Summer Hair Starts Now: by Scott Laughlin

01/27/2010

 

The Holidays are over! The decorations are finally put away until next year, and all that’s left is paying those nasty credit card bills. If you’re like me, you will do anything to let your mind wander to some place where your mailbox is not filled with monthly reminders of how you spent too much for the holidays. Ah the beach! That will do the trick! It’s a great time to think about a warm sunny day at the beach especially when night time temperatures still have me wearing my fleece bunny robe, um, I mean smoking jacket. But it’s way too early to plan for vacation, right? Well, not really!
 
The gym is crowded with holiday eaters getting into summer form. If you try to drive through Homewood on the weekend, you’ll spend a good amount of time dodging joggers losing their winter insulation. And the tanning beds! Appointments are getting harder and harder to come by (I’ll save the nagging for your esthetician on this issue). All of us are beginning the preliminary stages of shedding our winter cocoons and emerging as the summer butterflies we hope to be. Most, however, are not yet thinking about their hair. Unless, of course, you’re sitting in my chair!
 
Spring and summer are times when richer hair color gives way to lighter and brighter tones that tells us it’s summer. Just as our clothes typically go from heavier earth tones to lighter pastels, so our hair makes this seasonal transformation. The problem I see is that most think this needs to happen all at once. I call it the “I’m going to the beach on Thursday, I need a full foil today” highlights. Yes, on your lunch break or after work you make the entire seasonal leap to find the next day the first words out of someone’s mouth is, “Oh, you got your hair done”.   Remember ladies, the goal should always be that no one knows that you’ve been to see your stylist. You’re hair naturally makes that transition. It must be the 1500 thread count Egyptian hemp pillow cases you’re using.
 
My spring transformation for my clients begins now. We start by brightening base tones. This could mean adding a bit of gold to your color to increase it’s reflectivity, or actually bumping up the color to something a bit brighter. This clears the canvas and lays the ground work for what will eventually become your summer hair. For those that are already blonde, this could mean using a simple toner to ready the hair for our vision of what we want things to look like in June. Regardless of your color, this is the time to prepare our canvas!
 
Our next step is to begin to introduce some highlights, or perhaps a lighter base shade. Think baby steps! A few strategically placed highlights will begin to add some dimension to your hair as well as begin the process of making it lighter. Most salons have services called micro foils, part foils, or some other name that describes three to five highlights. As we’re now saving money for that resort, this is important because these services are usually a lower price point. Spending small amounts over time is usually easier to work into the budget than doing this all at once. This should happen in March.
 
May is your next appointment, so now it’s time to take things up another level. Adding a few more highlights, working in some neutral low lights, or working to brighten existing tones will cause your hair to enter a new phase of enlightenment. You are now getting lighter and brighter, and your co-workers are left scratching their head and trying to figure out where you bought those pillow cases. “You’re so lucky to have that hair.” really means, “Why is my hair still brown?” Trying on the new summer clothes is getting a little more exciting now because you can see the whole picture coming together. Yes, you’re well on your way to summer!
 
It’s June or July, and the beach and or cruise will soon be a reality. Stop in the salon for a few highlights around your face and to tone out any remaining unwanted brassiness, and you have achieved the gorgeous summer hair you dreamt of in January. Doing this over time means that your hair is now part of you. It has slowly become part of your personality and flows through your confidence. Spread your wings! You’re the butterfly of summer!
 
Remember ladies, beautiful hair is a journey, not an event.

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