I’ll be honest: As a writer who often covers hair trends and lives in San Francisco, I’ve seen my fair share of rainbow hair. Whether it’s purple, cotton candy pink or a My Little Pony-inspired blend of the two, there is rarely a combo I have yet to lay eyes upon. Usually when I spot someone rocking colored locks, my thought process goes a little something like this: “Oh hey, that person has blue hair. That looks pretty cool.” End of story.
The look is typically characterized by a sleek combination of super soft pastel colors like pink, blue and purple with a grayish undertone. Similar to sand art hair, when it moves around the colors change, just like opal does when you put it up to light.
If you’re as obsessed with this fairytale hair color as we are, hair guru and PRAVANA guest artist Guy Tang has a little bit of insight into how to ask for it at the salon. The first thing he advises is to bring inspiration images. He says, “There are different methods that stylists use to create the opal look and many different variations, color combos, etc., so it’s best to be clear about what outcome you’re hoping for. Think iridescent – multiple colors blurring into one another on strands. It should almost look like a light shining through your base color to subtly show off the different colors.”
If you really want that shimmer that’s associated with opal, Tang suggests “the new PRAVANA ChromaSilk Express Tones, which are hair top coats that take about five minutes to do in the salon. For cool tones, request a pearl shade and for warmth, try gold. If you’re looking for a deeper pearlized finish, your stylist can mix in some of the clear top coat from the line into your shade of choice and leave on your hair for up to 10 minutes.”
If you do go for this look, it’s super important to just be aware that beauty writers may approach you on public transportation with open jaws and a lot of questions.
Would you try opal hair? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
