Hair Color Terms You Should Know
The world of hair color continues to evolve. New techniques and new products are constantly coming along. At Meraki, we are continually updating our knowledge and learning all the latest color techniques and trends to offer the latest and the greatest to you.
Here is a list of the latest hair color terms so you can get the results you desire.
- All Over Color, the traditional one-shade hair color we are all familiar with. The hair dye is applied to the hair root to end. This can be used if all-over color is desired but can also provide a blank canvas for our hair artists to create on.
- Highlights typically involve lighter shades of color installed in strands throughout the hair and can be a single color or multiple colors for more dimension. Well suited for darker hair. The highlights can be sparse or very saturated depending on the desired impact.
- Lowlights would be the opposite of highlights. Adding darker tones for a more dimensional effect. Lowlights tend to offer a 3-d effect to lighter or one-color hair. You do see both highlights and lowlights used together to create a more dimensional color.
- Baby lights is a term used to describe adding a very natural glow to blonde hair. The addition of gold, blue-toned, or ash blonde gives the desired effect. Babylights give a more natural appearance to bleached hair.
- Balayage, another French term means to paint or to sweep. This technique involves the painting of multiple colors to create a perfectly blended effect. The balayage is perfect for dimensional natural color or can be used very artistically with vivid color. The possibilities are endless.
- Color Melt hair color is a transition between two colors, perfectly blended at the seams. There are no chunks, color variations, or dimensional coloring. Instead, one color melts right into the next.
- Gray Coverage. The latest trend in gray hair is to let it be gray or silver. Many women are embracing the more natural look. We are assisting many to blend the salt & pepper of their natural hair color with a previous color that is growing out. There are wonderful shades of silver and gray tones to use to make graying hair more interesting, Another bold style we are seeing is bold, vivid color with grays. Creativity abounds!
- Hair Gloss is a treatment that closes the cuticle on strands of hair. It leads to softer, smoother, and shinier hair. There are tinted hair glosses that offer semi-permanent color.
- Money Piece or Chef’s kiss are terms used to describe face framing. A lighter or brighter color is applied just around the face on bangs or just color layered to feature your face.
- Ombre comes from a French term meaning to fade into shadow. Creating a pulled-down shadow root by lightning at the mid-section and ends of the hair, ombré provides a dramatic and less natural finish than your typical natural color job. The shadow generally fades from darker roots to lighter ends but you can get creative with this technique. The reverse Ombre is also seen. Start with shadow. The reverse ombre can help while growing out color and can be used to stretch out the time between coloring appointments. Vivid colors can be added to the ends of hair to prevent the grown-out line.
- Ombre Highlights are, like full Ombre, the addition of lighter color to the ends of the hair to result in the contrast of color. Ombre highlights may also include foils to graduate lighter colors further up into the hair, resulting in a more natural variation of color.
- Vivid Color. The introduction of vivid colors has opened up a whole new creative arena for stylists. We love helping our guests develop the look they have been dreaming of. Vivid colors are classified as bold and bright colors. If these colors are going to be used on darker hair then the natural color of the hair must be bleached out first before the vivid color or colors may be added. These colors can be used as one saturated color or using balayage techniques and/or foils to paint patterns or waves of color.
The best way to decide exactly what you need to get the results you want is to book a consultation.
This will give you a professional opinion of the time, cost, and results you can expect. Bring photos for examples.
When booking your hair color appointment at Meraki you can choose from:
The Retouch is for a few foils (10 or less) or having your roots touched up.
The Essential is for partial highlights, partial balayage, or other color treatments that are not full treatments.
And The Works, our full-color service. This is our favorite because it gives us the time to make your hair dreams come true. Includes full highlights, full balayage, blinding, and complete color changes.