How to Create Golden Hour Bronze Hair
It’s known by photographers as the most flattering time of day for your hair and skin, but what if that Golden Hour Glow could follow you around all day, no matter where you go?
Putting your hair in its best light – in every light – we’ve launched two Golden Hour Glow trends to bathe your clients’ hair in radiance: Golden Hour Rosé and the look you’re about to see, Golden Hour Bronze. So, let's explore this brown ombre look with golden highlights that make dark locks glimmer. From the tutorial to maintenance tips, here's everything you need to know...
Golden Hour Bronze – Revealed
Summer 2024 is all about the Golden Hour Glow; Wella's duo of radiance-enhancing trends that mimic the effects of pre-sunset skies through your clients' locks. Golden Hour Rosé is the dream for blonde and pastel hair lovers, but if you're working with brunette locks, Golden Hour Bronze is the way to glow.
Crafted by Wella Professionals Brand Ambassador Briana Cisneros, this look harnesses our iconic permanent hair color, Koleston Perfect, to add depth and brightness with an express color gradient technique. Dark on the roots and veiled in a metallic shimmer through the mid-lengths and ends, Golden Hour Bronze is all about shine, dimension and delivering those summer evening vibes.
Who Suits the Look?
While dark hair provides the perfect canvas for this sun-kissed twist on ombre, the glowy hints of bronze can flatter almost any base tone, whether you're working with a dark blonde or a copper mane. Plus, Golden Hour Bronze enhances all hair types, from beachy waves to bouncy curls. Personalise the bronzy placement to your client's cut and hair texture for the most bespoke results.
As for skin tone, you can alter the bronze hues to work with your client's complexion. Keep it warm and rich to pop against cool tones or try a cooler shade of bronze to contrast with warmer skin. As long as you perfect the gradient, the shine and the shimmering hues, you've nailed the trend.
Why Clients Love Golden Hour Bronze
Perfect Color Intro
If your client is new to hair color, they're going to love this look. It features natural hair tones that, on brown hair, make for a risk-free gateway into shade-enhancing services. Meanwhile, long-time color lovers who adore seamless, sun-kissed results will also fall for Golden Hour Bronze. It's the best of ombre and brown hair colors in a single look.
Personalised Results
As clients become savvier than ever about what hair color can do for their features, bespoke services are rising in popularity. So, the fact that you can tailor Golden Hour Bronze to their hair type and cut only adds to its allure. Whether you extend the root stretch, add extra bronze shades to the face frame or combine with balayage, the personalising possibilities are endless.
Healthy Hair Glow
Because who doesn't want their hair to glow? Golden Hour Bronze gives you the option to do an additional glazing service, so you can offer your clients extra shine with maximum impact. And that's after Koleston Perfect has already bestowed strands with beautiful vibrancy, meaning you get double the radiance from those bronzy gold tones.
Why Colorists Love Golden Hour Bronze
Because Golden Hour Bronze can go subtle or bold, it's perfect for trading up existing clients and recruiting new color clients who want to ease into enhancing hues. It's also an express technique, so you can build it into existing color menu offerings. Those bronze-colored highlights are so versatile, they work with almost every service in the salon.
Golden Hour Bronze: Briana Cisneros' Step By Step
Ready to start sweeping tones of bronze through your clients' tresses? Follow Briana's hair coloring process for a glow like no other...
Step 1: Shade the Root Section
Unless your client wants to keep their natural hair color on the root, add shading with Koleston Perfect 5/05 + 6% for a dark, intense chocolate brown.
Step 2: Enhance Mid-Lengths and Ends
Apply Koleston Perfect 7/05 + 9% to the mid-lengths of hair, making sure the color blends seamlessly with the root. Then, on ends, apply Koleston Perfect 9/05 + 12%. By using three shades, dark to light from root to tip, you achieve the most stunning gradient.
Pro tip: Make that ombre gradient even more natural-looking by staggering the size of your root color. This gives your client a more lived-in take on sun-kissed tones.
Step 3: Glaze All Over With Bronzy Tones
After your Koleston Perfect formulas have developed and been rinsed, finish with a SHINEFINITY Color Glaze. Apply 09/05 at the sink with the Brush & Bowl Activator, smoothing it from root to tip for shine you can feel.
3 Tips to Maintain the Look
Help your client keep their Golden Hour Bronze hair fresh in between salon appointments with these essential hair care tips...
1. Dial Up Nourishment
Nothing glows like healthy hair, so if your client wants to amplify their bronze tones, the best thing they can do is work on nourishment. The ULTIMATE REPAIR regime makes it easy, with a skincare-inspired blend of AHA and Omega-9 that rebuilds strands from the inside out, repairing hair damage in 90 seconds* and offering 99% less breakage**. Their perfect trio is the ULTIMATE REPAIR Shampoo, ULTIMATE REPAIR Conditioner and ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue for a routine that delivers on brilliant shine and major softness.
2. Use a Color-Depositing Mask
Golden tones can be tricky to maintain without the right products. You want to keep that warmth, but you don't want it to shift brassy – so how do you strike the right balance? One easy fix for your client is the Color Fresh Mask in Caramel Glaze, a color-depositing conditioner that quickly refreshes their salon hue at home. All they have to do is smooth it through clean, damp hair, allow it to absorb for 10 minutes, and then rinse thoroughly to reveal a bronzy refresh.
3. Protect Against Heat and Sun Damage
If anything is going to make golden tones fade, it's heat and sun exposure. The two are common culprits when it comes to brassiness, so your client needs protective products in their care kit. That's where ULTIMATE REPAIR Protective Leave-In comes in; it's a weightless cream that wards off UV rays and damage from heat tools, leaving locks soft and frizz-free. Advise clients to apply it pre-styling or before they head out in the sun. Now you've got all the inspiration you need, go ahead and create your own Golden Hour Bronze looks. Don't forget to share them with us by tagging @WellaHairUSA on Instagram!
*When using ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue.
**When using ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue instrumental test vs. non-conditioning Shampoo.
