Here's the short list.  Click the article from Byrdie to get the full list of “Need to Know” tips for going blonde.

1) The Many Shades of Blonde
Look around at women with blonde hair, and you'll notice how many shades of blonde there are. There's strawberry blonde, dirty blonde, bronde, platinum blonde, honey blonde, and even brown hair with blonde highlights.

If you're thinking about going blonde or brightening up your natural color, there are a number of things to consider before you head to the salon. This hair color can be high maintenance and you have a few options when it comes to the process. You'll also want to protect your hair to keep it shining and beautiful.

As we explore beautiful blonde women as inspiration, we'll also pass along useful tips that will help you make the best decisions for your new color.

2)  A Gorgeous Icy Blonde
Some magazines advise you to darken your hair for fall and winter, but this isn't necessary. Blonde hair can remain very blonde—even icy blonde—into the colder months as long as your skin tone is flattering against the color. You can also pair your blonde with bright lips for a more festive look.

3)  The Light Blonde
If you examine a child's hair that has never been colored, you'll see many shades of color. For the most natural looking blonde hair, opt for highlights instead of all-over color and ask your colorist to paint in a couple of different shades. You can do lowlights and highlights, too, for added dimension.

4)  Blonde Highlights and Lowlights
Hair that is just one color can be monochrome and dull. Mixing in lowlights and highlights can give your blonde hair definition, leaving it more natural looking.

The balayage technique works well for highlights and may be a better choice than foils because it's painted in. When it comes to getting great highlights, it's best to leave the job to a professional.

5)  Highlighting Natural Blonde
You will make a good blonde if you had blonde hair as a kid. When getting your hair colored, your stylist should take your natural base into consideration. Naturally blonde hair—even dirty blonde like Beth Ostrosky Stern's hair—is the perfect base for highlights.

If you don't have naturally blonde hair (and let's be honest, few women do), you may have to endure a process to go blonde. Some women with dark hair have to go to the salon twice, once for bleaching and again for color.
 
Click here for tips 6 thru 24.

Miscommunication between stylist and client is a common obstacle to perfectly painted hair. As a stylist, I spend a lot of time consulting with my clients before a color service is done. This is one of the most important parts of the service. If the client has any inspiration photos, we discuss exactly what they like about that photo, and I set realistic expectations for that appointment. It is important to know how to communicate with your stylist so that you two are on the same page before the service begins. To help with that communication, here are 25 hair-coloring terms all contemporary stylists want you to know.

25 Terms for Better Communication with Your Colorist

You sit down in your stylist’s chair, excited to have your dream hair. You came prepared with a photo of exactly what you want and are ready for your stylist to execute your vision. Your stylist starts to tell you what they are going to do and it sounds completely foreign, but you assume you are both on the same page, and the service begins. Then, there is the moment you weren’t prepared for: the end result is not what you were hoping for. It all comes down to communication. That photo may speak to you differently than what it technically shows your stylist. It is important to be able to communicate what it is about the photo that you like or about what you like and dislike about your current hair color.

