Summer Hair Trends

I needed a hair refresher for summer -- here was my dire hair situation: my ombré was getting brassy, the length was awkward, and the top layer of hair was so thick it pyramided down to my shoulders -- not cute. I also wanted an update to this summer's trends: we're seeing less ombré and more solid, dimensional coloring, a slightly longer long bob, and lots of layers.

Owners and twin brothers, Robert and Jason of Essensuals London Seattle in Capitol Hill invited me in for a color and color last week. Aside from the salon being walking distance from my home and white space heaven, it also packs an impressive résumé. Robert and Jason practically grew up in a hair salon that their mother owned, and they've been working with hair since. Respectively, they were National Artistic Director and Art Director for Toni & Guy USA before starting their own salon. I'll let their skills do the rest of the talking!

Below are photos of my hair and descriptions:

Color: color melt with angel-lights

Last summer, balayage and ombré were all the rage. However, this summer, instead of sweeping the color on top (= balayage) and lightening the ends (= ombré), colorists are blending through the whole strand (= color melt) in small, delicate sections (= angel-lights, fine highlights that add subtle but noticeable dimension). This is detail-oriented work, so find an expert like Robert. In his words, he works hard and makes a big effort to make it look like your hair looks effortlessly good.

Cut: layered, collarbone-length long bob

The middle-parted, wavy lob is still holding strong! The length for summer is slightly longer, at collarbone, which worked out since my hair was growing out to there anyway. However, not all long bobs are the same! I previously had a haircut that was bluntly layered on top, so it weighed down my bottom hairs and made it ducktail. Because of the upper heavy layer, I had a hard time getting the curls to lay naturally. Jason expertly saved my lob, by making my layers seamlessly and naturally almost melt into each other.