Ombre is one of the most popular coloring techniques over the past five years. Even a beginner can cope with this staining: if you know some of the secrets of craftsmanship, then you can even do it at home. Ombre on shoulder-length hair is also possible to perform beautifully and stylishly. However, it is not always possible for an inexperienced person in hairdressing to do this the first time. The article provides tips on choosing a dye and ombre technique for shoulder-length dark hair.
The difference between ombre and highlights
Initially, coloring in the highlighting style was popular, that is, they lightened and then tinted individual strands (in more or less quantity, depending on the client's desire) from roots to ends. After two or three months, the hair roots grew back - the result was a rather untidy look,I had to do a new procedure or paint over the entire sheet of hair in a natural shade. With such frequent exposure to dyes, of course, the condition of the hair left much to be desired.
Over the past five years, ombre coloring (for shoulder-length or long hair does not matter, as well as the density of hair) has broken all records of popularity. Highlighting in its classical sense is now done very rarely. The difference between ombre and highlighting is as follows:
- The roots of the hair remain in their native shade, if the client wishes, they can be tinted in a darker color. The distance from the roots of the hair to the beginning of the transition to a lighter color is about 15-25 cm - at the discretion of the master or at the request of the client.
- The ends of the hair are lightened and then tinted to the desired color (again, the number and distance of the ends of the hair that are lightened varies - from a few to 15-30 cm).
- Tips can be lightened completely or it can be only selected strands.
- A smooth transition from dark to lightened hair color is very important - ombre for shoulder-length hair or long hair implies the softest, most blurry gradation, there should not be clear and symmetrical lines when moving from one color to another. When doing it yourself at home, this is the most common mistake.
Ombre on shoulder length dark hair
If your hair is naturally dark enough, then doing an ombre can be more time consuming. Naturally blond hair is lightened very easily the first time, and sometimes you can evenjust use a tinted dye with a high oxidizing agent - and do without clarification with powder or cream paint.
But dark hair almost always has to be lightened in two stages, only after that you can achieve a beautiful light shade. In addition, after this procedure, be sure to protonate the clarified ends of the hair.
Ombre on shoulder-length black hair is quite possible to do at home, on your own. But you need to stock up on lightening paint and patience: you may have to apply it two or three times until the hair is lightened to the desired level of tone depth.
When black hair is lightened for the first time, hair tends to take on a patchy reddish, rusty hue that looks completely unattractive. You should immediately apply another portion of the clarifier, after half an hour evaluate the result and, if necessary, apply the clarifying mixture a third time. Then tone the ends of the hair in pearl, ash, golden or any other desired shade.
Ombre on blonde or previously blonde hair
In case the hair has already been pre-lightened throughout the entire canvas, or is naturally light, it is much easier to perform an ombre on shoulder-length hair (the photo of the result is presented in the article). As a rule, lightening of light brown hair is much faster, while the hair is less traumatized, as a result of which the hairstyle looks stylish in the end and does not require the use of any restorative care products.
If the hair has alreadysubjected to blonding, then the tips as a result of performing an ombre on shoulder-length hair may suffer. Frequent lightening is a very traumatic process for the hair cuticle. As a result, either the selection of expensive high-quality care, or a haircut to get rid of split ends and damaged areas.
Is it always necessary to pre-lighten the tips
Pre-clarification is required only once. After it, you should only tint your hair from time to time. As a rule, tinting (pearl, ash, golden or any other shade) is washed out after about a month and a half.
If the hair is blond, then you can lighten it with a powder or cream, pre-mixed to a uniform consistency with an oxidizing agent of 3%. This is quite enough to turn the hair of the 7th level of tone depth into 10 (that is, to achieve complete lightening of the pigment). Then, to add shine and a luxurious shade, the clarified tips should be protonated - you get a professional ombre. Hair below the shoulders or shoulder length is the best material for this kind of coloring. At the same time, the density of the hair does not really matter.
Ombre with bright hair ends
Another popular trend is ombre for shoulder-length short hair, while the tips not only lighten, but tint in bright, extreme colors. The most fashionable - red, red, blue. some women of fashion tint the ends of their hair green, sometimes they even do an unusual look on their hairleopard or tiger print. This technique requires special knowledge, and it is quite difficult to perform it at home.
But it is possible to tone the ends of the hair after lightening in bright red or blue even at home using the usual Tonic tint balm. It is cheap (a bottle is about 80 rubles) and after about a month it is washed off completely, after which it is already possible to choose any other shade that fantasy allows.
Ombre on shoulder length straight hair
On shoulder-length straight hair, this coloring technique looks just as stylish as on wavy ones. It doesn't matter if the hair is naturally straight or the girl regularly straightens it with a flat iron.
It should be remembered that when performing an ombre on your own on straight hair, you should achieve the smoothest transition of shade. In hairdressing salons, there is one secret for this: before applying the dye, the master makes a pile in the place where the line of transition from one color to another is supposed to pass. The bouffant allows you to create a smooth, implicit transition, as the dye lays down unevenly. Ombre on shoulder-length dark hair (a photo of this dyeing technique is presented below) is also performed using a pile. It doesn’t matter how dark the hair is, for a smooth transition to a light shade, using the bouffant technique is very convenient. We can say that this is a guarantee of the absence of a clear transition after the staining procedure.
