Fashion color is everywhere! If you have Instagram you’ve seen them. If you’ve been to a music festival, I bet you’ve caught yourself staring at some fantasy hair color thinking, “How did they do that?” I sat down with Lux and Aerial, our Fashion Color experts, to give you the lowdown on what it is and what we see happening around Columbus, Ohio.
We define Fashion Color, or Phashion color at our salons (we know, we can’t help it) as anything not found in naturally born hair color. Platinum, silver, primary colors, mermaid or unicorn hair, vivid, neons, you name it. “It’s important that we understand that platinum blonde, silver, or grey are fashion colors and need to be treated the same way,” says Lux Littler, our Fashion Color Specialist at Phia Salon in the Short North neighborhood. They are not a naturally occurring hair color but a blend of light and dark, blue, green, and violet.
Like many of us, Lux got Fashion Color Fever during the days of MySpace when Scene Queens ruled the internet. “I would have killed be a Scene Queen, but I was a little too young. Since then I’ve always loved colored hair. I colored my hair for the first time in high school and went to hair school right after!”
“At first I thought I’d be into really crazy, technical applications. It turns out I’m really into beautiful, wearable colors.” The kind that anyone can get into and wear all year long.”
Aerial, a Fashion Color Specialist at Philosophi Salon in the Clintonville neighborhood has a lot to add. She loves unique, detailed color services and has a knack for specific color requests and creative placements.
“I’ve always liked Rainbow hair,” she said. “I assisted a stylist who did a lot with fantasy colors and learned from her. Once I did my own hair in bright colors I realized how much I love it. I felt like my life was so happy having Rainbow hair! I began coloring my eyebrows and experimenting with all variations of this medium. There can be wearable, normal, extreme, hidden, blended, multicolor, dramatic, ombre, tiny pops. Whatever you dream about, you can do it!”
Our Columbus salons have seen many clients transition into Phashion color clients over the last several years. We can thank the uptick in social media influencers for the inspiration and showcasing this brave world of hair color in ways we hadn’t previously seen.
“I’m fighting this idea that fashion colors are trashy or not appropriate,” Aerial declared. “I believe that it can be for anyone. It’s all about the placement, the person, and how you do it. There are almost no rules to it. You can make it conservative or bold. Phashion color is something that I look to normalize for my clients.”
Lux noted that trends shift rapidly year to year. This year’s Pantone Color of the Year, Living Coral, is a hot commodity, as well as a brand new take on the Racoon Stripes from the MySpace era. “It’s called Holographic hair. We’re seeing similar placement, but with softer color transitions for a different effect.”
If you’ve read any of our blonding blogs, you’ll know that we don’t play games when it comes to at-home care. Fashion color requires a similar level of care to maintain vibrancy, and an educated colorist to show you the ropes.
“There are ways to take care of fashion color that is unique, and also ways that it’s the same as any other kind of color,” says Lux. “You gotta baby it a bit more, but it’s mostly common sense; cold water is your friend, swimming pools are your enemy, use the proper shampoo and conditioner or you’ll strip it right out, flat irons aren’t good for it. It is a higher maintenance color service, and it’s also the most fun you can have.” Aerial adds, “Cold water and dry shampoo are life savers!”
Aerial feels strongly about clients having the hair of their dreams “Everyone can be a good candidate for phashion color! I do anything from little girls to 70-year-old women. They [fashion colors] don’t have to be scary. They are high maintenance but there are ways we can do them to reduce those strains if that’s what is holding someone back. The best way to try out fashion color is with little, hidden peek-a-boos. You can try out a bunch of colors without damaging your hair, and it will gently fade out to blonde.”
“I wish more clients knew to have fun with it!” added Lux. “Know that it will never look the same twice. Besides tattoos, it’s one of the ultimate forms of self-expression, and it’s not permanent.”
“I always wanted to have blue hair and people told me that it wouldn’t look right, or I’d hate it, or whatever. So I tried all different colors and was never happy. I just wanted blue hair! So I finally did it and I’ve had variations of blue for nearly two years and I love it!” Lux got her dream hair and encourages her clients to do the same. “To me, if you want to wear it, it’s a wearable color. I’m not into the idea that color won’t match your skin tone, to an extent. If you love it and are going to take care of it, do it!”
Aerial remains extremely passionate about creating custom designs as unique as her clients. We never see two people leave her chair looking similar! “We strive to really listen to my clients talk about who they are, what their lifestyle is like. I create custom everything based on where their hair lives and what they love, and I never take the same kind of sections or apply the exact same color. I base everything off of intuition and what makes the most sense for my clients. This is my only artform. We choose all the colors and where they go together!”
We look forward to seeing Aerial over the rainbow as her career continues. “I see myself building my Rainbow hair clientele even more and working for Phia and Philosophi forever.” We wouldn’t have it any other way.
What’s in store for Lux? Well, we see an especially vivid future.
“My ultimate career goal is to be a stage artist with Pravana. But my dream is to own a fashion color salon with a doggy salon attached. I have this vision where you and your pet can walk out together with pink hair. Can you imagine?”
Oh, we sure can.
@scuttlefromthesealon looking pretty in a pink to yellow color block.
Click here to reserve a phashion color consultation at our locations in Clintonville or Short North!
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