how to do the PERFECT pink FADED OMBRE

June 30, 2017

this beautiful PINK FADED OMBRE is the product of careful planning, expert technique, and a plan for the fade. in this video, we're walking you through the process of the PERFECT FADED OMBRE.

NOTE: the color featured in the thumbnail is after a few washes. we purposely made this color darker to compensate for the breed of artificial colors and to extend the color life of the hair. it's part of the technique. dye smarter not harder :)

with balayage and OMBRE hair at an all-time high in popularity, it’s vital to have the perfect application technique for SEAMLESS lines from dark to light. this style took about 6 HOURS in total to complete but was well worth the wait. an OMBRE HAIR color done right can last for anywhere between 3-12 months depending on your personal preferences, without having to lighten your hair again. a simple color refresh is all you need for a head-turning style :)

she wants about 2 inches of dark at the top, so we’ll pull the pink up a bit and refresh the color

though your client may have different preferences, the techniques were about to show you will still ensure GORGEOUS ombre hair with a perfect blend from dark to light.

ready to dive in?

1. SECTION the HAIR

like most jobs, you want to begin by dividing the hair into 4 even sections. we typically go for an even line down the part line, or where they typically part their hair. the next part goes over the ears by drawing a line that divides the front and back. the final part goes in the back by making 2 even sections split down the middle. once we have the hair divided evenly into 4 quadrants, we’re going to begin the FOILING process to lighten the hair and move the pink color up.

2. FOILING and LIGHTENING the HAIR

now we are ready to start lightening the tops of the hair. we’re going to start by taking a small section of hair in our hand and backcombing the portion towards the root. this helps to ensure that you don’t get solid lines throughout your hair and instead, have a diffused gradient from dark to light that makes the ombre look NATURAL.

then you can begin feathering the lightener on the hair. turn your brush vertical and begin painting 2 inches away from the root. when you’re ready to wrap the hair up in the foil, make sure that you remove the ends (as we don’t want them to lighten any further). make sure to stagger the amount of dark you leave in each section. you want a variance within 2 inches to create a diffused ombre. you can stagger 2 inches, then 2.5 inches, then 3 inches, etc.

we used Artego Professional Lightener + 20 vol, but we don’t recommend you do the same. as stylists, we love to try new products and Artego was one of those situations. unfortunately, we did not enjoy the product as much as our original go-to lightener, so we recommend you use:

Schwarzkopf BlondeMe Premium

you’ll repeat this process across the entire head until your client looks like this:

with the foils completed, we allowed the lightener to sit for a full 45 - 60 minutes before checking under the foils. her hair will need to get to a level 8 or 9 in order for the magenta to shine through. lucky for us, we attained the shade we were looking for.

now we’re going to take out all of the foils and address the midsection of the hair. we need to strip the previous magenta out a little bit in order to make sure the lighter pink shines through. to do so, we used:

Schwarzkopf BlondeMe Premium Lift 9 Levels

again, you want to turn your brush vertically for painting. DO NOT overlap the bleach on to the pastel, simply bring the lightener down through the magenta. we left the lightener on for 20 MINUTES before washing out.

3. COLORING the HAIR

now we’re ready to start COLORING the hair. first, let’s start with the first color: MAGENTA. we used:

Schwarzkopf Igora Royal 9.98 - Magenta & Schwarzkopf Igora Royal 9.5-18 - Pastel Pink

you’ll want to use the same 4 section pattern to divide the hair into manageable sections. what’s really important about doing the color is making sure that you have everything sectioned well. color placement is extremely important.

in the video, you can see jessica has a towel. CLEAN APPLICATION is key! if any excess dye makes contact with the gloves, you want to make sure you wipe your hands or the hair completely clean if the excess dye is present. artificial colors like the magenta are bold and bleed easily. we want to make sure that the color doesn’t travel too far down the strand.

we’re going to apply about 2 ½ inches of magenta. the sections you take in your hands to paint should be quite small.

another important aspect of applying the color is making sure to stagger the amount of color you apply to each section. ALTERNATE the amount of magenta you put on each section. try to alternate between 2 ½ inches to 3 ½ inches and everywhere in between.

now let’s move on to the next color: the PASTEL PINK.

you want to SATURATE the hair from root to end with the pastel pink. make sure that you cover all of the yellows by melting it directly onto the magenta. massage it through gently and comb it down, making sure to start right where the COLOR MELT begins and comb down.

here’s the color all applied:

we’re going to let it process for a full 35 MINUTES. after that, we’re going to wash out. even when the hair is wet, you should be able to tell that the color is very evenly blended.

now we’re ready to style. we use REPLENISH oil by nvenn to restore the hair and replenish it with the oils before blow drying. this lightweight HAIR MOISTURIZER features a luxurious blend of oils, extracts, and vitamins that SOFTEN, TAME FLYAWAYS, and ADD SHINE to the hair.

we’ll also apply PROTECT beforehand as well. as a rule of thumb, you want to make sure you always put a layer of heat protectant between each use of heated styling tools.full of organic sea kelp extract and pure essential oils, this rich elixir quickly REFRESHES HAIR without weighing it down. it provides a PROTECTIVE BARRIER, or heat shield, for preventing heat damage and split ends. use it to PREPARE AND PRIME your hair for the best style every day, and spray it on styled hair to reactivate products already in the hair.

last but not least, we’re finishing with SMOOTH. this product helps to TAME FRIZZ and keep your style locked down without looking oily or greasy. smooth works to CONTROL CURLS, SLEEK STRAIGHT HAIR, TAME FRIZZ and FLYAWAY HAIR. it soothes the hair using organic sea kelp extract and silk proteins, leaving hair shiny and amazingly soft.

this entire process took about 6 ½ HOURS. however, with a style like this- you have a very low-maintenance color job that often just looks better as it fades.

pink faded ombre