Blondes, stand aside! It is time for the brunettes to take their place in the limelight. The last few years have seen an increase in the number of leading ladies stepping out with shiny, dark, coiffed hair. Some of these phenomenal leading ladies are naturally dark haired already, while some are actually more fair.
Now, some of you reading this may think that brown sounds rather drab and dull. But think about it for a minute, some of the best things in life are brown: caramel, chocolate, fudge, mahogany, coconuts from which you sip a fruity drink while lying on a beach. Don’t be too quick to think brown is boring. Aside from Wilde, Anne Hathaway is a well-known brunette, as are Daisy Ridley, Emma Watson, Keira Knightley, Audrey Hepburn, and Julie Andrews. Just let that stir around your mind for a moment. Brown can be incredibly versatile, especially when you consider adding caramel or honey overtones or darker brown undertones or even a little bit of red to give a glorious auburn sheen to your gorgeous mane.
Well now I’ve convinced you that you need to look like Hermione Granger or Elizabeth Swann (because who doesn’t love those two?), how can you decide which shade of brown you need to use? This is a critical step. If you go too dark you may look pale and sickly, or conversely, if you go too light people may see you and start to think “vampire” as your face may appear a little washed out. It’s important the shade of brown you choose compliments your skin tone. It’s also good to think about what sort of undertone you’d like as well.
Do you want your hair to seem a little lighter, or a little darker? Are you ready to channel your inner Belle and go with a lovely, medium brown? Or maybe your favourite lady is actually Pocahontas and you want to be able to dance through the forest while letting your mane be free with all the colours of the wind. Whoever you decide you want to look like, it is super helpful to talk with a specialist. Get a few photos of your favourite ladies, take them on in to one of our expert stylists at Michelle Louise and she or he will be be able to determine what shade is closest to your idol, and works best with your skin tone.
You can, of course, get a general idea before you head out the door; it’s always good to know where you would like to go, otherwise, who knows where you might end up? Take a few minutes and try out a few quizzes to determine your skin tone and what is realistically possible. Borrowed from an amazing piece on skin tone from Bustle News: “The general rule of thumbs is that fairer tones should go warm, medium tones should stay neutral, and darker tones should remain cool.” Of course, your hairstylist will best be able to say for sure which way will be best for you. Some examples to think about: Kerry Washington or Zoe Saldana have very dark skin tones. So they, ideally would stick to cooler browns such as cocoa or caramel, or maybe get adventurous and try a dye with violet undertones! Jennifer Lopez has somewhat warmer skin than these two ladies and so anything in a more neutral shade and included gold stylings would be ideal. And if you have rather fair skin, think Rapunzel, or Amy Adams, you will be sure to look stunning with a lighter brown glow.
So now that I have had you thinking about what shade you would like this time, go do your homework on what flavour you’d like to try. Are you feeling exceptionally mysterious? How about trying out a nice dark coffee with some caramel drizzles? Or perhaps you are leaning more toward a nice milky chocolate with shaved cocoa sprinkled on top? Pick your poison.
Then, once you have selected your new must have shade, or have even found one of the many aforementioned A-List ladies’ photos you wish to emulate, take this to your stylist! Our stylists got into their jobs because they love to help people look their very best. And of course, a happy customer is a forever customer so they will do everything they can to give you the absolute greatest new colouring of your life.