Best styling forombre coloring
The most advantageous ombre looks in the following cases:
- large-sized curls (can be done using a special large-diameter curling iron);
- waves you can create by simply applying volumizing mousse to slightly dried hair;
- straight hair - whether it's naturally straight or flat ironed.
In braids or a ponytail, the ombre does not look very advantageous - it is difficult to assess the complexity and quality of performance. Ombre on shoulder-length hair with bangs also does not look very good: the bangs should either be carefully profiled and stylishly styled, or organically fit into the overall style. If this is a regular straight bang, taken deep from the center of the head, then the overall appearance of such a hairstyle will leave much to be desired.
Is it difficult to make an ombre on your own
No, every girl who is at least a little familiar with the basics of color and hairdressing will be able to perform an ombre on shoulder-length blond hair. Here is a simple algorithm that will allow you to understand how to make ombre staining step by step:
- Prepare in advance the mixture for clarification, tinting dye, oxidizing agent for it, gloves for application, foil - if only the tips of individual strands are tinted, a bowl and a brush for applying the dye.
- Determine the distance from which the hair will be bleached. Make a light pile on the intended border of the transition from a dark tone to a lighter one.
- Apply bleach first, withnecessary (if the hair does not brighten enough) - repeat.
- After the tips have lightened to the desired depth of the tone level, apply a tinting dye.
- After 30-50 minutes (check the dye instructions for the exact time) minutes, rinse off the composition, apply a mask to the tips and rinse it off after 10 minutes, then apply a restorative oil, thermal protection and perform the usual styling.
The most common beginner mistakes
As a rule, an unsuccessful result at home is obtained for the following reasons:
- Lack of bouffant, as a result - too sharp transition from one color to another.
- Using too high an oxidizing agent, causing irreparable damage to the hair structure.
- Lack of proper care after bleaching - as a result, the hair splits and the hairstyle looks untidy.
Why do you need tip tinting and how to do it yourself
Toning is the very procedure that achieves a beautiful and noble color of the tips after lightening, without which the ombre technique is almost never feasible.
The lightening background (the color that is obtained immediately after bleaching the hair) is rarely beautiful - yellowness and slight redness are the norm with such a procedure. But toning allows you to remove this yellowness and give the strands a truly luxurious shade.
List of dyes fortoning tips in ashy and cold tones
The most popular dyes with which you can protonate discolored tips in an ashy cold shade:
- Garnier Color Naturals, 113.
- Londa Color, No. 7.1.
- Matrix Socolor, beauty No. 7A.
Dyes that allow you to achieve a darker cold ash shade (blond ash color):
- Matrix Socolor, No. 6A.
- Londa Professional, No. 6.1.
- Wellaton, No. 6.1.
Ombre does not always mean that the tips will be highlighted as much as possible. For example, girls with black hair are often deliberately unwilling to expose the ends to maximum lightening in order to maintain he althy hair along the entire length. They often choose darker colors for tinting for subsequent tinting. for example, dyes at 10-9-8 tone depth simply will not work if the hair is not lightened enough. This is where light brown cold shades come to the rescue.
List of dyes for tinting tips in golden and copper tones
Ombre clients do not always want to see the ends of their hair ashy. For example, girls with green or blue eyes are very suited to golden or copper tones. To tone discolored tips, you can use the following dyes:
- "Estelle Essex" or "Deluxe" - 10.3, 10.4, 9.34.
- "Capus Professional" - 10.34, 9.34.
Among the dyes "Garnier" and "Palette", which are characterized by a relatively lowprice and high quality, you can choose from the following shades:
- Color & Gloss: 5-5 Bright Walnut, 7-5 Sweet Walnut, 8-5 Honey Glaze.
- Palette: H8 Honey Blonde, H6 Honey Chestnut, W6 Golden Muscat, W5 Golden Roast.
- DELUXE: 204 Almond Gold Glitter, 230 White Gold, 455 Cinnamon Gold Glitter.
- "Phytoline": 460 Golden Blonde.
Follow-up hair care after performing ombre
Don't underestimate post-procedure hair care. It is he who provides the luxurious appearance of the hair, their shine and splendor. It doesn’t matter if the procedure was performed on medium-length or very short hair, competent care will have to be used in any case. If you just wash your hair with shampoo, then the tinting will “peel off” very quickly, and the strands will lose their shine and look untidy. So, you will have to stock up on the following care products:
- thermal protection in the form of a spray or cream - necessary to protect the hair structure from damage when straightening with an iron or curling iron;
- nourishing masks to be used after shampooing, apply the mask along the entire length of the hair, retreating from the tips about 3-4 cm;
- leave-in concentrate or conditioner - usually available as an oil or spray, makes hair smooth, shiny, manageable and easy to style;
- protein concentrates (for example, from "Matrix") - "heavy artillery" for the condition of the hair, allow you to fill the hollow sections of the hair cuticle even insevere damage.
