Hair colour trends come and go. Some stay a little longer and are timeless, flattering on many skin tones, bold yet not too dramatic. Versatility is a great component for hair colour to leave an impact past its trend cycle. We are talking about ash brown hair colour, which is sophisticated and bold with a touch of modern-ness. Icons, from celebrities to famous personalities, have rocked this hair colour, introducing it as a modern hairstyle, slowly but surely increasing its popularity among many hair enthusiasts.
Before jumping feet first on this trend, it’s handy to know a thing or two about ash brown hair colour. This blog is going to be all hair talk – from what this new hair colour in town is to choosing the perfect shade for your skin tone, the process of colouring, and maintenance. Let’s dive right in!
What Exactly Is Ash Brown Hair Colour?
Ash brown is a hair colour that offers a cool-toned mix of brown with grey and silver undertones. Unlike warmer colours of reds like caramel brown or chestnut brown, ash brown has a muted grey tone, giving a pleasant coolness to your hair. It also neutralises any natural warm tones in your hair, giving a luscious hush look. Ash brown hair colour is an excellent option because it is customisable with highlights, ombre, or full colour. You can customise the colour to complement your skin tone as it appeals to various skin tones.
Ash brown hair colour is a relatively low maintenance hair colour; however, it goes without saying maintenance is mandatory to keep the state of hair healthy and refreshed. This is a good choice for an everyday look while still being a little daring. It is a timeless hairstyle that is versatile and very much on trend right now.
How to Choose the Perfect Ash Brown Shade for Your Skin Tone
Identifying Your Skin Tone
Finding the right tone of ash brown hair colour involves knowing your skin’s undertone. So, let’s figure out if you have warm or cool undertones. With warm undertones, your skin is tan, golden or olive. You also have red and orange undertones in your hair (you can see this if you lighten your hair). You are likely to have green veins on your wrist. Additionally, gold jewellery is your forte and looks great with your skin. With cool undertones, your skin is pink or pale with blue tones underneath. Veins on your wrist are likely to be blue or purple, and silver jewellery and pearls look amazing on you. If you can’t decide between any of the above-mentioned traits, meaning your veins are both greenish blue, you are probably neutral-toned. Lucky you, you can pull of almost any hair colour!
Matching Ash Brown Shades to Skin Tones
Ash brown hair colour can have cool undertones that lean more towards platinum and brown with prominent silver and grey colours. This is a suitable option to go for if your skin also has cool undertones. With that being said, that doesn’t mean you cannot colour your hair ash brown if you have warm undertones. You can ask your hairstylist to warm up the ash brown with highlights, balayage and ombre. Warmer shades of ash brown hair colour lean towards copper and caramel colours.
Considering Hair Type and Natural Colour
Your natural hair type and colour will determine the process of colouring. For naturally lighter hair colours, ash brown can be achieved without much lighting. This is helpful for keeping your hair healthy and free from harsh chemicals in lighting products. For much darker hair colours like black and dark black, your hairstylist might need to do some pre-lightening to lift your hair up a few levels.
Hair type, though, matters how much treatment your hair requires. For example, if you have thicker and coarse hair, you might need intensive colouring, whereas if you have thin and fine hair colouring won’t be too intensive and time-consuming.
How to Achieve the Perfect Ash Brown Hair Colour.
Professional vs. DIY Hair Colouring
We get it; salon visits are expensive, and at-home colouring is faster and obviously cheaper. But this also depends on the kind of result you are looking for. Professional colouring results in precise treatments such as balayage, highlights and ombre. Obviously, you cannot achieve that at home. If you have dark hair, you may need to lighten it, too, which requires careful lightening and toning afterwards. Also, it is a challenge to do at home. So, we recommend consulting a professional, which is the way to go.
However, if you are not aiming for drastic changes but still want an at-home makeover for your hair, you can go for full-colour hair. But always remember to pick the right shade for you and be extra cautious with application. And don’t forget gloves!
The Colouring Process: Step-by-Step
The process of colouring consists of several steps to ensure a proper job is done.
Pre-colour treatment: This starts with analysing your natural hair colour and hair type. If your natural hair is black or dark black, you may need lightening according to the type of ash brown tone needed. If bleach is used, it is important to use protectants against damage.
Choosing the right ash brown hair colour: Depending on your skin tone, the hairstylist will go with a warmer/cooler ash brown. They may sometimes make a custom shade as well.
Application of colour: Your hair is sectioned into parts for even application. Toning is done after bleach to eliminate brassiness in hair. Then, the colour application begins.
How to Maintain Ash Brown Hair Colour
Best Practices for Longevity
Post-colour care is just as important as receiving a good hair colour treatment. Therefore, it is key to follow a proper hair care routine for your new hair to fully shine. Opt for sulphate-free and colour-safe shampoos to prevent the colour from fading too fast. Incorporate a colour-safe hair mask into your routine. Limiting heat styling is also good practice to keep your ash brown hair colour damage-free.
Avoiding Brassiness and Fading
Since ash brown has cool undertones, it can be prone to brassiness. As annoying as it sounds, it’s not too hard to get rid of brassy tones. Use a purple shampoo to neutralise brassy tones and maintain the grey finish. Additionally, protect the ash brown hair colour from extreme UV exposure to keep away fading.
Regular Touch-Ups and Colour Refreshing
Letting your new hair look its best means regular maintenance. This includes touching the roots every 6-8 weeks, depending on your hair growth. Touch-ups are needed if you have done significant hair lightening to maintain a cohesive colour look.
Common Mistakes When Going Ash Brown and How to Avoid Them
Getting a new hair colour is no easy task. There are many possibilities for mistakes to happen if you don’t consider a few key important elements. So make sure you tick off these boxes before you get your new ash brown hair colour.
Choosing the wrong hair colour shade: This is probably one of the biggest mistakes to make if you don’t choose the right shade for your complexion. A hair shade that is too light will mismatch your skin tone, especially if it is a warm tone, whereas dark shades create a harsh contrast with cool tones. To enhance your complexion and hair colour, choose the right shade.
Improper process: Entrusting an experienced hairstylist is important in this case. Improper procedures can potentially ruin your hair. The right treatments should ensure the bleach is not too harsh and protective and the application doesn’t tug on your hair, leaving it damaged.
Lack of aftercare: Maintenance is really important to keep those locks shining and damage-free. Refer to our guide to understand maintenance after hair colour. Apart from what your hairstylist must already tell you about hair colour, the key takeaways are having a hair care routine and avoiding harsh products.
Extreme styling: Overusing heat tools on hair can not only damage your hair strands but also fade away the colour. In some cases, the colour may fade away to the point of the brassy undertones peaking out. Whenever using styling tools, always use a heat protectant.
Finishing Touches
Now that we’ve touched on everything from top to bottom about getting ash brown hair colour, your next appointment with the hairstylists awaits. But do not rush the decision, it is useful to know what shade works for your skin tone to complement your overall look nicely. The colouring process is a crucial part of the treatment. Talk with your hairstylist to figure out how you want the colour to be applied and find safe ways to lighten it without further damage. It doesn’t stop there – check with the salon for their aftercare tips and incorporate what is discussed in the guide as well.
Consulting a professional is the best way to explore what they can offer for your hair. A premium service allows you to transform your hair with confidence With us at Ivan the hair people , you never go wrong with hair care treatments.
