Red is the hottest colour now on the celebrity block. Think red locks may not be for you? Find out what Australia's Hairdresser of the year, Caterina Dibase has to say about that in this article below.
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It's the colour that is so hot right now, with celebrities jumping on the red bandwagon. Stylist Caterina DiBiase shares her expertise.
Hairdresser of the Year Caterina DiBiase.
It's no surprise that with her bright copper top, Caterina DiBiase is talking up red as the colour of the season and summer to come.
"At the moment it's red, red, red," says the two-time Australian Hairdresser of the Year, during a trip to talk trends with New Zealand stylists. Asked if red is really going to appeal widely, she says: "Can everyone wear a red lipstick? It's a matter of finding the right tone of red, it's the pigment in it that suits your skin tone."
Or, in other words, yes, you can do it, but don't just slap on any old red colour from a box, get professional help to find the right shade.
DiBiase has been advising hairdressers how to give that advice, by looking at their client's eye and skin tones to identify if they would best suit a coppery red or a more blue-based shade. For those with yellow pale skin a coppery hair base looks really beautiful, she says, but those who are pinky pale are best to go into more blue-toned reds. "It doesn't mean you go plum or violet, it just changes the undertone slightly."
This degree of subtlety takes work and if a client has a dark base, hair needs to be lightened first to get the right red result.
The red of the moment - as worn by singers Adele and Rihanna and Australian model Ruby Rose - has tended to be red-hot, with Florence Welch the queen of copper, but the bluer look is showing up, in common with the reflects figuring in brunettes and cooler pastel undertones for blondes.
A few months ago DiBiase judged the L'Oreal Colour Trophy in Auckland so she's familiar with what she describes as the "edgy" work of our best stylists, with the winning look an example of where blonde hair is heading, away from the more obvious highlights.
"Colour is strong, but we've got smarter, it's not about stripes and skunks, it's about having lots of colour that you can't see and you can't work out where it starts and finishes, so it melts through.
Pastel is big for blondes as shown by Lady Gaga on her American Vogue cover outing. Shades such as beige pink, strawberry and apricot on a blonde base look amazing, says DiBiase. "Having those colour highlights coming up to summer through a beautiful blonde, you'll just see it in the light." The subtlety is key. "People go 'what is that in your hair'?"
Even those hot reds are not all necessarily solid colour. "They've got highlights in there, or they're darker underneath and a bit lighter on top."
Balayage (sometimes called hair dipping or colour painting) is now more toned down, warmer and glossy. For summer the grown out, rawer more robust look will still figure, but in caramel tones, and with not so obviously dark roots and light ends. Good examples, says DiBiase, include Abbey Lee pre her recent platinum show style and fellow Australian model Lara Bingle's look which has a light base and warm golden tones.
"A great trick for women who want to thicken their hair is having undertones slightly darker; it could be half a shade to a shade lighter, you don't want to look like a Top Deck chocolate bar. It's there to make you hair look thicker and give it a fashion edge.
This can work for brunettes also, playing with shades of chocolate or into the reds.
DiBiase, who is off to India and Taiwan to run more training for L'Oreal, says she learns on the road too. In Asia she has found an impressive line up of techniques to lighten hair, for those seeking popular brown and caramel tones.