These 25 terms will help you to not only communicate your wants with your stylist, but will also help you to understand what he/she is communicating to you as to what his/her ideas are and what is the plan.
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1. Babylights: These are baby-fine highlights, placed back to back with a little hair between to achieve maximum brightness.
2. Balayage: Balayage is a French word meaning “to sweep”. It is the name of a technique where lightener, or color, is applied to the surface of the hair using sweeping strokes.
3. Base Color: This term refers to the color starting at the root and ending at another color, highlights, or lowlights begin. It can be either the client’s natural color or dyed.
4. Contrast: This refers to the shade value of the highlights. A high contrast is where the highlights really stand out, where low contrast leaves the highlights more natural looking.
5. Cool: Cool tones identify colors with a violet, blue, or green value. Blondes (platinum), brunettes (ash brown), and red (plum) shades can all have a cool tonal value.
6. Colormelt: A colormelt is a technique where the colors applied blend so flawlessly that it creates a gradient effect where you are unable to determine exactly where each starts and stops. A color melt can be done in several ways such as over highlights to create this blend or can be done with different colors on natural hair.
7. Coverage: This is the ability of hair color to cover gray hair. Some colors are more translucent and blend with, rather than just cover, gray.
8. Demarcation Line: The line where your new growth meets with your previously colored or treated hair.
9. Demi-Permanent Color: A demi-permanent hair color contains no ammonia and uses a low-volume developer to open the cuticle and deposit color. This color will fade with time and is best for gray blending, enhancing or neutralizing natural color, toning and refreshing, and corrective work.
10. Dimension: This refers to the range of tones throughout your hair. Dimension can be created through the addition of highlights and/or lowlights.
11. Double Process: This is the term given when two color services are performed in one visit. These services are done back to back, where one service is applied, washed, dried, and then the second process is then completed. For example, a root color is applied to cover grays, and then you get highlights.
12. Face-Framing Highlights or Balayage: This is when pops of color or highlights are placed around the front to frame the face. This is a good service for in-between partial/full highlighting sessions to give your current color more longevity.
13. Full Highlights (or Balayage/Hair-Painting): Think full head; this is where highlights or balayage are placed from the nape to the front hairline.
14. Foilayage: This technique has recently become popular and is where a balayage style placement is placed inside of a foil instead of open air or with plastic wrap. This allows for the hair to lift more and produce a lighter highlight.
15. Gloss (Toner): This is used to tone, neutralize, or enhance the color of a highlight or natural hair color. When hair is lifted, a raw pigment is revealed. A gloss or toner helps to customize that tone. These do fade with time and washings, so make sure to schedule follow-up glossing services to ensure the tone you want stays in the hair.
16. Hair Painting: Hair painting and balayage, while similar, are not the same technique. Hair painting not only is when the surface of the section is painted but the bottom side as well. When the bottom side is painted and saturated, you get more brightness at the bottom of the hair all over.
17. Lift: This refers to how much pigment is removed from the hair when lightened. The more lift you achieve, the lighter the hair will be. The amount of lift achieved is referred to in levels. You will achieve more lift when heat is applied or foils are used. However, your hair may have limitations to how much lift your stylist is able to achieve while keeping the integrity of your hair.
18. Lowlight: This is where color is placed either in foils or painted on strands to add depth and dimension.
19. Partial Highlight (or Balayage): This refers to less than half of the head being highlighted. It may apply to highlighting from the crown forward, face-framing highlights, or just several highlights strategically placed throughout the head to add desired dimension.
20. Permanent Color: This type of color uses an oxidizer and ammonia mixed together with a coloring agent. They provide the most gray coverage and last the longest. If you do not have gray hair, you may want to opt for a demi-permanent because they use less chemicals and are a lower commitment, if you plan on wanting to change your hair color or lighten it in the future.
21. Root Shadow: This is a technique utilized at the bowl after highlights have been rinsed out. A root shade (either a demi- or semi-permanent color) is placed at the root area to blend the root color with the highlights and/or balayage.
22. Semi-Permanent: Semi-permanent color contains no peroxide or ammonia, which means it will not penetrate the cuticle and will last only about 4-6 weeks, depending on washing frequency and at-home hair-care products.
23. Single Process: This is when you receive one service, such as a root touch-up.
24. Teasy Lights: This is a type of highlighting service where the hair is backcombed and what is left is lightened and placed in a foil. The combination of backcombing and foils allow for a brighter but more diffused highlight.
25. Warm: These are the opposite of cool tones. They identify colors with yellow, orange, red value.

 
This article is from The Right Hairstyles

You’ve likely long been touting the benefits of professional beauty products, due to their better ingredients and less harsh chemicals. But how much of that is truth versus marketing hype? One hairstylist, Jacqui Swanson (@jacqui.swan) of Jacqui Swan in Visalia, California, decided to put her hair on the line and test how much, if at all, her hair would be affected by drugstore shampoo. Well, the proof is in the pudding, as they say, and after a week of using the non-pro stuff, her hair color had dramatically faded and her hair felt brittle and way less healthy. We talked to her about why she wanted to do this challenge, and if she would ever try anything like this again. And be sure to check out the highlights section on Swanson’s Instagram page @jacqui.swan for the Shampoo Challenge for yourself and to share with your clients.

