Color Ideas for the Financially Minded

There is just something about the feeling you get when you have freshly colored hair that makes you feel like you are running the town. It is also a great way to update your style in a short period of time. The problem? Coloring your hair can be a bit of an investment. For some, this may not be an issue but for those of you who are thinking of turning to the color on the shelf of your local store, let's talk about some different options you can discuss with your stylist that will help keep some money in your pocket AND great looking hair on your head.

Dimension without maintenance. Adding dimension to your hair is great for breaking up a solid color and giving a different look to your current color. Many dimensional placements are creative, and can be placed in the hair in a way that won't leave you feeling like you signed up for going to the salon more than you are wanting. Your stylist can section off a section of hair around your part and leave this as your natural or to just be touched up at the roots (if you have an existing color other than your natural). Dimensional pieces (whether light or dark) can then be added and will essentially be under the section of hair taken around your part; this section will lay over the dimension to where you will still see the dimension but won't see the regrowth. This is great because again, though the intial first service may be a little more, you will be able to go longer between color services because you won't feel like you have roots that need to be touched up.



Melting. The word melting has been going around the hair world for the past couple of years. For those of you who may not be familiar with the term, melting is a technique that gives that grown out highlight look, with the roots being darker than the ends and looking as if you haven't had your hair highlighted in at least 6 months. There are a couple advantages of this technique. One advantage is that you can (depending on the existing color of your hair) ask your stylist to choose a root color that is close in level to your natural color so as it grows out there is not a definite line. This will help you feel like you don't need to go to the salon every 8 weeks to cover your roots. Another advantage is that even though the initial first service may be a little pricier, your next two services (at least) will be less because you will only need to have your roots touched up.

The grey factor. Having grey you want covered can be hard because grey can feel very high maintenence. Well, it is! So, one way to make your life a little easier and make you feel like you can last a little longer between salon visits is to stay lighter rather than go darker. Going darker is going to make your grey regrowth stand out more. However, if you stay lighter with some nice highlights and lowlights, your grey is going to be more camouflaged as it grows back in; there won't be a stark contrast of the light grey versus the dark color. This will help you feel like your grey is less noticable and that you can go further between colorings. Additionally, you can opt to just get your roots touched up with your chosen base color every other time which will also help you save because a touch up is less than foiling.

If you love how your stylist colors your hair but are needing to see them less due to personal finances, talk with your stylist about what could work with your hair and style that can keep you in their chair but less frequently. As professional stylists, we are always happy to talk with our clients about new ideas that will work to suit their changing needs. Great looking color can always be affordable, it's just about finding the right look.