Celebrity colourist Paul Bingham, from Lockonego answers your questions on how to achieve youthful hair colour at any age.
1.) How do I choose the right hair colour for my colouring and features? How will I know it will be suitable for my age?
Choosing the right hair colour is not as easy as you would think but there are some do's and dont's to abide by which are pretty obvious when you think about them. For instance, very dark hair should not be turned blonde, not only because dark lashes and brows look terrible in contrast but because the hair will be stripped of any nutrients and will be inclined to break apart. Your hair could end up looking and feeling like straw and will literally need to grow through for all the natural nutrients which give shine and condition to be replaced.
When choosing your hair colour don't ignore your natural tone, work with it and be age-relevant. The more mature you are the richer your colour should be, as we lose the colour in our complexion as we age. Try not to go for block colours which are very hard on the face and can age you drastically.
You can soften colours around the face with fine, subtle low-lights to give a youthful freshness to your look.
For younger skins, take the tone of the skin into account. It's all about complimenting the skin tone rather than working against it.
2.) How do I choose the right formula for my hair (e.g. permanent, semi-permanent, 10-minute colour, or ammonia free)?
It is very rare that a hairdresser will opt for a permanent colour rather than a semi-permanent or a colour wash for example. The latter are less harsh on the hair and of course a good hairdresser will be concerned not only about the finished look but conserving the health of the hair. Ammonia free colours aren't as effective as those with ammonia, the colour doesn't last and to be honest the amount of ammonia in colorants isn't really the issue it's how long you leave it on for i.e. how much you are lifting the hair colour. Semi-permanents are great because they don't strip the hair so much and you can get really rich, multi-dimensional colours that are less 'flat' than some permanent colours. Colour washes are great to freshen up colour in-between treatments and give an amazing burst of shine to reawaken the hair.
3.) How do I correct my hair colour if it goes wrong or I don't like it?
If you have attempted to colour your hair and it's gone wrong I would suggest seeing a professional. What you don't want to do is try and cover it with more colour and potentially make it worse. There are lots of different formulas on the market and it is not recommended to use different formulas over the top of each other - you never know what reaction can take place. When using home products, you must follow the instructions carefully and don't ever skip the test patch. Even if you have a favourite colour or product I would always do a test patch because you never know whether the formula has been altered since you last used it.
To book an appointment with Paul Bingham at Lockonego, call: 020 7795 1798 or click here to email the salon.