What motivated you to do the Seven Day Drugstore Shampoo Challenge?
There was a week in the salon where four new clients in a row showed me these beautiful photos of bright blondes and vibrant vivid tones with all the hopes and dreams of having that hair when they left the salon that day. Expectations were running high. After explaining what their hair would have to go through to achieve their dreams, they were all on board. But when I asked what shampoo they used at home, two said Pantene and the other two said Head & Shoulders. And one of those two didn’t even use conditioner because the bottle says 2-in-1! When I was trying to explain what it means to take care of their hair once they get home, it was like I could see their ears close. They were no longer listening. I was frustrated. While venting to a fellow stylist a few days later I said, “I know what I’ll do, I’ll use what they use and show them it’s wrong!”

What were the criteria for the Challenge?
Wash my hair hot water every day for seven days with drugstore shampoo and conditioner. Style it with non-professional products every day as well. I knew I was the perfect candidate because I have the same hair as most of my clients: a natural level 4 that’s lightened to a level 9.

What did you expect to happen to your hair after seven days? Why would you want to risk potential damage?
I expected it to feel like crap. Very dry and stiff. I knew that even though I was putting my hair at risk of feeling horrible, I also knew that any damage could be easily reversed with the right treatments. I was actually more excited to show how it would look after using great hair products.

How quickly did you notice a change in your hair? Did you notice your hair health or color change first?
I very quickly noticed a change in the quality. I normally can get away with blow drying it with my fingers and it looks nice. Not in this case. My ends looked frayed, as if I needed a haircut, but I had just got one two weeks before. It only got more tangly and more unmanageable with every wash. I noticed the hair health first, but the color was visibly different after one wash, and after two washes the vibrant pop of color was gone.

Which products did you use, and was any one better than the others?
I purchased Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal Shampoo and Conditioner, Head & Shoulders Green Apple Anti-Dandruff 2-in-1, Pantene Leave On Detangling Milk, Dove Dry Shampoo and a Garnier Fructis Damage Repairing Treat. Not “Treatment.” “Treat”—whatever that means.
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• The Fructis Mask was garbage; it didn’t do anything. But what do you expect for $3.00?
• The Pantene leave-in wasn’t the worst product I’ve ever tried, but knowing what a good leave-in conditioner will do, it doesn’t stack up.
• I hadn’t used Head & Shoulders in 12 years, and I have to say they have improved their formula. I used it two times and I didn’t get the buildup I remember (but I only used it twice), and I wasn’t nearly as itchy as I expected I would be (I have a horrible dandruff). But I also believe it isn’t an everyday shampoo. You should be switching between it and something else. And first and foremost it is NOT a conditioner! Two-in-one’s are junk.

The main thing I noticed about all of the products was the strong smell. They really get people with the smell. It makes them believe it’s working. But do you really want to wash your hair with perfume?

I can see in your before and after picture that your color definitely faded over the course of seven days. How much of that do you attribute to using these products vs. actually shampooing your hair every day? How often would you shampoo your hair regularly?
Water is the enemy. You want to keep water especially hot water away from your hair as much as possible. Pair that with basically washing with dish soap and say sayonara to your hair color. I am on the opposite side of the spectrum. I should wash my hair more. I say I wash my hair every three or four days, but it’s really like every five.

Do you think that this fade would have been just as prominent on someone who didn’t have a vibrant color, but more of a natural color?
Vibrant-toned hair definitely sees a more dramatic depletion in color, but any way you swing it hair color is going to fade, whether it’s natural or vivid. But when you’re investing a lot of money to get it done, take care of it. Would you put your designer bag in the washing machine?

How do you think stylists can best talk to their clients about the problems of using drugstore product? How do you educate vs. sell?
That’s exactly why I did this. I was struggling to find a way to get the point across. As stylists, we can give our clients all their hair dreams. But if they don’t maintain it properly at home, when they come back, they may complain that it didn’t last, like we did it to them. Many of my young clients come in every three months. That’s four days out of 365 that I’m taking care their hair. They are taking care of it the remaining 361 days. It truly isn’t about me making money off of you buying products or forcing you to spend a bunch of money. I don’t care where you go: Find professional hair brands you like, find good deals and use them!

