Battle of ash hair colours: Which ash is best for you?
Though vibrant hair colours may be far from over, it seems nowadays ashy hues are stealing the limelight!
There’s something about these muted hues that make heads turn without being over the top. If you are thinking of going over to the ashy side, ask yourself these questions first to see which ash colours suit you best.
1. What is your skin colour?
Does your skin have warm or cool undertones?
If you are not sure, here’s how you can determine your undertones: Flip your palm face up and take a look at the veins on your hands and wrist.
If your veins have a blue or purple hue, then you have cool undertones. If the veins have a greenish cast, you have warm undertones. If you can’t really say that you favour one shade over the other, then you are likely to have neutral undertones.
Finding out whether you are cool or warm is the easy part. Different hairstylists, however, seem to differ on whether cool or warm tone colours are best for people with cool or warm undertones.
According to Carmen from Picasso Hair Studio, ash colours are considered cool tones and are best suited for people with cool undertones.
Silver Ash by Flamingo Hair Studio
On the other hand, Noel from HARTS Salon believes that people with warm tones actually look better with ash colours as warm undertones and warm colours may cause the overall look to look too reddish.
Ash Blue by HARTS Salon
Instead, he recommends ladies with cool undertones to utilise makeup to prevent themselves from looking sickly or tired.
Ash Grey Hair Colour by Art Noise Japanese Hair Salon
Shan from 99 Percent Hair Studio suggests that you can go for a gradation of ash colours if you don’t want the ashiness to overwhelm your overall look.
Grey Ash Balayage by 99 Percent Hair Studio @ Katong MODA
2. Are you prepared to go for multiple bleaches?
Depending on how light your chosen ash colour is, some ash colours require more bleaching than others.
Typically, the more bleaching required, the higher the cost. Ash brown and Ash green usually require just 1 round of bleach.
Ash Brown to Green by Full House Salon @ Tampines Central
Ash purple, ash blonde and dark ash grey will require 2 rounds of bleaching.
Ash Grey and Purple by Picasso Hair Studio
Light ash grey and ash blue will typically require three rounds of bleaching.
Ash Blue by De Salon @ Bugis Village
Carmen reminds us that thicker hair can withstand more rounds of bleaching, but it’s not advisable to do multiple bleaching in just one sitting.
To counter that problem, Preston from LeeKaJa Hair Studio recommends customers to bleach at most once a month and try different colours before achieving the final grey or blue that you are thinking about.
This may mean getting ash purple first, dark ash grey next and before going for light ash grey.
Ash Rainbow by LeeKaJa Korean Hair & Beauty Salon @ Mandarin Gallery.
3. How long do you want the ash colour to last?
Ash colours don’t usually last very long. If you don’t have time to take care of your hair, Noel suggests deeper intense ash tones to prolong the colour, such as ash brown, ash green and ash purple.
Ash Brown with Lavender Ash by Follicle Salon @ Ngee Ann City
For those choosing to go for ash blonde, ash grey and ash blue, it is even more crucial for you to use a sulphate-free shampoo or intense violet shampoo to wash your hair.
In fact, Noel recommends that you wash your hair on alternate days and use a dry shampoo on the other days to remove excess oils from your scalp.
Ash Grey & Pink by HARTS Salon @ Bugis Tan Quee Lan Suites
Purple shampoo aside, Shan advises that you frequently moisturise your hair with masks and treatments, and shampoo with lukewarm water instead of hot water.
When the hair is porous, it is easy for the hair to lose its moisture. Conditioning is very important but it is only a temporary measure to prevent moisture loss.
Hence, treatments are necessary to replenish the nutrients that have leaked out over time. Do also remember to avoid swimming or going outdoors for too long as the UV rays and chlorine will cause the ash colours to fade faster and make your hair drier.
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