Summer is a great time to try hit refresh on your hair colour. They say change is as good as a holiday and we couldn’t agree more. We spoke to session styling experts and colour specialists at Kirkwood Robertson to make sure you’re more babelicious than frizzbomb.
Image via Christopher Campbell
RESCU: What’s your recommended game plan for summer hair refresh?
Robertson Kirkwood: If you have any regrowth, now’s the time to get that sorted. I recommend retouching regrowth and to refresh any existing lightness through the ends rather than a whole new colour. The new trend is to also create some face framing lightness at the front as well, to open up the face and get a nice and fresh halo for summer!
RESCU: What do you think is the worst mistake people make when it comes to getting their hair coloured ahead of holidays?
RK: Colours that are too bright and colourful don’t have the longevity in summer. So, if your swimming and having excessive styling, if you’re going to events where your putting a lot of heated appliances and damange on your hair, that can cause colour to fade. I think that the best thing for summer is to go more effortless with colour. You can still have creative toning but you have to think of the practicality. Having a nice pastel pink won’t last 3 swims in the ocean.
RESCU: In terms of brightening, everyone obviously goes to a bright colour, that’s the go-to shade spectrum for summer. How can you keep your blonde/ blonde highlights looking fresh, even if you are having regular exposure to chlorine and salt water?
RK: The best investment is a shampoo that cleanses the hair of salt water and chlorine.
RESCU: Salt water too?
RK: Yes. We have our Aveda Sun Care Range, it’s actually a hair and body cleanser that removes salt water and chlorine from the hair. It also removes excess oil. So that’s a good start. A Shampoo and Conditioner with an anti-oxidant repels the oxygen from coming back into the hair, which creates brassiness. So using that and making sure you drench your hair in treatments is a good idea. Keeping the moisture in the hair, as colour likes to hold onto moisture, is important. So make sure your hair doesn’t get dry and brittle. Then the colour will come out faster as well.
RESCU: What about blondes? Do they need to take extra steps?
RK: For blondes, definitely using protein-based treatments to help keep the strength and structure of your hair. The Aveda treatment uses Quinoa protein. It’s a natural protein, if you use a synthetic protein and put too much in the hair it can start to make it brittle. With natural protein you can use it as often as you like.
RESCU: Tell us about getting that really lovely beach wavy look. How can you do that without putting salt sprays in your hair?
RK: When blow drying your hair you can actually twist the strands. So instead of doing a big round curl by leaving the brushes in you can just twist it so you are creating ropey pieces through the hair.
Once you’ve done the whole head you can brush it out or pull it out using your fingers to get that beachy look using a dry shampoo or a texture powder.
Another alternative would be doing some nice big plaits in the hair before going to bed. You will wake up and get a similar kind of texture. I would just be conscious of not making the plaits too tight. The tighter you make them the more crimpy it looks. You want to just do plaits in two big sections on either side. When you take them out I would use a little bit of product to hold the look.
Rory Calasse is a stylist at Robertson Kirkwood Salon in Rozelle
595 Darling St, Rozelle NSW 2039