Your relationship with your hair stylist is probably one of the most important ones in your life. They’ve listened to all your problems, talked you down from cutting bangs at least once or twice, and only silently judged you when you brought in a photo of a celebrity haircut that you just know will look good on you.
Now is the time that they need us. They need us to wait for them, they need us to pre-book and pre-pay for our next hair appointment, and they need us to not doing anything permanent to our hair without their approval.
We reached out to a few local salons and stylists to see what advice they are giving their clients to make the wait a little more bearable. We can do this, although those of us hiding gray hair will face the bigger challenge. But there are options, as we found out below.
Kenna Kunijo to offer tutorials and at home color kits
Co-owner Lauren Kunijo of Kenna Kunijo salon is launching a series of free tutorials with fun topics like “how to train your hair while you’re in quarantine“, “heatless hairstyles” (for those never ending zoom calls we all have), “how to- dry shampoo“, and even a few makeup tutorials. These are geared to keep clients learning and entertained so they are less likely to pick up those pesky kitchen scissors. The first video, How To Dry Shampoo, is up now.
Once you have gotten to the stage where you are bored playing with your hair and are starting to notice those pesky greys, or unwanted brassy tones, Kenna Kunijo is offering curbside color kits. These color kits are designed to give KK’s clients and future clients their custom formula and all the tools they need to apply or refresh your color at home. The salon will be adding videos to their YouTube channel to help you through the at home color process. Their custom toner kits are designed for those with blonde or balayage tresses to refresh their blonde with a fool proof formula and set of instructions. While the curbside tone kits may not pack quite the punch of the in salon services everyone is accustomed to, it should hold you over until the salon opens again.
8 The Salon
“While we will all suffer in some way being confined to our homes during this hopefully brief period, we still want to look good. And even though we have to socially distance ourselves from one another a serious amount of gray can be seen from 6 feet away! ”
Amy Troutman, 8 The Salon
To cover the grays, 8 The Salon loves the product Color WOW; it is makeup for your hair. Once your hair is styled and ready to go you apply Color WOW where the gray is showing. If you find this product is delayed in shipping due to high demand, Amy suggests try using a dark eye shadow that you have at home as this should work as well.
As with all the professionals we spoke to, Troutman recommends staying away from coloring yourself. However, if you just can’t get with the temporary fix for your gray roots, the only product she might suggest is “root touch up” sold over the counter (try at your own risk). It is a quick 10 min cover that will disguise the gray until you see your hair professional again. When choosing a shade she recommends picking something lighter than what your hair looks like. For example, if you’re dark brown get medium brown, a lighter band in the hair is easier for your stylist to fix after the hiatus than a dark one. (NOTE: this product is normally stocked at most drugstores, but is selling out fast, and is priced about $7 per application box. Be careful ordering on Amazon, we saw prices up to and over $20 per application).
Amy explains the highlighted hair gals have it a bit easier, as the rooty look is still very trendy, but offers up a few options from online: ANY spray hair powder will help soften the look of dark regrowth or try “Back to Blonde“ a powder that gives a little sparkle to especially dark hair. Again if you find these products hard to order online, Amy reminds us that the home remedy is baby powder, and to remember hair that is clean and has been blown dry always looks lighter.
Theory Salon
Magan Frers, owner of Theory Salon is also a fan of Color Wow powder. “It is a great get you through product, go lighter than you think, it’s strong.”
Little things like changing your part and adding volume can help hide the gray. Frers says that washing your hair less is definitely good as water releases the color molecule. while Color shampoos usually won’t do much to new growth but they can enhance the tone on previously colored or highlighted hair.
Magan’s final pro tip – “Wear a beautiful hat with lipstick.” – we hear you Magan!
Nove Wellness Salon
Stylist Chuck Kennedy of Nove Wellness Salon, is working with clients to order custom color and touch up kits to keep them fresh until appointments are available. He is using the DpHue line of products for color boosting glosses, highlighter hair sticks, and color fresh oil therapy. Chuck is also using and recommending online ordering of Hairstory products for color saving cleansers and conditioners. Kennedy is working with current and new clients through FaceTime appointments to offer color consults to cover grays, freshen up overall color and keep hair healthy.
Other online options to look for:
We found this color depositing shampoo in a shade that helps with highlights ~ Tressa Watercolors Maintenance color depositing shampoo in “Golden Mist” ~ should be priced about $28.00 per bottle. Several shades and options available from Tressa.
And here are links to articles on color depositing conditioners at various price levels.
- Elite Daily’s Picks for the 4 Best Color Depositing Conditioners~ https://www.elitedaily.com/p/the-4-best-color-depositing-conditioners-18756925
- StyleCraze picks on Color Depositing Conditioners~ .https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/best-color-depositing-conditioners/
When in doubt, remember, cute hats are always a good option!
