Pastel Hair Colour Tips + Tricks for Hair Painters

Have you ever wanted a long-lasting pastel hair colour option for your salon clients? Or perhaps you need to know which pastels are faster to fade because your client is seeking something temporary?

I am a certified Unicorn Artist and Rainbow Mixologist sharing my unique approach to help you paint and know why for every creative colour request, whilst working behind the salon chair. I created this episode as a special follow-up episode to last weeks show about Rainbow + Vivid Colours. Pastels are hot! hot! HOT!!! And I think they are here to stay, so make sure you take a moment to learn how to offer these gorgeous temporary and fun fashion colours for your clients.

Show notes for Episode 37

lets paint hair as your canvas (be a colour artist not a colour chartist)

It was always my dream to work as an artist, and I left high school early to pursue my hairdressing apprenticeship. 15 years ago I followed my dream to study Textile Design and Printing at Sydney's exclusive National Art School which changed my perception of colour theory. My different perspective to the hairdressing norm is presented in my ‘pure' education industry workshops and podcasts for hairdressers.

I love creating Pastels for my clients regularly on the salon floor. And I believe the key to a successful experience for a client with a hairdresser, is for the client to be educated on how to care for their look between visits. I also love sharing inspiration and formulas across social media to help hairdressers feel empowered to paint hair with confidence and to also help clients feel knowledgeable around what to ask us for when they sit in the chair, but ultimately that’s actually our responsibility as hairdressers to help our clients know what are long lasting colours and what aren’t plus how to maintain fresh colours and keep their locks healthy.

Pastels are pale diluted colours that are fun + fashionable in hair 

I have some recommendations based on my 20+ years experience to share with you in this episode about how to paint hair for short term or long lasting pastels. The key topics covered are:

• Pastels are pale diluted colours generally speaking, but when we take this theory into haircolour it is not quite as simple.
• Some direct dye brands have premixed pastels that you can use by directly painting onto pre lightened hair – these last well if it is a professional product
• Some hairdressers like to mix conditioner with direct dyes to customise and create their own pastels – these don’t last as long as the premixed pastels because you are diluting a pigment with conditioner, but the custom results can be incredible for artistic hairdressers and clients alike
• Other ways to achieve pastels can be using semi-permanent haircolours or toners- and again these have variable longevity depending on whether it’s a colour that is custom mixed or comes premixed. Because generally the dye load in a premixed is a little more intense or long lasting than when you break it down and start diluting things.
• For highest impact it is advised to bleach your hair to a pale blonde first, but not necessary if you have any existing blonde pieces.

Is there such a thing as a long-lasting pastel? The answer is YES and also the answer is NO…

Some pastels are longer lasting than others, so make sure you listen to this episode to understand your Pastel Colour Theory so you can paint and know why.