Creative Hair Color

Creative colour, as it is known in the salon, tends to be semi-permanent or permanent, so it's a great choice if you are feeling funky and want a look that's going to last longer than a couple of washes. As its name suggests, creative colour is where a hairstylist gets creative and even more artistic - your hair is a canvas on which colour application and technique converge. Some creative hair colour techniques can produce quite radical results, so talk it through with your hairdresser and make sure you know exactly what you are letting yourself in for. Your gorgeous tie-dye locks may not be appreciated if you work in a bank or taw firm!

If you are longing to try techniques like dip-dyeing or tie-dyeing but think they sound a bit radical and long-lasting, you can cheat by colouring hairpieces and then weaving them into your hair.

Dip-dyeing

This technique is inspired by the art of dip-dyeing clothes, is where just the very ends of your hair are coloured. It works best on natural, mid-length to long hair and you can use either subtle or vibrant colours. For the most dramatic results, have your ends dip-dyed in a contrasting colour to your natural shade. For example, if your hair is dark brown or black, dip-dye the ends pillar-box red.

Couture colour

Your hair is shaded with colour to personalize and complement your haircut, making it unique to you. This type of colour enhances movement and emphasizes a dramatic line.

Tonal blast

This is a more subtle version of dip-dyeing that works best on short to mid-length textured haircuts. The ends of the hair are coloured and then a semi- permanent co lour wash is applied over the top to give extra brightness and a strong tone of colour. A tonal blast can be done on all natural or coloured hair, with the exception of hair that has already been dyed black.

3-D lights

Slices of hair are coloured with shades of blonde all over the head; darker blonde is applied at the roots and lighter blonde to the ends to give a sun-kissed look. This works best on short to mid-length hair and can be done on all shades of natural or coloured blonde hair.

Hidden colour

Sections of hair are taken from underneath and coloured, which makes 'work-to-play' hair easy - clip up your hair to reveal the drama below. This works best on all natural hair colours and on mid-length to long hair.

Duo colour

The hair is either coloured lighter on top and darker underneath or darker on top and lighter underneath. This can be done on all natural or coloured hair and works best on mid-length to long hair. Trio colour involves using three contrasting colours.