The response from clients has been amazing! “You convinced me, I need to take better care of my hair!” many have said. Is the answer that every stylist needs to do this to show their clients? I don’t know, but this has been the biggest conversation starter for me to get clients to open their ears to what we’re saying.

What was your biggest takeaway from this experiment?
That people wanted to know how to take care of their hair without knowing they wanted to know. It’s all about getting the conversation started. The amount of messages from girls with questions about what they should use for their hair situation shows they just haven’t been taught how to care for their hair with the hair trends they want. Maybe messaging someone is easier than asking in salon.

Would you ever try anything like this again? (At-home hair color, for example?)
My hairstylist says no. [laughs] But really, that’s a tough one. As a working hairstylist I know if I colored it with at-home color how hard it would be to come back from that and my hair wouldn’t make it. And that’s damage only a haircut will help. But I am thinking of some ideas for future experiments. This was way fun!
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Have you ever been more reluctant to shampoo your hair than after this challenge?
I don’t think it’s possible for me to wash less than I already do. [laughs]  But no, it didn’t. It definitely made me appreciate professional styling products more than ever.


This article is from Beauty LAUNCHPAD

Six years ago, I was 30 and had a healthy, thick, wavy black mane.

Today I’m 36 and half my hair is gray and wiry.

My son, Gus, was looking at a picture of me from when I was 30 and asked: “Dad, how did you get so old, so fast?”

Great question, son.

Going gray didn’t happen overnight. I remember spotting a few gray strands in my late twenties. A few years later, I saw some more. Then one day I woke up, looked in the mirror, and saw as much salt as pepper.

I’ve never freaked out about going gray and have never thought about dyeing my hair back to its youthful color. Even in high school my friends described me as grandpa-like, and I actually always looked forward to getting older.

But while I’ve never worried about going gray, I have been curious about it.

What caused me to go gray at such a relatively young age? Was it stress? Genetics? A combination of both?

And now that I have gray hair, do I need to do anything different with my hair care and grooming to make it look its best?

To answer those questions, as well as get the scoop on dyeing your hair for those men who’ve considered it, I did some research and talked to Thad Forrester, owner of Hudson / Hawk Barber & Shop.

Why Does Hair Go Gray?

Each one of your hairs grows out of a hair follicle, and each follicle contains cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes produce two types of pigments, or colors: eumelanin, which is dark brown or black, and pheomelanin, which is reddish yellow. Eumelanin and pheomelanin blend together to give you your hair color. (Dermatologists will often refer to eumelanin and pheomelanin simply as “melanin.”)

When melanocytes in the hair follicle start to die, the strand of hair gets less melanin as it grows and takes on a more transparent color. Gray hair is hair that’s still getting a bit of melanin, but not enough to lend the hair its youthful hue. White hair is hair that’s not getting any melanin at all. Once a melanocyte cell dies, there’s no resurrecting it — it’s dead forever, and it will never produce melanin again. Barring some breakthrough in bioengineering (or dyeing your hair), once hair goes gray, it’s gray for good.

Besides giving hair its color, melanin also helps make hair smooth and lush. Consequently, gray, melanin-deprived hair often gets a wiry or coarse texture and it becomes increasingly difficult to style and manage.

So that’s the mechanism behind hair going gray — its pigment-producing cells die. But what causes those melanin cells to expire in the first place?

Scientists don’t really know.

Age certainly plays a factor and is of course why we associate going gray with getting old. As you get older, all of your body’s cells start to die and malfunction, including the cells that make hair color.

But some people go gray sooner and some people keep their color well into old age.

What gives?

There’s a popular theory that stress causes people to go gray. To bolster this argument, you’ll often see side-by-side pictures of American presidents the day they started their term and the day they ended their term. The President of the United States is arguably one of the most stressful jobs a person could have, so if a man grays considerably during his administration, we figure it was the stress that caused it, right?

