If you’re thinking of a new hair color this Spring here is what you should be considering

Experimenting with a new hair color is the quickest and easiest way to refresh your style! You get a new look without the drama of changing your hairstyle. This year’s trending hair colors are clean and simple and with these effortless hairdos, you can afford to venture one step further and experiment with hair color like; ombre, highlights, subtle tints, dramatic vibrant colors, neons, dip dying or even clip-on color extensions…you name it!

Face Framing Highlights

Adding a few simple face framing highlights or all over highlights and lowlights, spruces up your existing style and helps to brighten your complexion. With short hair, multiple layers of highlights help to create added dimension, depth and fullness to the hair. Women with blue or green eyes and a bit of a tanned skin tone,( think Jennifer Lopez) look fabulous with warm brown tones and honey colored or light brown highlights. Others with bouncy curls prefer hair highlighting because of the additional volume as well as the look of perennial sunshine on their hair.

Ombre Hair or Dip Dyeing Hair Color

Not a fan of the highlights? There are always alternatives such as going ombre or dip dying. Yes, ombre is still trending this year! That may be simply because it’s such a low maintenance hair trend and looks great on just about everyone. Women with medium/long and long layered hair wear ombre color or dip dying best. Brunettes simply love experimenting with lighter shades, as it adds dimension to their hair, so it doesn’t look flat and at the same time it adds a modern edge to their old hairstyle. One benefit of this trend is that in the event you are displeased with the color or it has faded over time, you can get your hairdresser to simply . . . snip off the colored ends!

Black Hair Dye and Deep Brunette Tones

Black hair color and darker palettes of brown tones are a huge trend this season and trend is keeping salons busy with both applications and corrective color services. Most of the corrective coloring comes as a result of at home, DIY’ers attempts to dye their own hair dark. Careful with this one ladies, you can check out some advice here, if you have dyed your hair too dark.

Katy Perry set the tone for ladies with pale skin to have some fun with black hair dye, (as well as some neon shades for you brave fashionistas!) There are a growing number of lighter skinned women embracing this contrast. Jet-black hair is also extremely flattering on ladies with olive skin tones (Salma Hayek, Cher)

Black and deep brunette hair colors not only appear thicker, but they often have the highest amount of shine. Healthy black hair is the shiniest because it reflects the most light. If your natural hair color is two or more shades lighter than the color you desire, you will need to be diligent at keeping your hair color appointments . . . roots are not pretty. A good shampoo and conditioner for colored hair will help substantially in preserving any hair color and its radiance!

Barb Quinn on Google+  

For further discussion on new hair color trends you might want to check out these other articles:

• Fall Hair Colors Look More Dimensional
• Funky Hair Color Ideas
• New Hair Color Technique is Next Trend
• L’Oreal Haircolor for Fall
• Hairstyle Trend Alert

Kristin Chenowith Reveals Her Clip on Bangs Secret

Clip on bangs are nothing new but when Kristin Chenowith showed up wearing them on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, looking like a million bucks and as cute as a bug . . . I just bet this could start a run on clip on bangs.

Clip on bangs make so much sense when you think of it. Buy clip on bangs and you won’t need to run into your hair stylist every two to three weeks for trims, you’ll save time and money and bypass the decision of whether to make the commitment to cutting in bangs or not.

What you should know

It’s not so easy to find good clip on bangs. Most hairdressing salons don’t carry them, even though professional beauty supply stores say that hair stylists scooped them up in the past for their own personal use and loved them!  Maybe it was more trouble than it was worth for hair salons to stock them, who knows? A few things about clip on bangs;

• Clip on bangs are made both from real and synthetic hair.
• Synthetic bangs can be heated up to 350 degrees or wet set styled but no chemicals
• Real hair can be dyed or permed and will withstand higher heat
• Clip-in bangs can also be used for lift at the crown or a thinning area
• Matching your hair color is hard to do when buying online
• Synthetic hair may look too shiny to look authentic

Most companies that make hair extensions will not allow returns so if you are buying online be aware of their return policy. The biggest reason for dissatisfaction from buyers is that the hair color doesn’t match. Some of the bigger manufacturers like HairUWear, may have up to 4 shades of blonde to choose from so you can imagine what a toss-up a color decision can be.  So take your time choosing a hair color if you buy extensions online.

Your best bet to get a good hair color match is to get them at a local beauty supply store.  Ulta Stores are widespread and sell clip in bangs both online and in their stores. They do allow returns.  Sally Beauty Supply also sells clip in bangs and here is what we found out about the products at both stores.

Judge for yourself . . . but I think the bangs make Kristin Chenoweth look adorable AND much younger!  (See who else she ‘out’s’ as a clip-in bang-ster).

Barb Quinn on Google+  

Pink Hair – 5 reasons not to go there!

The 39^th Annual American Music Awards gave pink hair styles another trend boost. Who else is a more fitting audience for pink hair than the eclectic music lover types? Pink hair dye isn’t a new whim, it’s been creeping up on us for a while now, but it’s still is a novel idea for most humans, no?

Just because pink hair isn’t on my bucket list doesn’t mean I’m against it. Some pink hair styles I’m into like these . . .

Pink Hair – 5 reasons why not to go there

This may go without saying, but if you are sporting the idea of a pink hair dye . . . a wig, or hair extensions may be your safest bet for many reasons. If you prefer your hair long, do think twice before dying it pink. The longer your hair is the more complicated, costly and damaging a pink hair dye will be.

If you must dye it pink though, please, please, please . . . do it professionally, it will likely save you many tears, many dollars and likely many hairs on your head!

1. Bleaching will be required, unless your hair is naturally a light blonde.
2. Pink hair dye won’t hold worth a c#@p!  Prepare for lots of upkeep!
3. Consider your wardrobe . . . everyday . . . what goes well with pink hair?
4. Think new makeup base, lips and eye shadows.
5. Getting your natural hair color back will be costly and hard on your hair. This is especially true if you needed to bleach your hair heavily to remove color to get it to pink and if you have long hair.

Pink hair even on the best looking celebrities is  a . . . s-t-r-e-t-c-h. Maybe for one big glorious evening in front of adoring fans a pink wig or extensions would be nice, but  . . . dying your hair pink?? Do think twice!

For more discussion on unusual hair colors you might want to visit these other articles:

• Funky Hair Color?
• Trendy Hair Color and Haircut
• Funky Hair Color Ideas
• Funky hair styles don’t get better than this!
• Temporary Hair Dye
• Hair Color Ideas for New Temporary Hair Color Highlights!

Barb Quinn on Google+