Back to Your Roots

Choosing Color
Tackling a hair trend that emphasizes your natural hair color can sound like a safe bet when choosing to make a change this season, but it requires just as much thought as a major color enhancement.

The first step is to find a stylist you are familiar with and trust. After all, your head is in their hands. “It’s important to go to a person that’s going to be honest with you. You wouldn’t go shopping with someone who would lie to you and say you’d look good in those jeans,” says Schmidt-Schwab. “People just want to be able to trust whoever is coloring their hair and looking out for their best interests.”

Doing a little homework is a good idea as well. Flipping through magazines to find photos of the color you’re looking for and bringing them to your stylist creates a jumping off point for a color consultation. For Brian Graham, owner of Brian Graham Salon in Minneapolis, this helps him visualize what direction his client is headed. “It’s helpful to get an idea of what sort of color a client has in mind, because red can mean different things to different people,” he says. “We keep books in the salon so clients can see models in all shades of color.”

Taking stock of your own style is also important, since you, not a model, will be sporting the shade for at least a month. That means assessing everything from what type of clothes you wear (are you more casual or dressy?) to what kind of upkeep you can handle (a lighter color means less obvious re-growth, while a darker color means more trips to the salon for touch-ups) to the basics of your skin tone.

“If your skin leans more toward the cooler side, stick with cooler blondes and cooler reds,” says Terry Varty, creative director at Progressions Salon at the Mall of America in Bloomington. “A merlot color is a cooler red and ash-blonde would be cooler blonde. If your skin tone is warmer, you would go with a more auburn-red or an orange-based red and with honey-blonde or something that has more of a golden tone to it.”

DIY Upkeep
So you made it to the salon, got the latest look in hair color, and now you’re on your way out the door. In theory, your part in the coloring process is over.

Not according to the stylists. While getting the color on your hair is half the battle, maintaining it between appointments is just as important, and it starts in the shower.

John Skinner, artistic director at Juut Salonspa in Palo Alto, California, has his own mantra when it comes to maintenance. “Hair is a fine washable,” he says. “Don’t wash it in hot and don’t wash it a lot. If, while showering, your bathroom starts to look like a dim sum restaurant, you’re boiling your hair.”

Marilyn Aase, education and sales director at Simonson’s Salon and Day Spa (which has locations in Anoka, Elk River, Maple Grove, and Plymouth), agrees. “When you use hot water,” she says, “you open the hair cuticle, and that exposes it to oxygen, which causes oxidation like a penny turning green. That tarnishes your hair and makes it look dull.”

Just as important as temperate water is the use of products specifically designed to pamper color-treated hair. “Colored hair definitely needs a color-safe shampoo and conditioner to stay fresh,” Varty says. “It’s equally as important to have a weekly reconstructive treatment for moisture and protein, because the healthier your hair is the longer your color is going to stay.”

And much like your skin, hair is sensitive to UV rays from the sun that can easily turn reds brassy and blondes bleachy. Most stylists recommend wearing a hat or staying out of the sun altogether. But come on, this is Minnesota—with only a few sun-soaked months a year, staying inside for the sake of hair color can be a tough pill to swallow. Luckily, plenty of products are taking a cue from sunscreens and adding UV protection, so it’s easy to find a leave-in conditioner that will protect your hair from fading and dulling.