that darker hair actually complements brown or green eyes better than blonde hair.

Some people’s favourite dream is to go red.

Almost anyone can go red, but what's most important is finding the right shade to complement your skin colour. Women with a cool (read pink) skin tone can pull off red best, according to stylists.

Gray hair can, however, be hard to colour because of its coarse texture. If your hair is not too gray, choose a semi-permanent shade that’s lighter than your natural shade or one that matches it. This way, the gray will blend in. If you have a lot of grey, a permanent ashy colour will suit blondes.

For those who worry about hair colour’s side effects, it’s good to know that semi-permanent colour is less damaging than permanent colour.

But what if you look in the mirror, and say “Uh-oh, the colour's all wrong!”Then, seek professional help as only they can do a good job of colouring over colour. At-home colouring is best for people only looking to go a couple of shades lighter or darker or keen to cover gray. It is also a good option if you wish to save lots of money at fancy salons.

If colouring at home, choose subtle shades.

The simpler, the better. Anything more complicated should be handled by a pro. The same goes for permed or damaged hair. You may also like to try two colours. Many stylists create lighter strands around the face and darker ones behind.

To get this look at home, buy a second shade lighter than your true colour and paint it on the strands around your face.

If your hair does not turn out to be as light as you had expected, take more colour, mixing in an equal portion of shampoo. Lather and keep it on for five minutes. When you rinse, you'll notice the difference. As evident, shampoo dies affect coloured hair. Therefore, for coloured hair, it’s important that you use a shampoo with a formula created especially for coloured hair.

If you have dry hair, you’ll soon learn that using hair colour seems to dry up your hair even more.

Therefore, make sure you use a deep conditioner.

Because the ingredients in hair dye are very concentrated, it may be a good idea to condition dry hair a week before you colour it as well as after you have coloured it, so as to keep your hair soft and wavy.

INSPIRATIONAL DESIGN IS THE ULTIMATE LUXURY