Maintenance and hair colouring are normally synonymous terms. No matter how subtle your colour is, if you have altered your hair’s hue you are going to need to upkeep it in some way. Trust me, I speak as a beauty editor that’s been told this many, many times but didn’t actually get it until I first coloured my hair drastically. It was a honey bronde balayage and wow did it require upkeep. I had to have a slick rotation of colour-protecting shampoos, deep conditioners and heat protections in my beauty lineup. I didn’t leave the salon until I had another toning appointment scheduled. It felt like a full-on side hustle. I learnt a hard but worthwhile lesson: If you are drastically changing the colour of your hair, there is no such thing as easy hair colour but there are two ways to keep things low maintenance.
The first is to not opt for an all-over colour as these require root touch-ups more frequently. Instead, choose balayage for an easier growing-out process. “The most maintainable colours to opt for are the ones with the most seamless blends. This means opting for free hand-painted ribbons of colour that are blended up around the eyebrow level,” says Jordanna Cobella, Wella Professionals Digital Craft Expert. “This makes the grow out much more seamless and therefore lower maintenance.” And secondly, stick to a colour as close to your natural hue as possible. This means that as the colour fades–which is totally normal–you won’t have to run to the salon immediately to correct it. So, with the help of some expert colourists, I have broken down the low-maintenance hair hues to save for your next appointment.
For naturally-brown hair, achieving a cool toned deep shade can be done at home using colour glosses. They’ll add depth to your natural hair, especially if the summer sun has lightened it slightly, plus the conditioning benefits will reinstate any lost shine.
The trend for red hair that’s been building since 2020 and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. If you want to dip your toes in, a rich auburn hue is easy to do on lighter brunette hair without even needing to bleach.
A little darker than bronde but still super radiant, painting on some caramel sections on brunette hair keeps summer within touching distance. Ask your colourist to keep sections really fine for minimal upkeep.
Even as the most common hair colour in the world, black hair can still be majestic. It reflects shine beautifully and is easy to make look glossy. If you don’t want to comprise this, adding a blue tint to your natural hue will require no (or very little) pre-lightening with bleach.
Ashy hair colours are notoriously high maintenance. They require upkeep to knock out brassiness and salon visits are more frequent to keep the condition feeling good. Having said that, there’s no reason you can’t incorporate slices of ashy blonde into naturally blonde hair for a greige hue. Keep a platinum shampoo in your hair wash cycle to stop too much warmth from pulling through.
Whether you’re naturally a lighter or darker blonde, deepening your hue is always a healthier, easier way to play with colour. The multidimensional nature of bronde hair keeps colour radiant and if you opt for face-framing highlights it’ll lift your complexion too, essential during the grey winter months.
Ribbons of lightened hair will add dimension to mousier hair hues. Of course, the closer the highlight placement is to the root the quicker it will grow out but the slimmer the sections the more natural it’ll look as your hair gets longer. All you need to worry about is keeping your blonde bright.
As a blonde, you have a perfect base for experimenting with colour because you don’t need to pre-lighten and then jeopardise the integrity of your hair. Going for a pastel colour will ensure a pretty fade-out process.
Instead of going for a completely different colour, why not deepen your red for autumn/winter? The biggest issue that people will find with red hues is that it tends to fade the quickest but with the natural red base you’ll experience a ton-on-tone fade that’ll look far from dull.
Think of marmalade as somewhere between strawberry blonde and copper. For darker natural redheads, you’ll need to pre-lighten and then tone with a soft, peachy hue.
Bring gentle browns into the mix with a dark cooper using lowlights for rich dimension. The best thing is that brown hues tend to look glossier so you can focus on preserving the colour rather than the shine of your new shade.
Next Up: The One Haircut That Always Looks Great on Over-50 Celebs
