Choosing the Right Hair Colour for your Hair

Being in the hair industry as long as I have, I've had all sorts of people come to me seeking damage control for their hair colour. Most of the time people go wrong with colour because they have chosen the wrong colour for them, or because they have unrealistic colour goals. The following are a few important tips to help avoid those "colour disasters" that far too many people are familiar with.

Tip #1 Don't go more than 3 shades lighter or 3 shades darker than your natural colour. Going too light or too dark will not only look unnatural, but it will also cause a lot more damage (especially when going lighter), and keeping up with the regrowth can get very expensive.

If you are planning to go darker using a semi-permanent colour will be less damaging, and will fade out gradually, which will help you avoid getting root lines. Semi-permanent colours are also easier to reverse if you decide you want to be lighter again.

If you are planning to go lighter I am always an advocate for highlights rather than solid colours. Highlights, when done properly are more natural looking , and don't have to be done as often as solid colours.

Tip #2 Take a closer look at the colour of your eyes. We all have more than one colour in the iris of our eyes. There is a background colour mixed with flecks of another colour or two. The combination makes up the overall eye colour. The colour of the flecks in your eyes can tell you if you will look better in cool tones or warm tones. For example, someone with blue eyes with white, grey, or black flecks will look best with a cool hair colour, where as someone with blue eyes with yellow, gold or amber flecks will look better with a warm hair colour.

Tip #3 Go lighter and warmer as you get older. Over time not only your hair, but also your skin looses it's pigmentation, and dark, dull hair colours will only wash you out even more. Blue-black hair may look great on a 19 year old with clear skin, and rosy cheeks, but on almost anyone else it looks harsh. Lighter colours will also blend better with greying hair. This doesn't mean that once you hit a certain age you suddenly have to go blonde even if you've had dark hair all your life. For best results I suggest a slow transition, such as one shade lighter every 10 years or so.

Tip #4 Once you have a colour you like stick with it, or at least with something similar to it. The biggest mistake people make when it comes to colour is trying to change their colour too often, and too quickly. Major changes to your colour should be made over several visits to your hairstylist, and not all in one shot. Once your hair has been coloured dark that dark colour can only be removed with bleach (or some equally damaging highlift colours, or colour removers), when your hair has been coloured red there will be a redish tone to any colour you add after, and if your hair has been bleached out blonde it won't hold new colours properly and it's likely to fade to an unflattering shade. So when you're planning a major colour change be realistic about what your hair can and can't handle.

For more tips on hair colour, and cool vs warm tones, feel free to email me at emily@emilyroop.com

Summer Hair Trends 2008 by Vancouver Hair Stylist Emily

It's summertime at last, and with the summer comes a more relaxed approach to fashion. In the hot weather you wear less clothing, and less makeup, and the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time with a hot blowdryer on your hair, so ponytails become an everyday occurrence.

While a ponytail is a nice easy way to deal with unruly hair, you do need to be careful not to overdo it. Repeatedly pulling your hair back tightly, and then wrapping an elastic around it can cause strain to the hair and scalp and eventually lead to breakage. Pinning or clipping your hair up loosely will give you a softer look, and be easier on your hair. Instead of reaching for the elastic, go shopping for some fun hair accessories, and try some different ways of putting your hair up. Loose, messy hair is very fashionable right now, which is great news for your hair, because the looser the style the less damage it will cause your hair.

If you have long hair try a loose braid off to one side like Jessica Alba's. If you have short or medium length hair you can create Elisha Cuthbert's messy updo by piling your hair at the base of you hair line, and securing it with bobby pins. Both of these styles will work with most hair types, and can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion.

But the most important thing for summer no matter how you wear your hair is a good leave in conditioner with sun protection. Many different brands of leave in conditioners have SPF in them, all you need to do is read the labels. UV rays will dry out your hair and bleach out your colour, so treat your hair like you would your skin, and protect it from the sun, unless you want to wear a hat all summer.