Ombre has ruled the hair world for quite some time, but it is finally receiving some competition in the newest highlighting technique from the City of Lights.
It’s called “Ecaille” in French, or “Tortoiseshell”, and it looks exactly how it sounds.
With tortoiseshell hair, as with the ever-beloved accessory, you have a richer, more dimensional color. Golden highlights are blended seamlessly with caramel lowlights to add warmth and gloss. Like Ombre, the trend embraces darker roots and lighter ends, making it a low-maintenance, healthier look (less frequent trips to your colorist); unlike ombre, Ecaille contains a mix of balayage highlights throughout for a more natural (less harshly graduated) color. Ombre was often just a tie-dye version of two basic colors. Ecaille is a chic scattering of rich multi-tones throughout your hair, with flattering lighter pieces framing your face (the fastest way to take years off).
“Ombré can feel solid, or colorblocked,” says Jack Howard, famous London-based colorist. “Think of this as ombré’s moodier sister. It’s just a fresh take.”
Some of the shades to incorporate are golden blonde, amber, honey, and darker caramel tones – but the technique varies per person. You can make this your own by going more “ashy” or more “caramel”, depending on your skin tone and preference.
When you go to the colorist, we suggest you bring photos. Some celebs who are ahead of the trend are Gisele, Khloe Kardashian, Blake Lively, Jessica Alba, Rose Huntington Whiteley; look for their most recent paparazzi snaps.
Because the technique is so new, be aware that you probably can’t ask for it by name. Describe what you want instead. Tell your colorist you want to darken the base color a bit and add in some gloss and a few darker pieces. Tell them you want a gently graduated balayage with lighter ends and face framing highlights, and you want to blend it more to the roots than a typical ombre, by using more tones and adding softer pieces around the rest of your head.
Forget Ecaille. What is Balayage?
Balayage, which is also called “hair painting,†creates the most natural-looking results because the colorist paints on the highlights by hand, and can scatter them throughout your hair in a more truly “sunkissed†and haphazard pattern. Most stylists using foils work row by row, which can make the highlight pattern look linear and grid-like, and the demarcation at the roots [when it grows out] looks like a straight line.. With balayage the highlights are hand painted so the resulting pattern can look more natural.
“Ask for various tones, deeper at the roots and lighter at the ends,†says Hollywood colorist George Papanikolas, to Fox News.
He emphasizes however that you must communicate very clearly that while you’re looking for some “gradation”, you’re not looking for ombre. That is so 2014.
You might want to schedule a consult some days before your actual appointment. If your stylist is good, he/she will likely use the time in between to research the trend and will be more prepared to go to it. Also, know that depending on how much color your hair already has, you may need two or more appointments to achieve this look perfectly.