Well, maybe. And maybe not. While there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that stress causes people to go gray, scientific studies that have looked into the matter have been mixed. There’s some evidence to suggest that stress hormones could disrupt melanin being delivered to your hair strands, which would cause it to go gray, but again, it’s not conclusive. With the graying of presidents’ hair, it could just be a function of getting older; 8 years is a fairly long time, after all.

So stress may or may not play a role in when you go gray. The most significant factor, according to science, is likely your genetics. If your parents went gray at a young age, then the chances of you going gray young are increased.

So what do you do when you start going gray yourself? Should you dye your hair? If you don’t dye it, do you have to change anything with your hair care? Let’s explore those questions. 

Should You Dye Your Gray Hair?

To dye or not to dye. That is the question.

Graying hair is less disconcerting to men than losing hair, and unlike Western women, who are pressured to maintain their youthful looks, and hair color, for as long as possible, we males generally have the luxury of letting the aging process take its natural course. Gray hair is distinguished on a man. It makes him look wise, seasoned, and sometimes even sexy.  

But if you’re in your 20s and 30s, gray hair can feel like it’s prematurely taking the sheen off this last season of youthful virility. And an older man who works in a youth-driven industry, or is back on the dating scene after being divorced or widowed, may also feel pressure to look less stodgy. If you fall into these categories and/or simply feel the desire to dye your hair, keep the following considerations in mind:

If there are just a few spots of gray on your head — like at your temples — you might consider dyeing only those patches with something like Just for Men AutoStop. With this kind of product, you don’t have to dye all of your hair (though you can), just the parts that are going gray. It’s relatively easy to use (you just comb it in and let it sit for 10 minutes before you shower), and it lasts for up to 8 weeks.

If you’re already pretty salt and peppery and you want to color all of your hair, do so gradually. If you go from George Clooney to Keanu Reeves overnight, people are going to notice. To gradually color your hair back to a more youthful color, try something like Just for Men Control GX which is hair dye in a shampoo; as you use it over the course of a month, more and more of your gray is colored, and you can stop once you’ve achieved the desired effect.

A lot of men’s drugstore/DIY hair dyes don’t actually cover all of your gray, and that’s okay; it can look more natural to still have some showing.

The downside of off-the-shelf/DIY hair coloring products, especially if you’re dyeing all your hair and want close to 100% gray coverage, is that you’re limited in the colors you can choose from. As Thad explains, “Natural hair colors and tones are extremely varied, but [men’s] color dyeing products give you like four color options to choose from — black, dark brown, light brown, and blonde. If you color with a product like that, it’s not going to match your natural hair color and things are going to look off.” When your hair’s a monotone color, it looks flat and fake, like you rubbed your hair with shoe polish.

Thad says if you truly want a better-looking end result, you need to visit a professional who specializes in hair color: “The reason women look great when they color their hair and men typically look bad is because women pay a professional a lot of of money to make it look as natural as possible, while a man will typically opt for the DIY approach. Professional hair colorers can do a better job of matching natural hair color compared to what you can get out of a box.” Traditional barbers typically aren’t trained in hair coloring, so you’ll need to visit a salon.

But before you book an appointment with a hairdresser or pick up a box of Just for Men, consider the many downsides of coloring your hair (always thoroughly read through the Amazon reviews for dyes to understand what you’re getting yourself into):

1. You have to dye your hair every 3-8 weeks. Every month and half or so (depending on how fast your hair grows, how often you get your haircut, and how frequently a particular formula of dye is applied), you’re either going to have to visit a hairdresser to dye it, a process that can take up to an hour, or go through the rigmarole of dyeing your hair at home (which is considerable: you’ve got to apply vaseline around your hairline to keep it from staining your skin, clean up stains on your countertops and hands, and so on).

2. You have to keep dyeing it for-ev-ver (or until your age surpasses your vanity). To keep your hair colored, you’ll have to keep up the dye jobs indefinitely. Once you stop, your hair, especially if it’s gone predominantly gray, will look funny growing back. Before you start dyeing, imagine yourself signing a contract with Just for Men, agreeing to use their product until 2050. As that’s essentially what you’re doing, if you’re not comfortable with that commitment, think twice about starting to color your hair.

3. It costs $$$. Getting your hair colored at a salon can cost $25-$100. That’s really going to add up over time, which again, can be decades.

