The best Christmas present I got was my fabulous hair colour, all thanks to the wonderful José Molino, at Neville Hair and Beauty. A year ago, it was a completely different story. I walked out of the hairdressers with too many ash blonde highlights in my hair. As I am a naturally a brunette, they made my skin look grey. Not a particularly flattering look in the winter, especially under electric light.
Blonde
A year later, José has reinvented me as what I describe as, a sun-kissed brunette. Blonde hair does stand out in a crowd, but some women look better darker and I am one of them.
Colour has to work not only with your cut, but with the colour of your eyes and skin tone. A few ash blonde highlights in my hair were fine as I have a neutral skin tone, but when I had too many in my hair the grey reflected on to my skin making me look ill. The next colourist made it orange streaked with yellow and the one after managed to turn it into what could only be described as mud tinged with red and green. Subtle it wasn’t.
When I met José he immediately wanted to make me a sandy brunette – a mixture of both – with the emphasis on gold lights rather than ashy. From the first time he did my hair it became light brown with oompf, I was delighted. It threw light on to my face and warmed up my complexion.
Sandy brunette
Walking from the salon, I instantly felt me. My whole demeanour changed. As a blonde, I always felt as if I was somebody else. I found it harder to buy clothes. Colours which I had previously loved didn’t work anymore. Did I get treated differently? I don’t think so. But, when I emerged as a brunette
I went into one shop and looked at a handbag which the assistant told me was far too old for me. A couple of friends also commented I looked younger as a brunette – probably, because my hair looks more natural and works better with my skin tone.
The rule of thumb is: the darker your natural colour, the more difficult it is to go blonde. If you are a medium brown, stay a brunette. If you have sallow skin steer away from blonde.
Due to the mess that my hair was in, José had his work cut out eliminating all the orange tones to get it perfect. It did take a few times to get it right but it has been well worth it. My golden brown locks look so natural that people don’t realise I colour them.
Due to the mess that my hair was in, José had his work cut out eliminating all the orange tones to get it perfect. It did take a few times to get it right but it has been well worth it. My golden brown locks look so natural that people don’t realise I colour them.
There are also benefits of having dark hair. It is glossier than fair hair. Deeper shades add dimension to your tresses making them look thicker. But, the greatest advantage being a brunette is that I need less make-up as my hair warms up my complexion. And that is a lot of time saved each morning!
By Daralyn Danns
By Daralyn Danns
Neville Hair and Beauty (nevillehairandbeauty.net)
