Back to My Roots - Ombre Hair
Back in November, I bit the bullet and covered my ombre & balayage hair with dark cherry red. Though it was fun for a while, I didn't realize the intense upkeep needed to keep red hair bright and vibrant. So it faded very quickly and I was left with a toned-down and reddish version of my balayage and ombre highlights...which was okay for a while.
It lasted several months, until I decided it was time to freshen things up and go back to my dark roots. In a way, I went back to the ombre look I originally had done when I first started coloring my hair, but we did it "backwards". Instead of coloring the ends of my hair, my hairstylist matched my natural haircolor and then painted the dark color from the roots down about 1/3 of of the way down my hair and blended it into my already light ends.
I love the result--and when I look in the mirror now, it's funny how much more like "ME" it seems. I guess I'll always be a dark-haired girl at my core.
5 comments so far:
Gemma said:
Andrea, I just want to say how jealous I am with the length of your beautiful hair!
The ombre style is so lovely. I'm going to try and grow my hear so that it looks like yours.
Suzanne said:
I wanted to ask what styling product you use in your hair when you wear it naturally curly. My hair has about the same texture of curl as yours (which always seems very hard for me to find someone who has the same "type" of curl as my own hair) and I have such a hard time finding styling products that will retain and enhance the natural curl without leaving me with a head full of frizz by the end of the day :). Just wanted to see what you use.
Thanks
Andrea said:
You can read about my "curly" process here:
http://www.andreasteed.com/node/1296
I try to update that post fairly frequently with product names and detailed descriptions of what I do. If you scroll down to the bottom, you can see what I currently use. Good luck! Hope you're able to find something you like!
Kristin said:
Your hair is SO pretty! I actually read your post years ago about the Curly girl method, when I also was trying that out. I have not had a lot of success on that method, for about 5 years I've still been struggling with growing out my hair. I have gone off and on it for awhile, sometimes straighten my hair etc etc... I get so much breakage in the back section. I have recently discovered that Im low porosity and protein sensitive so hoping that knowledge and adjusting my hair products will help me with the growth. Do you have any tips on growing out your hair? The hardest part for me is I can not wear my hair down because the back middle is so much shorter than the sides. It just look strange, so I don't know if pulling it up is causing breakage.
Your hair is so much longer now then it was back then and looks so healthy and great! (you have my goal hair!) Do you get trims frequently? Thank you for any advice you can give me!!
Andrea said:
Kristin,
Thank you so much for your compliments. :) I'm probably a terrible example of what how to take care of your hair...other than laziness! Since it got past my shoulders, I only get it trimmed about every 6 months or so (usually when I get it colored). It generally keeps the same shape, and though the very ends can get kind of dry, overall, it does okay for that long, so that she only has to trim a 1/2 inch or so. That's been the case since I started that "curly girl" method about 5 years ago. So, it's taken that long for it to grow to where it is now.
I'd guess that the twist braid that I wear so often probably has helped keep it from having a lot of breakage from ponytail holders, since it's a looser, gentler way to pull it back, and then the ponytail holders are only at the very tips of my hair. I even wear it like that when I work out sometimes (or two braids).
http://www.andreasteed.com/node/1871
I rarely blow-dry, straighten or curl it anymore (maybe once every two weeks) since I wear it curly and let it air dry most days, which has surely cut-down on the damage done to my hair on a weekly basis.
I also think a leave-in conditioner probably helps keep it looking shiny and a little softer. I use Infusium-23.
Good luck! I hope you're able to figure out something that works for you. That grow-out stage is so hard and takes so long (and probably why I've been hesitant to cut mine short anytime soon!).
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