Health & Beauty
2017 saw everyone get as excited as a 4-year-old about anything to do with unicorns and mermaids. From phone cases and Halloween looks to pyjama sets and eyeshadow palettes – everyone was accessorising with the shimmery, pastel-coloured iridescent glow that goes hand-in-hand with the mythical creatures.
Now, the latest in the colour-changing trend has seen people apply it to their hair, and the results are mesmerising. Similar to the opal-hair trend of 2015, this new look, "Holographic hair", can be identified by its multidimensional mix of pastel colours that catch the light when swishing your mane around. The results make it look like your hair shimmers and changes colour whenever you move - so please sign me up right now.
The look is most easily achieved by streaking your hair with a mix of high-gloss dyes, commonly using baby pink, lavender and light blue tones, together with a metallic silver shine. To get the ultimate shimmery, multidimensional look, you're best off visiting a professional colourist who know how to apply the shades to your hair. And like with any kind of pastel colour, you'll need to bleach your hair first for the new colours to show through, and it could take a couple of sessions to get your ideal holographic look.
But enough salon chat – let's take a good look at the results, shall we?
Pwoah, look at that shine!
The colours!
Here's a deeper blue/violet shade:
A pink-hued holographic look:
A more steely one:
And this gorgeous pastel combination:
It looks nice and subtle on short hair:
But really pops with longer locks:
And it looks like the boys are into it too!
While the look is most commonly achieved by applying a special high-gloss pastel colour as a highlight to your locks, Redken colourist Chiala Marvici says a new colouring technique known as "Hand-Pressed Colour" may be the best technique for getting the holographic look.
Hand-Pressed Colour involves a piece of glass that you paint with circles, diagonals or swirls of colour, before pressing it onto the hair strands to let the colour seep in. Marvici, who came up with the technique, says it allows more creative freedom in applying the hues to your hair.
"The results of Hand-Pressed Color give a multi-dimensional holographic effect that is beautifully blended," Marvici says.
"Everything has to evolve at some point and Hand-Pressed Colour is a new approach to colour application. The application time is less than traditional colour applications like foils and Balayage, so it saves time in the salon for both the colourist and the client," she continued.
Whether you want to take the more traditional route and opt for streaks, or go for a more artistic holographic look from the hand-pressed colour technique, one thing's for sure – holographic hair looks incredibly dreamy and I want it badly.