Tara Navarro of Lavish Salon, Rancho Cucamonga, California, is getting a great local rep for fabulous, seamless, two-toned ombre. Here’s how she does it on level 4/5 hair:
1. Apply Redken Flash Lift lightener with 20-volume developer to over-directed pie sections. Begin applying it where you want the color to begin and fully saturate the ends, so they will be the lightest.
2. Erase the demarcation line by softly brushing upward without disrupting natural fall. Then foil the section, leaving the top two inches with lightener out. This allows the portion in the foil to lift a bit faster due to heat.
3. After processing, deep condition to even porosity and help the new color to hold.
4. Apply two fashion colors to the pre-lightened sections. Start with purple on top and blue near the ends. Then brush upward to blend and erase the demarcation line. Alternate the position of the colors throughout the lightened sections. (Here, colors are ½ oz. Redken Shades Cream 4V + 1½ oz. Clear with 10-volume developer, and Pravana Vivids 1 oz. blue + 1 oz. Pastels blissful blue.)
5. Place the client under a steamer for 20 minutes. Allow the hair to cool for 5 minutes, then rinse. This creates a flawless, water color look without teasing the hair.
Curly tip: For ombre on curly hair, brush lightener or high-lift color onto your gloved hands and press your hands into curls, exactly where you want to see color. Process under a steamer, then rinse and tone with colors that are within two levels of one another, starting with the darker shade. The technique takes advantage of the way curl expands and contracts, and shouldn’t be used on straight hair.
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