4. Dyes can be harsh on hair. Hair dye contains chemicals that can sometimes make your hair fall out. Gray hair ages you, but so does thin hair.

5. No matter how natural the hair color, dyed hair never looks completely natural on a man. No hair dye — even those created by a salon — completely matches your original hair color, and even when it’s close, it still doesn’t look quite right, at least on older guys: our brains are used to seeing older women with colored hair, but don’t expect to see older men with such, so when you see a guy with a 50-year-old face, but completely jet black hair, it just registers as being a little off. You realize he dyes his hair, calling attention to it, and his age, and making him seem a little vain and insecure — the very opposite effect from what he’s looking for!

For these reasons, Thad and most male barbers recommend that men who are starting to go gray just let the process take its course. “It’s just easier to manage than dyeing your hair, [and] it looks good, and shows a lot of confidence in a guy,” Thad said.

Embracing the Silver Fox: How to Take Care of Gray Hair

As mentioned above, gray hair is caused by a reduction in melanin. Besides causing your hair to turn gray, a decrease in melanin also makes your hair wiry and harder to manage. So if you decide to embrace your gray hair, there are some changes you’ll need to make to your grooming routine to ensure your new silver mane looks its best:

1. Opt for a shorter haircut. If your hair is still thick, despite the fact it’s going gray, Thad says you still have a lot of options on how to cut and style it. “There are a lot of men with longer gray hair that look good.” (Paging Sam Elliott.) If you’re going to go longer with your gray mane, ask for a cut with more texture. A textured cut involves the barber cutting your hair at an angle which gives it some volume and movement compared to cutting your hair straight across.

While it’s possible to go long with gray hair, Thad likes to steer men with graying locks to cuts that are short on the sides and a little longer on the top (think Clooney). “I like to use clippers on the sides and the back and use some textured cuts on the top,” he said. “A short haircut lets you hide or blend the gray more compared to longer haircuts. Short gray hair is also easier to manage and style than long gray hair. Also, there’s something about a short haircut that takes the years off of a man’s face, so if you’re worried about gray hair making you look old, a shorter haircut can counteract that.”

2. Use a product with a bit of shine. As gray hair loses its natural shine (thanks to the lack of melanin), Thad recommends avoiding completely matte hair products when styling: “Matte products make your hair look a bit dull which is something you don’t want to do when you have gray hair because gray hair is already dull.”
Thad likes semi-matte hair products for gray hair, which have some shine, but not so much that it looks unnatural. A couple specific recommendations from Thad were Cardinal Atlas texturing clay and Firsthand Supply texturing clay.

One product that I’ve had success with on my gray hair is Mitch Construction Paste. It holds my hair without getting crunchy, has a bit, but not too much, shine, and includes conditioning ingredients to reduce some of the wiry-ness of my grays.

3. Don’t shampoo your hair as frequently. Thad told me that most men, including men with no gray hair, shampoo their hair way more than they need to. But shampooing your hair less frequently is even more important when you have gray hair. “Every time you shampoo your hair, you’re washing away your hair’s natural oils. You only need to shampoo your hair a few times a week. This is especially true for men with gray hair since gray hair is already naturally drier,” he said.

Instead of shampooing every time you shower, do it every other day or so.

4. Consider a hair oil. To tame the wirey-ness of your gray hair, try a hair oil, which softens and moisturizes the hair. If you’re having trouble with the coarseness of your gray hair, Thad recommends rubbing in a few drops after you shower.

5. Consider using shampoo and conditioner made especially for gray hair.Once a week use what’s called a “purple shampoo.” It’s called a purple shampoo because it’s, well, purple. They’re designed to make your gray hair look bright and vibrant rather than dull and yellow. Thad recommends talking to someone who specializes in hair color before you start using a “purple shampoo,” though, because while “They can help remove brassy tones from your hair over time . . . it’s possible to overdo it with these shampoos.”

If you reduce how often you shampoo, and use the right hair product and perhaps a hair oil, your gray hair will be in good shape, and you can confidently step into your maturity and enjoy your status as a silver fox.


This article from the blog Art of Manliness
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