Hair Color Trends : Ombre , Ecaille and Streaks

Ombre has been a hot favourite over the last year or two, and clients continue to walk in asking for an ombre color job on their hair. For this spring/summer season, I’ve put some trends together for variations of the typical ombre, which you should consider if you want to go for a change in your look.

Ecaille Tortoiseshell :

This one is also known as ‘tortoiseshell’, because it involves the colors you see on a tortoise shell: golden blonde, chestnut, mahogany, chocolate, honey and other sunny tones. For 2015, ecaille has been forecast to play the role ombre played in 2014, as it is more of a softer and warmer form of ombre that consolidates caramel and golden brown tones. You see balayage through the mid-sections in alternating tones, and then lightness, usually in the form of golden tones or deep-honey shades, at the front towards the face, which helps to brighten the eyes. It’s a richer, more luxurious feeling than ombré.

Tips and tricks to get the most out of Ecaille:
1. As this colour is just starting to create a hype, make sure you take a picture along with you for reference to get the right look.
2. Make sure your colourist is not mixing up “Ecaille” with “Streaks”.
3. Keep your skin tone in mind, e.g; if you are pale or fair, honey or golden tones will add energy to your skin tone. If you are olive or tan, opt for more of a chestnut or mahogany to make your complexion bloom.
4. If you love your natural hair colour, then ecaille is the best option for you. Just ask your colourist to go for a darker tone starting at the crown of your head to the sides and 2 to 3 shades lighter around your face, keeping your natural colour in the mid section of your head and just naturally blending the colours from the ends to the roots.
5. To make yourself look younger, choose a tint and a shade of the same colour and ask your colourist to blend them in your hair, spacing not more than half an inch.

Strong Streaks:

While Ecaille gives you a softer look, strong streaks give you a bolder look which mostly, younger individuals tend to go for.

Tips and tricks for perfecting strong streaks:
1. Keep your face shape and skin tone in mind. If you have a broad face, opt for a darker tone for the front strands and if you have a slimmer face, opt for a lighter tone around your face. This way you can balance out your face shape with the shade you go for.
2. Always go for a bit more colour around your face so that it frames your face shape and makes your look stand out. Just remember not to choose a colour that is similar to your skin tone because that will make you look washed out.
3. Choose only two colours for this look or three, maximum. Make sure they are from the same family, because you don’t want your hair to look like a rainbow when you go in the sun.
4. Always ask your colourist to blend in both of the colours together properly into your strands so that it doesn’t look like straight lines of two different shades running through your hair.
5. Keep the tint lighter at the tips and darker at the roots. Similar to ombre, but  more subtle. You want the colour to  smoothly blend with all of your hair – not only the tips.

Babylights :

Babylights are a combination of highlights, lowlights and ombre, and take inspiration from what little girls’ hair looks like. It’s a very fresh and natural look with fine highlights at the roots, brighter highlights around the face with lighter ends.

Tips and tricks for babylights:
1. Following your skin tone, choose a lighter colour if you’re pale or white as it will give a crisper look. If you are tan or olive, go for darker colours to brighten your look.
2. Choose two tints (only one shade lighter or darker from the other) of the same colour to get this look.
3. Make sure they get blended in well together, making it look like one colour but giving two shades under light.

Which one’s on your list ? I think Babylights seem best for the less adventurous, but go ahead, let’s take the plunge. 🙂