The Ombre Trend Explained

Ombre is the French word for shaded or shading - and the hair and beauty industry has borrowed this nifty little word, using it to describe the latest trend in hair, a graded look that is darker at the roots and lighter at the ends.

Ombre can also be much more subtle, and this is performed with a technique known as balayage, where the colorist literally paints color onto the hair, around the face and on the tips for a really natural, sun-kissed look.

Tracey Cunningham, a colorist and co-owner of a salon in Beverly Hills, argues that ombre is literally "the most flattering thing you can do for your hair." It's natural, beachy and is an easy way to change up your look without going too brassy or too blond. It's also really easy to maintain, too, and because you don't have to worry about getting your roots done, you can make your trips to the salon a little less frequent.

So how do you get the ombre look? Learn how with these tips.

Getting the Ombre Look At Home

Most colorists would advise getting the ombre look at a salon - but virtually every colorist would recommend going to the salon for a color treatment, as it means they get more money in their pocket! But you can get the look at home - it just takes a lot of patience and a little effort.

If you're blond and you want to go brown with blond tips: depending on the shade of the hair, you'll need one or two boxes of color. The most flattering and the easiest way to wear ombre is with a very subtle graduation of color from roots to tips.

Choose a hue that's 3 or 4 shades darker than your hair and apply it from the roots to the mid-lengths of hair, being careful to blend the color so that there isn't a set line between the dark and the light colors. You also need to be really careful when applying the color so that it doesn't drip onto the hair that you're not coloring. Leave to set on hair according to the instructions on the box, then wash out and style as usual.

You might need to use another color through the mid-lengths that's partway between your natural color and the darker color at your roots, but this really depends on your color and how you want the end result to look.

What If My Hair Is Brown?

You can still get the ombre look at home, but you will need to do some bleaching. It's not as scary as you'd think, though - don't worry!

L'Oreal sells a home ombre kit, suitable for light, medium and dark hair, that you can use to lighten the tips of hair. It's basically a bleaching kit that comes with a special brush for you to evenly distribute the bleach, blending it from the tips of hair to the mid-lengths so that there isn't a definite line between dark and light.

Divide the hair evenly behind the ears and pull forward - this is so you get an even distribution of color on both sides of the head. Mix up the bleach according to packet instructions and paint it onto the tips of hair. Usually, ombre starts at the ears, but you can bring the blond up from the tips to anywhere you like, really. It's often most flattering if you have at least a little bit of blond around your face as this will give you a sun-kissed look.

Next, using the hair brush, blend the bleach into the rest of the hair so that there isn't a definite line of color. Leave to sit on the hair until you reach the desired color. To see whether the bleach has lightened the hair enough, simply use a tissue to wipe a strand of hair so that it's free of bleach. The color underneath will show you what the rest of the hair looks like. If it's ready, wash the bleach out and if not, smooth bleach back onto that strand of hair and leave to sit until it reaches the desired color.

Looking After Ombre Locks

It's really important that you take lots of care of your ombre locks, and even more so if you've used bleach to lighten the hair.

Use a special moisture-lock shampoo and conditioner to nourish your locks, as well as a leave-in color protect or moisture-lock conditioner. Another tip is to use a hair mask at least once a week to really pamper your hair, and you should also steer clear of straighteners and other heated appliances for a little while as they'll cause more damage. If you do use heated appliances, always, always, always use heat protect products with them!

You also need to get a trim regularly, even if you don't get your hair colored, to get rid of dead, split ends and to encourage new, healthy hair growth. 

Ombre Nails and Clothes

Don't fancy taking the plunge with ombre for your hair? Get the look with ombre nails and ombre clothes instead. You'll find clothes in ombre, dip-dye huesall over the high street and getting the look for your nails is much, much easier than you might think. 

Viola! Ombre made easy.