Hot Chocolate Hair Color

A rich velvety appearance with a raven depth and attitude, Chocolate Brown hair is one of the most requested shades besides Blonde, and possibley one of the most mis-communicated hair colors between consumers and hairdressers. It’s one of those tone’s that everyone see’s in their own way, chocolate brown isn’t as simple as blonde, red, brown, black hair colors. I found that people want their own version of a hot chocolate brown hair color, and 90% of the time it always is completely unlike my own idea of what is a chocolate brown. So what is the real chocolate brown; well it’s on the darker side and in hairdresser terms level’s 3 & 4 with warmth and coolness together, so if you see chocolate being either warmer(redder) or cooler (plumy) your version is correct.

Because chocolate brown has both undertones it truly is important that we (Stylist/Client) have visuals to communicate with, bringing cut out pictures from magazines to your hairdresser is perfect so they can see what you see, a warm chocolate or a cool chocolate. And for me one of the best possible references is with realistic words with common stuff that instantly draw us too them, for example, FOOD, ‘do you like the color of the Hersey dark chocolate kiss, or the color of Pepsi Cola etc. To me a Hersey Kiss has a slight more plumy tone and a Pepsi has a bit more of a red undertone, get the idea? So no matter how we see chocolate brown it remains a classic beautiful hair color that is Oh So Hot and it's making head waves yet again.

Orange Crush A Color For Spring 2010

There’s an accent color that is a sure thing to make most of us smile and believe it or not it’s just around the corner, one of this spring’s ‘IT ‘colors is orange and I love it. Orange is a happy uplifting color that can look great with so many other colors, and yes orange has come in and out of trend spolights yet it never has lost its popularity with many people who love the color and wear it well. In the past we saw orange basically be combined with, browns, gold’s, neutrals, now we are seeing it with cooler shades like, sky blues, lavenders, grey even soft pinks and it’s absolutely gorgeous. So put a little burst of orange on either on your lips, eyes, nails, headband, hair, or attire and start a crush on orange.

Add Texture To Your Hair ' The New Perm'

Part One Textured hair is very much in the spotlight for spring 2010, and the theme is “Oh Natural”, wash and go. The unique difference with the textures we have started to see and will see more of are not necessary curly tresses but rather what a roller or a braid looks like when unravelled which has a wonderful almost finger wave effect with a slight slept on finish. And unfortunately or fortunately for me who loves doing perms, not everyone was born with curly, wavy or texture to their hair, so for the Look almost everyone wants these day’s who have long to should length hair I say if your hair is not over processed and you put a little effort in styling your hair then get a perm, I like to refer them today as retexture.

In the 8o’s I would do so many perms because the trend was to mimic crimped hair, corkscrew ringlets, I would braid tons of small braids all over the head to achieve the look resulting into the coolest crimped, big hair of that era. Oh the ponytail perms or stack perms we did and then the ringlet, I think through the 80’s and part of the 90’s I was doing at least 2 to 3 perms a week, and today almost 80% stylist do 0 a year. 1/don’t know how to perm 2/hate them, scarred of the chemical solutions 3/never suggest them due to either fear or bad experiences.

It’s time to get rolling, and either learn or start setting hair into how you would set for a style, it’s gorgeous, and thankfully does not last as long as in the past (years) they stylishly loosen up. In the past it was all about root lift and tight curls, today its focus is on smoother flatter roots, with bigger strands of multi-textures through the bottom with less attention to perfect styling, a more organic feel. Retexturing the hair today to achieve these very beautiful looks are easy and fun , and not nearly as hard as perm-rods truly,, I personally have been saying this for the past decade, Start perming and start getting them, today’s products are not as harsh , they come in a variety, for tinted hair, highlighted hair, stubborn hair, sensitive hair, etc. And for stylists rid the fears, if you know how to do a roller set and use curling irons and do braids then you can perm, with less attention to perfect styling, and a more organic feel.

A very sad state since a hairdresser should know all about ‘chemical services’ at least remember the “old lady wrap” excuse the phrase, a basic fundamental taught at cosmetology schools everywhere, hence why all the possibilities I stated above why there are no perms being done today in most salons globally, which leads me to believe there is a huge opportunity with the "texture hair services" you can offer and be a true creative image crafter .

