I know a few women who spent their entire twenties and a lot of money fighting their natural colour in a quest to be blonde. They are all natural red heads but were terrified of going back to their natural colour, mostly because they had been teased in school. All of them have since embraced their red. Some have found a lovely rich shade to enhance what they already have and wondered why they had stayed blonde for so long. A great shade for blondes or those with a lighter skin tone is new nice ‘n easy Sunkissed Sandy Copper Blonde (shade 8SC)
I think red hair colour has seen a resurgence because of the economic downturn. It’s like the ‘lipstick effect’, beauty’s antidote to all the doom and gloom in times of recession. If you want to blend in with the crowd, red isn’t the colour for you. But if you want to make a statement a red shade is perfect. Just like a strong red lip, it is eye-catching and creates an impact. Whether you are a natural redhead or a wannabe, there’s a perfect red for everyone.
Christina Hendricks is the epitome of the classic redhead. A naturally dark blonde, she first coloured her hair when she fell in love with Anne of Green Gables’ long red plaits. She is quoted as saying when she went red she truly felt herself. Since then, she has flirted with many different shades in the red spectrum, from beautifully bright, flame reds to darker ruby shades. Her current shade is nice’n easy Permanent Colour Crème Natural Light Auburn (6R)
Trends
Over the last couple of years ombre and balayage colour has dominated the catwalks as everyone was searching for the perfect, effortless look. This season it’s all about a full shade, a definite colour but one that is really natural looking. There were no in-between shades or wishy-washy tones on the catwalks. Red is the perfect hair colour to define the trend, it’s strong, solid and vibrant. Colder months are also perfect times to showcase a great red and red is the hot colour trend this spring - think multidimensional colour with plenty of shine.
Tips on choosing the perfect RED
The trick in selecting a perfect hair colour, whatever the shade, is to look at your skin tone. If you tend to suit silver jewellery, have fair or rosy skin and your eyes are blue, green or grey, your skin tone is most likely to be ‘cool’. You should avoid shades with warm or golden in the shade name and instead opt for those with ash, cool or neutral shade descriptors. If you suit gold jewellery, have peachy skin, brown or green eyes and tend to suit creams, browns and autumnal colours, you are most likely to have a warm skin tone. You should avoid the ashier, cool toned shades already mentioned, and go for those with warm or golden shade descriptor.
As a general rule with red shades, the darker your skin tone, the darker the red shade you should choose. If you are still a little unsure, fail safe options are chestnut and auburns as these shades tend to suit most skin tones. Try nice’n easy Permanent Colour Crème in Natural Dark Auburn (Shade 4R) or nice’n easy Permanent Colour Crème in Natural Medium Reddish Brown (Shade 5RB).
There is no denying that going red can require a little more attention as they can fade slightly more quickly than their brunette counterparts but I think everyone would agree that the shine and richness you can get from the perfect red shade is worth all the effort.
Use a colour care shampoo and conditioner to help maintain the vibrancy of your coloured hair such as Pantene Pro-V Colour Protect and Smooth range.
Serums, glosses and colour washes were also big news on the catwalks this season. Non-permanent colour is a great way to baby-step your way to a red shade as there’s no long term commitment. If you are a natural red head you can also use it to add vibrancy to your own shade or blend away grey. Or if you colour your hair already with a permanent colour, at home or in the salon, try a non-permanent home colour to boost vibrancy between colourings. Try nice ‘n easy no ammonia (24 washes) in Light Golden Red (Shade 93) and don’t forget to use the inbox Colour Seal Gloss Conditioner for added gloss and shine.
By Joanne Kelly
