Huffington Post: Gina Rivera Transition to Darker Fall Shades

There is still a lot of breath left in that summer breeze, but we’re thinking more and more about a fall hairstyle, which typically includes going with a darker shade. We can begin now with a transition toward our next color.

Let’s say that we don’t know yet exactly what that style will be. At a minimum, though, we know we want to go darker. First of all, that’s good news for the health of our hair! All spring and summer, we’ve been going with highlights and bright light sunny shades. That probably means that we’ve been lifting color out of our hair and using a lot of chemicals — including peroxide to open up the hair follicles and remove the color that was there. That can be pretty hard on our hair, leaving it dry and, eventually, a bit brittle. Adding to that stress on your hair is a lot of summer sunshine, swimming and washing from physical activity.

Now, with the darker fall shades, we’re going to deposit color and we don’t need to use near as much chemical processing to get that done. Meanwhile, high-quality colors include oils and nutrients that will give your hair beautiful shine and texture. Again, this is going to be good for our hair! It’s almost like a healthy seasonal break.

You may want to go with one more, or maybe two more (depending on how often you see your stylist) sunny, beachy bobs before heading dark. This is the time to do that.

Then, you’ll need to begin blending in new growth at the scalp, whether that means covering some gray or moving toward your natural shade, you’ll go darker overall. Really, it’s a question of whether you want to make the transition to a darker shade quietly or with a boom.

This doesn’t have to be solely for the sake of getting your hair from one shade to another. Have some fun with this. If you want to go with a darker crayon tone, for example, like a lavender or mauve, now is a great time to do that because you’ve already got the light base. Or go with an ombre or reverse ombre including some darker tones, maybe something with some red tones if that’s where you’re headed.

One reason this is a lot of fun is because it involves change. We’ve been doing one thing for a while, now we’re going to see something else in the mirror.

After going with a darker color, remember to pull back on the shampoos and conditioning for a while. We’ve been going heavy on the conditioners to counterbalance the use of chemicals to achieve the light shades, and we don’t need that as much now. Let the darker shades settle in. Otherwise, you may see that beautiful new color headed down the drain.

As always, be open to change… be open to fun!