We are facing more and more requests for stunning hair colours like this, so I feel the need to put something out there that many people will just not understand with out a more thorough explanation.
Whilst colours like this are more then achievable with a full day of work and an infinite amount of money and time, they are also well within our capabilities. I am sure I speak for a vast majority of Hair Stylists and Colour Technicians. The tricky thing is, most clients don't really understand the process behind creating eye-catching colours, neither do they realise that the person who has created them has probably spent the majority of the day pre-bleaching the hair, conditioning and using bond protectors such as Olaplex (yes you still need to use both) before even applying the complex colour combinations with precision and care as well as cutting and styling the hair to show off the colour to take the picture you see. There is probably 8-10 hours of work in that there picture.
Whilst we love working with hair all day and creating an image such as this is really satisfying, it would break most clients budget for their hair colour! For this to be done in my salon your bill would be over £300, but, the result would look like the picture because we break it down to every colour we see in the image, we would test the hair to make sure we can re create it effectively without compromising the condition, we would use Olaplex at every step of the way and multiple conditioning treatments to keep your hair (and our canvas) in perfect condition. It would need to be bleached, possibly twice, for an experienced stylist to do this they would need to stay with you, assessing the condition and making sure your hair lightens evenly and with control, using treatments inbetween each application (you are already on about 4 /5hours work). The rainbow colours could be freehand applied to the hair or in the denim looking image possibly using foils to keep the colours so fine (another 1-2 hours work) then the Cutting and styling (at least another hour) and that's all if it goes according to plan! What you are actually paying for is your stylists time. The more experienced the stylist, the more capable they are, the more expensive they are too.
Yes we could create a much cheaper version of this image for a much cheaper price which will look dull and lifeless as the hair has been compromised along the way, it would look nothing like the picture and everyone involved would be disappointed....
So, this is how images on social media platforms are creating false expectations, unrealistic to achieve for the day to day client and disappointing for us. As an industry of creative people that I am lucky to spend every day in the company of, whether that be in my salon, with my fellow Educators or my online salon owner/creative buddies, the struggle is real! These images are fabulous and we would love to get our teeth into putting together an image like this, yet the vast majority of clients just can't justify spending that kind of cash for our time.
What can we do to fix it?
When you are looking for your next hair colour, please be realistic. If you have been colouring your hair the same colour for a long time, taking the colour through to the ends often then this colour is not going to come out easily, this doesn't mean we can never achieve a light enough colour to get a good result, it means that we can start a process now with a goal to get it light enough over time, to suit your budget and still look great in the meantime. If you have been colouring red, why not try a vivid orange on the way to getting it lighter or a strong yellow (this can help save the condition as we can leave more pigments in your hair, meaning your hair changes gradually staying stronger as you change.
Speak to our team to find out what is possible for your hair.