Sometimes we just have to jump the fence. Color with zero commitment fits the bill, especially if it’s just a one-night stand.
We know that nothing lasts forever – and we’re all just on our way to somewhere else. So why fight it? Celebrate life’s ephemeral moments with non-permanent hair color options like chalks and extensions.
To try it on: or can we just say – get outta town! Even if it’s a business trip. Maybe especially then. If you’re getting out of your zip code, then it’s time to get out of your own head. Flip the switch and slip into a new haircolor like a mask. With temporary options, you’ll be back to normal… well, let’s just say back to your prior persona… by the time your key is in the door back home. The big breakthrough is hair chalks, but don’t let the name fool you. Yes, youngsters who play hacky-sack and wear beanies still use dusty artists’ pastels on their hair, but the salon version by L’Oréal Professionnel is a much more wearable, feminine expression of this Bobo trend.
L’Oréal HAIRChalk Color Polish for Hair is a revolutionary water-based product applied by your hairdresser. Ink and micro-fiber polymers create an ultrathin film that adheres to the hair strand. It’s not a traditional hair colorant, it’s not a direct dye: it’s a new form of makeup for hair. Here’s the thing: in spite of the name, it’s not chalky, and it washes out in a few shampoos. The five super-bold tones have a post-Courtney Love vibe, i.e. magenta mohawk, while the subtler ones creep up on you more slowly, like a tequila sunrise. On long hair, consider starting with a whimsical color at the ends and gradually feathering off the temporary color up into your primary tone about chin-level. This gives you the option of swooping back your purple or teal tips into a ponytail and tucking the candy if you have a straight-laced meeting.
Then, when meeting friends for the cat-circus downtown, or finally consenting to face-time with that random “Mr. Right Now” who’s been lurking around you on all the dating sites, just let it all out. Another idea made a big debut at the Xiao Li A/W Show at London Fashion Week when models’ hair was dusted with label.m’s Powder Pink Spray. Option B is hair extensions, and the best are real-hair extensions like Hairdreams, applied in the salon by a pro. It’s true that you can purchase colorful hair extensions at the drug store (ditto for temporary chalk-type hair makeup), right next to the kitty litter and the lawn chairs. It’s all good, and after all, it’s your hair. But real-hair extensions aren’t weird, stiff and slippery like doll-hair. This eliminates the look and feel of a bad, bad weave.
But this doesn’t mean you have to go conservative – shocks of red in dark mane, or shivers of silver through a platinum bob are easy with extensions, and add Big Hair volume that Mother Nature only hands out to her favorites (sorry if you weren’t on her list!). Other short-term options include giddy extras like Hairdreams Jewels. These are extra-large sparkling faceted crystals, blended into your hair with ultra-fine, color-matched threads, attached with small clips – and you can take them out yourself after a Bollywood Night, or before that dreaded parent-teacher meeting!
By Victoria Thomas
