Autumn is my favorite time of year here in the northeast. Mornings are crisp, cool and the days are typically mild but still bright and sunny. With that comes inspiration from nature with beautiful hues of deep rich reds, vibrant coppers and radiant golds. Whether you do a full on color switch or want to be subtle, this is a time to start transitioning hair color from its summer brightness and to reset for the coming seasonal cycle.
Before we begin the journey into the dark I want to talk a little bit about what the hot summer months can do to your hair & scalp and what you can do to prepare your canvas for your seasonal change.
Summer can wreak havoc on your scalp and the physical structure of your hair inside and out. Sweat and dust which can be attributed to the heat and dryness of summer, bring for some, many issues such as dandruff, frizziness from humidity, increased hair loss and split ends. UV rays cause structural damage which most of us can see as our hair lightens and we get those beautiful natural highlights in the hair or too much sun exposure and it lightens and changes your over all color into something that was not intended. Now imagine hair that has gone through a chemical process and exposing it to those same conditions... long days out on the boat in the sun, hair whipping back and forth like a piece of frayed fabric in the wind that has begun to unravel. The mental images can go on and on but I think you understand what I'm referring to.
As lovely as the northeastern part of the United States can be, it comes with many water issues which can also effect anyones hair whether you color or not. No matter if you live in a city with treated water or in the country where you have well water, there are minerals that can be more concentrated in well water when we don't get enough rainfall and chemicals (chlorine and bromine) that we come into contact with through city water or treated pools and spas. None the less this can be deposited in and onto your hair strands every time you shower. Even more simply oxidation and fading can occur simply from the combination of water, sun and air. Why do I bring this up you might ask? I bring this up because clients who chemically treat their hair could be prone to color issues like premature fading, blonde going brassy. For those who do not color or highlight you could notice no matter the amount of conditioner or masks you use your hair never feels soft & shiny, more like straw. Minerals can definitely be a contributing factor to many common scalp issues as well. Since this isn't a science class I will link a related article about minerals and oxidizers for those that are interested.
Thankfully Malibu Wellness has developed solutions to these problems and a Malibu Crystal Gel Demineralizing Treatment should be your first prep step in transitioning your hair into the winter months or any time you want to switch up your color. The Crystal Gel Treatment is great for anyone. Whether you color your hair or not you will notice benefits from the service. The Malibu Crystal Gel Demineralizing service will not only pull minerals and oxidizers out of your hair they can also remove product build up providing a clean canvas to then apply a new color treatment to your hair allowing for better color saturations which in turn will make the beauty of your color last longer. Here is a link for those that would like to read more about Malibu Crystal Gel.
Now that the canvas has been cleaned we can move onto the color transition for your hair. No this doesn't mean that if you are a blonde that I am going to turn you into a brunette unless that is the look you are going for. A color transition could simply be moving away from heavy highlighting and instead shadow rooting the base of your hair and glazing the ends with a color that may be a shade or two darker than what you are use to, allowing you to do less highlighting. This technique is generally done with a demi permanent color which allows me to then highlight through that shadow root when you want to go all over lighter again.
Here are some examples of of shadow rooting and transitioning from heavy root highlighting:
All of these examples are beautiful and they are just that... examples. As a master colorist I can make color suggestions that are as dramatic or as subtle as you like and are complimentary just for you.
So the steps you would want to do to prep for a color shift would be to start with:
Malibu Crystal Gel Treatment
Bond building treatment to ensure color longevity,
Color service
Final treatment whether that is a Brazilian Blowout, Split End Corrector, Brazilian Rewind Anti Aging Treatment as a top coat to seal in the color and make your hair look and feel amazing.
Now that you have transitioned your color for the darker time of the year how do you now protect it from the seasonal cold?
Treatment and services that will prolong color will be in my next post. So stay tuned.