Your Pro Guide to Blonde Ombre Hair

1. Consider a Dark Hair Root Shadow

To get a clear dark-to-light transition from the roots to the ends of your client's hair, you may need to add a root shadow. That is unless their natural root is the right shade for the finished look. Choosing the perfect product for this technique means understanding your client's ultimate hair goals. Do they want gray coverage? Are they seeking softer regrowth? Get roots dark and dimensional with one of these products:

• Koleston Perfect: Not only does this iconic permanent color give you up to 100% gray hair coverage with rich, healthy-looking results, but it also harnesses the Metal Purifier to protect hair bonds during the coloring process. Meanwhile, Ultra Precision Color Technology ensures reliable results for a true-to-tone finish, so you can sweep on that root shadow and tone ombre lengths with total confidence.
• Color Touch: If your client wants softer root regrowth for a low-commitment ombre, this demi-permanent color is their go-to. It delivers a killer combo of intense vibrancy and shine that lasts for up to 24 washes, and provides up to 70% gray coverage*. Plus, it comes in a huge array of shades, allowing you to tailor-mix a root hue and ombre color blend for every client's goals.

*with Color Touch Plus

• Shinefinity Color Glaze: For zero damage, zero lift color with an exceptional shine you can feel, treat your client to a Shinefinity Color Glaze for a touch of shine to any service. Its translucent finish lasts up to 6 weeks and enhances – never masks – their natural color, maintaining tone and dimension. It's great for a root shadow, kickstarting ombre creations with a healthy glow while giving lighter sections added luster when used to tone lengths and ends.

2. Lighten the Mid-Lengths and Ends

Unless your client is a natural blonde or they have dark hair that’s already been lifted to a light shade, you'll need to pre-lighten their mid-lengths and ends for an ombre base. Your must-try for this step is BlondorPlex, a lightener that gives you up to nine levels of lift, infused with the bond-strengthening WellaPlex ingredient to keep hair supported during the lifting process for up to 97% less hair breakage*.

Start painting it a couple of inches down from the root and sweep through to the ends, then allow it to develop until you've reached the correct underlying level for the final look. For a sombre (subtle ombre) effect, you want locks to be around two shades lighter than the darker roots, while for a traditional ombre, you should aim for around three shades lighter.

*When using Wellaplex N°2 with BlondorPlex, versus BlondorPlex alone.

3. Apply a Flawless Ombre Toner (or Two)

Once locks have been lifted, it's time to tone the bleached sections. Choose the perfect blonde shade to suit your client's skin tone, whether that's a light shade with golden undertones or a cool and ashy formula. You might need to use two shades: one that's brighter than the roots to paint through the mid-section, and an extra light color to sweep on the ends. This two-toner technique results in a bolder ombre style.

However, because hair is more porous on the ends, this section often lifts higher than the mid-section, so you get a ready-made ombre base that naturally segues from dark roots to bright lengths. In this case, you only need one blonde ombre color for the look. Apply it all the way through pre-lightened mid-lengths and ends for the easiest ombre technique around.