Hot Summer Trend: Ombre Hair

As you've probably noticed on many celebrities and in magazine pages, ombre hair has become the hot, hot, hot look for this summer. It is certainly a style that just about everyone can enjoy, but don't let a bad application ruin everything.

The word ombre means "shaded" in French and was used primarily to describe fabric that's color is graduated from dark to light. For ombre hair, the same applies. Your color will graduate from a darker root to lighter ends. You get a super low-maintenance, modern look that is especially perfect for chic summer style. When done badly however, the look quickly turns to a trashy, mega-root, grown out-looking mess with fried blonde ends circa Dog: the Bounty Hunter, giving the whole style a bad name and you a big correction expense.

Do-it-yourself-ers should definitely beware. Despite the ease of the look and the plethora of You Tube how-to videos, ombre highlights should be left to the professionals. No painting your roots dark with a toothbrush. No dipping your ponytail into bleach. (Yes, these are real cases.) Not only are you likely to give ombre highlights a bad name but also, and more importantly, you are likely to do some serious damage to your hair. 

Ombre tend to look best with a longer, flowing layered cut with a lot of angling around the face and can be custom colored to best flatter your complexion. The most flattering ombre's consist of randomly placed highlights rather than a harsher half-and-half effect with a strong line of delineation, but the latter can work for a more rock & roll look. You can expect to be at the salon a bit longer for your first application since the process isn't as straight forward as typical color, and you can expect to feel pretty silly with foils hanging from your ends. But the final product is so worth it, and the maintenance is a easy as a summer breeze.

To avoid brassiness, invest in a good shampoo and conditioner, and use a weekly treatment to keep those ends hydrated. Our favorite for this is the Wella Brilliance collection. Ombre hair can be styled with a round brush or curling iron away from the face for a shiny, red carpet look, or it can be scrunched and left to air dry for a beach hair effect. 

We can't help but wonder if the ombre look is here to stay since those who have had it done right love their hair so much. Even if it isn't, we will love it while it lasts. Don't miss your chance to enjoy an ombre summer!