Celebs Prove Ombre Hair is More than A Trend

If you jumped on the ombre bandwagon last year and are ready for the next best thing, you may want to consider hanging tight.  Last week I met with David Stanko, Redken's Haircolor Consultant, to freshen up my color for fall and according to him, ombre is here to stay. In case you're not familiar, ombre means shading and with hair color its typically darker roots that fade into lighter ends (light the celebs hair color in the photo above).  "The truth is, no matter how over ombre I am, none of my clients are," Stanko commented. Remember back when Drew Barrymore stepped out on the red carpet rocking intense ombre?  That was a nightmare, but ombre was born.  Since then, the look has definitely softened and become more gradual. We now have celebs like Jessica Biel, Mila Kunis and Alexa Chung to thank for keeping the trend alive over a year later.

Ombre style has also found its way into makeup trends and nail art. Chanel uses the concept of ombre to sell their latest cream based shadows and the Sephora nail art bar offers ombre effects as a new twist on a French manicure.

Redken Reader Makeover: From Sorority to Society

Inspired by Cameron Diaz's hair color on the August cover of Harper's Bazaar, BeautySweetSpot reader, Adrienne, underwent a makeover with Redken Color Consultant, David Stanko at the Angelo David Salon in NYC. "The Fall 2010 blonde will be a California blonde with the base a shade darker to give some dimension to the look," remarked Tracey Cunningham, who transformed Cameron Diaz.

When David met Adrienne and her "washed out" blonde hair he spoke with her about her likes and dislikes of Cameron's color and inspected her locks like a doctor.  His diagnosis – it was fine in texture, below average in abundance, she uses retail hair color and suffers from sun and chlorine damage, which lead to porous hair.

Shape & Prep

Before getting into color, David did a rough cut to rid Adrienne's dead ends in order to achieve a successful color story.  "Because the ends are the oldest and most pores, they will either soak up the most color or reject it," he commented.  Then, he used Redken Chemistry with shots of extreme and protect, which is a treatment made up of ceramides and proteins that fill in gaps in the hair's structure, leaving it smooth and shiny.

Color

Since Adrienne's hair was already in a fragile state, David used extra TLC when coloring and instead of darkening her whole head and then re-highlighting, he saved some of her light blonde hair color, keeping strands as highlights and worked around them.

First, he wrapped about 15 strands in foil using Redken Shade EQ 000 Crystal Clear to provide extra shine (like a top coat for your nails).  While those pieces were being preserved and perfected, David poured a glaze made up of shades EQ 09AA Papaya and 09G Vanilla Cream (the same shades used on Cameron Diaz) over the remaining hair to add tone and deepen the blonde.

End Result

After shaping her ends and blowing out her locks Adrienne looked like a true Upper East Sider.  "I just took you from sorority to society," David exclaimed.  I couldn't have said it better myself.

If you're thinking of going blonde for fall, go for it.  It's all about the shade and how you place it.  If you want to try Adrienne's blonde (the new Cameron), visit a Redken salon near you.