Before Making an Appointment......

Looking at the service menu for a salon can be intimidating when you want to get your hair colored. You know what you want, but what do all of the choices on the menu mean, and how do you explain to your stylist what you’re looking for?

We are going to break down what these terms mean so that you’ll know what to ask for when you book your appointment with us.

Partial Highlights – A partial foil means to foil only the hair on the top sections of the head. This is great for a more natural, “darker underneath” look, or in between appointments for full foils to refresh the most noticed areas. If you don’t have layers in your hair, a partial foil will make it look fully highlighted when you wear your hair down. If it is layered, you will see the color of the underneath section of hair poking out underneath.

Full Highlights – A full foil means to foil the hair on the entire head, including the underneath sections. If you want to see highlights underneath your hair when you wear your hair up, this is the way to go.

Highlights/ Lowlights – Highlights simply refers to lighter pieces of hair. Lowlights are the opposite of highlights, darker pieces of hair. This gives the hair more depth. This can be done on either a full or partial highlight process. When booking for this please choose full or partial as one is more time consuming than the other.

Accent Highlights – Accent Highlight are done by applying a small amount of foils or painted-on pieces usually focused on framing the face. (8 to 10 foils)

Balayage – Balayage refers to painting color or lightener onto the hair freehand, rather than by using foils. This is not precise and gives a chunkier, natural, grown-in look

Ombre- Ombre hair color is generally darker at the roots through the mid-shaft and then gradually gets lighter from the mid-shaft to the ends.

Root Touch Up – Color touch up is applying color just to the new growth or “roots” to match the existing color on the midshaft/ends of your hair. (This is not the same for a highlight! Because a highlight is performed with sections of hair in foils, rebooking is done as a highlight - EVEN IF YOU JUST NEED THE ROOTS DONE)

Single Process Color – This refers to an all-over application of hair color, which processes and then is done.

Base Break/New Blonde - This service can be done during a highlight should we need to slightly shift your natural color to more closely blend with the highlights for a more natural look. It can also be done as a stand-alone service in between your highlight appointments to blend the grow out.

Vivid/Fashion Colors - Vivid colors are direct dyes; this means it is not permanent. It is a temporary color that will slightly fade with each shampoo. For many of these colors to have the best result they need to be on pre-lightened hair to a very light blonde, the process can be done safely with a professional who has had the right training.

Double Process – This refers to a two-step coloring process, such as lightening and toning, or lightening to a certain point and coloring over it with hair color. Any time you want a color which is considerably lighter than your current one, it will be a double process.

Toner/Glaze – is a Temporary color which is used to “tone” pre-lightened hair. For example, if you want platinum blonde hair, your hair must first be lightened to the lightest possible blonde, but it will still have a yellowish tint to it. A violet toner is applied to the hair to counteract the yellow, leaving you with a nice, cool, platinum tone.

*Permanent Color – Permanent color is what most people think of when they think “hair color”. Permanent hair color is mixed with a developer which opens up the cuticle of the hair to deposit the color molecules. There is no such thing as truly permanent color; all color fades to some extent, but this type of color has the most longevity and covers grey hair. This is also the most difficult kind to get back out of the hair if you want to change it later.

*Demi-Permanent Color – Demi-permanent color is sometimes also called “shines” or “glaze” depending on the color line. It is mixed with a very low volume developer so that the color is not deposited very deeply. Demi-permanent colors are less harsh than permanent color and give the hair a shiny appearance. Demi-permanent color only deposits color, which means that you can only use it to go darker or change the tone of your current color. It fades a little bit every time you wash it. This is a great type of color if you are nervous about changing your hair or if you like to change it often.

*Semi-Permanent Color – Semi-permanent color does not use a developer. It only stains the hair. All of the vivid, rainbow hair colors that you see are semi-permanent. For semi-permanent color to show up brightly, the hair must first be lightened to blonde and then colored over with semi-permanent color. Semi-permanent colors fade relatively quickly (it will need to be touched up every few weeks, depending on your hair) and can have a tendency to rub off or bleed onto clothing or other things that come in contact with the hair for an extended period of time, especially when the hair is wet.

Finally, Bring Your inspiration! Photographs and examples of hair color you love will help you and your stylist explore your color and style options and remember to Trust Your Stylist! Listen to your stylist’s expert opinion. She/He will consider your desired result, then evaluate your hair’s condition and recommend what will work best for you!

Don’t forget to ask your stylist about maintenance- how often you will need to return to the salon for touchups and how to best maintain your hair color at home between visits.

Professional Products are recommended because they are more concentrated so you use less and the quality is much better than the products you can purchase at stores.