(AP)
Does the Duchess of Cambridge's perfect hair make you want to try a darker shade? You're not alone. Celebrity colorist Kyle White of the Oscar Blandi salon tells us dark hair was all over the runways, and it’s only a matter of time before we see the trend everywhere.
The right shade can make light eyes pop, skin glow and features stand out. By adding depth to your hair after your sun-kissed glow fades, you can bring warmth to your complexion.
Here are some of Kyle's tips if you're considering going to the dark side:
1. Always go darker in stages. If you go too dark and end up more Morticia Addams than Kim Kardashian, it'll be much harder on the hair to strip out the dark dye. Start with a light brunette shade, and then decide if you want to go darker. The steady progression will also allow you to get used to the new, darker you.
2. When darkening hair, you should always start by using a semi-permanent tint or vegetable dye. Whether it's one shade or five shades darker, you'll only be depositing color pigment, so there's no need for all the ammonia and peroxide that's necessary during the lightening process. They also fade out gradually over time, so when you feel the need to lighten up again, it'll be a much less difficult process.
3. Vegetable dyes have a lot of emollients and moisturizing agents that coat the hair, making strands temporarily fatter and hair fuller. They also keep the “shingle-like” outer layer of the hair closed tight, giving incredible shine.
4. If you do accidentally go a shade darker than you want, try washing with a clarifying shampoo. That will pull out some of the excess pigment.
5. Many at-home glosses (like the Oscar Blandi Bruno) and color-enhancing shampoos (such as Artec CoCo Bean) deposit color polymers in the hair shaft and wash out in one or two shampoos. These are relatively low-risk ways to experiment with the trend.
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