Beauty of Haiti

Courage is not the absence of despair; it is, rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair.

Please Help The Haitian People.

Model Hair Spotlight #6

Rianne Ten Haken

This Dutch beauty at the age of 15 won a modelling competition in 2001 and since then her career went sky high. Known for her sensual lips and piercing blue eyes and her ability to change her hair style and hair color has won her praises from all the major designers. And in an industry that doesn’t always like their models to change their hair color in fear that it might hinder them Rianne is one model that we wait to see what she has done to her hair next. She has gone from brown to black to blonde and now a stunning redhead, and all of those shades looking great on her, and every time she has changed she has ended up with huge ad campaigns. I love when I see high fashion models reinvent themselves through their hair, adding freshness to the catwalks and fashion pages and making statements that it’s cool to have fun with ones hair.

The New Chunky Highlight – Ribbons

When we think of chunky highlights we either think of striped hair, or Cindy Crawford al la 90’s, some might even think of Ginger Spice with her flaming red hair and yellow/white streaks. I remember loving doing this kind of highlights, it was a look almost everyone wanted “a few” bolder lighter or brighter highlights around the face with a high contrasting effect, and if they were done right and on the right hair and person the look was hot. And then we got sick of the chunky look considering it chessie and went on to "oh natural "sunkissed finer highlights.

And as we saw at the end of last year a resurgence of the 80’s, Goth, Punk, and a few others, this year the 90’s are showing up in hair color, and it’s a newer sombre version of the chunky highlight look , I call Ribbons. It’s a fast easy way to add a little sexy detail to the hair while bringing back focus on lighter fronts, and fewer placed foils which also make it super economical. The difference with today’s chunky highlights/ribbons is that the colors are not a high contrast like the past but rather softer and complimentary shades. So whether you just get ribbons in the front of the hair or more it sure will add a touch of sophistication to any ones style without any chessie connotation attached.

Hair & Hair Color Challenges

HCC Email/Question #6

Dear Hair Color Corner
About two week ago I changed my hair color from medium blonde (highlights) to a chocolate brown, I had been thinking about doing that for some time, I found that my highlights were starting to dry my hair so I thought it would be a good time to change. Well I hate it and I feel its way to dark, so I went back to my stylist and asked if he could do something, anything, he said NO because in order to change it back he would have to bleach my hair and that it would break off. I do understand what he is trying to tell me and it was my decision to go dark but the color I got does not seem to be a chocolate brown but rather a dull flat brown. Is there something that can be done? I would be ok with it if it wasn’t so dull and lifeless looking.
Jennifer

This is a classic case of perhaps 1/ the stylist did not first fill your hair which means in order to change already lightened hair we need to put back a gold/orange tone so the new color does not go flat, 2/ there was a miscommunication between both of you in the consultation process. The truth is I might be speculating because I cannot see your hair however your stylist might also be right with the breakage aspect, 80% of the time when there is a situation like yours the hair does dry up when you re-do highlights so if it was dry to begin with chances are he is right. This was done only 2 weeks ago I suggest you give it another couple of weeks and more than likely you will see it starting to get lighter (fade) which in your case is a good thing. Once you have giving your hair some time you and your stylist can re-evaluate and go from there, my suggestion for a short time is to stay away from re-highlighting and get a gloss or a toner with some warmth in it, this will not cause any damage to your hair. And in the meantime invest in color shampoos and conditioners; AVEDA has excellent products for such needs as yours.

Hairdresser Spotlight # 2

Odile Gilbert
Odile Gilbert's work as a hairstylist has been one of the mainstays of the fashion industry for the past decade, linked with the catwalks of Paris, New York and Milan, she is one of today’s most sought after hairstylist, known for her incredible hair shapes and futuristic visions. She is one of my favourite runway show artists, and from her backstage work creates today's trends,she believes that each collaboration is not just a job but a dialogue and an exchange of ideas with the designer, in order to feel and interpret the mood of a collection. She also mastermind the whimsical hairstyles of the main protagonist in Sofia Coppola's 2005 film Marie-Antoinette and the next year, the French Minister of Culture honored Odile with the medallion of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, an award given in recognition of significant contribution to the arts. But no matter how long the list of accolades gets, Odile still approaches her work with joy and above all she is an artisan in the great Parisian tradition of "bordeurs and plumassiers."