Scents of the Season
With Pureology’s Limited Edition Aromatherapy Collection holiday gift sets, clients can care for their color-treated hair while enjoying the scents of the products and complimentary candle. The Hydrate Holiday Gift Set (seen here) includes Hydrate Shampoo, Hydrate Condition, Colour Fanatic Multi-Tasking Hair Beautifier and the Hydrate Scented Candle. For damaged strands, the Strength Cure Holiday Gift Set includes Strength Cure Shampoo, Strength Cure Conditioner, Colour Fanatic Multi-Tasking Hair Beautifier, and the Strength Cure Scented Candle. To add body, the Pure Volume Holiday Gift Set boasts Pure Volume Shampoo, Pure Volume Condition, Colour Fanatic Multi-Tasking Hair Beautifier and the Pure Volume Scented Candle. pureology.com —C.R.
GUIDING LIGHT
Candy Shaw, owner of Jamison Shaw Hairdressers in Atlanta, is adding more tools to the balayage artist’s palette with Sunlights, a haircolor formulated to have a consistency optimal for balayage highlighting. Sunlights is a smooth, clay-based lightener that moisturizes hair and makes it easy to paint. Shaw also developed The Balay Box, an educational starter kit including tools needed to learn the technique, such as 500 grams of Sunlights; a short, perforated wrap; and a balayage brush, paddle, clips and an instructional DVD. “Our goal is to make balayage artists out of millions more colorists,” Shaw says. sunlightsbalayage.com —C.R.
SOFT SIDE
Pop culture icons like Nicole Richie and Kelly Osbourne have been the reigning queens of pastel locks, and now the trend has taken off. “I love that celebrities are having fun with their haircolor lately,” says Zotos Professional AGEbeautiful Artistic Director Mike Petrizzi. Celebrity colorist Cynthia Alvarez, who created Orange is the New Black star Dascha Polanco’s silvery blue hue, sees the trend sticking around this winter. “It will be paired with darker tones like grays and dark browns,” she says.
The key to achieving the perfect pastel is to test swatches of hair for the desired tone, notes Petrizzi. “I also use tons of clear in my demi tone,” he says. He mixes about 2 ounces of Zotos AGEbeautiful Demi Permanent Clear with about ¹/6 ounce of an AGEbeautiful Demi dark color, diluting the pigment for a soft hue.
If clients are considering an edgier shade, colorists should remind them to think about their lifestyle. For instance, if a client works in a corporate environment, the color can be placed in a discreet location, like the nape of the neck, Alvarez notes. In addition to color-friendly shampoos and conditioners, she suggests washing hair with cold water. “I recommend adding a bit of the color used to the conditioner, to refresh the color after every wash,” Alvarez says.
COLORFUL HISTORY
Michelle Pugh, celebrity colorist at Mèche Salon in Los Angeles, takes a journey through the evolution of pastels.
1700s: In France, women add pigments to wig powder.
1970s: The New York City and London punk scene peaks. Kool-Aid mix is used as an at-home color, until the launch of Manic Panic in 1977.
1980s: Cyndi Lauper rocks a variety of pastel colors from pink to blue.
1990s: Rock, grunge and alternative icons like Kurt Cobain and Gwen Stefani wear pastels. Manic Panic and Fudge Paintbox are popular.
2000s: Paul Mitchell launches InkWorks. Salons use conditioners to custom-dilute colors.
2010s: Special Effects, Pravana, Kevin.Murphy Color Bug and other chalk powders introduce pastels. Clients are asking for vibrant extensions with dip-dyed ends. Pop music artists like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry popularize the trend. Modern applications include whole head, slices, color-blocking and dip-dye.
Future forecast: Pastels will become a complementary blend with natural haircolors, like roses mixed with blondes, and placement will be more muted, allowing for a wider audience and more age variance. —K.H.
DASCHA POLANCO COLOR FORMULA
1. Lift the hair to a platinum blonde.
2. Mix 1 tube of Pravana ChromaSilk Vivids Silver and a nickel-sized amount of Black to create a deepened gray shade to complement caramel skin, and apply from the midshaft at the chin. If a client has darker skin, add more black to get a deeper gray.
3. Follow with equal parts Pastels Luscious Lavender and Pastels Too Cute Coral to the ends, blending the line where the two colors meet with the fingers for a seamless transition. Complete entire head, and process for one hour.
PHOTOGRAPHY: corbis (Dascha Polanco and gwen stefani)