Hair Strobing and Hair Contouring

Salon client choosing colors for hair contouring
Photo: Bigstock
It kind of sounds like a hair disco or hair makeup and it is kind of like the latter, in some sense. But there's a deeper layer and meaning to hair strobing and contouring, and trust me, once you learn about it, you'll be calling your stylist ASAP to make an appointment.
 
The hardest part about choosing a hairstyle is deciding whether or not it will suit the shape of your face and sometimes, we take a risk and it definitely does not pay off. We won't take the advice of our stylist and end up with hair that is too short, making our ears stick out or our nose look like Pinocchio. Or we pick a color on the spur of the moment and it washes us out. Like when I chose to bleach my hair in the winter when I was as pale as snow, so it looked like I was see-through.
 
Hair strobing and contouring are absolutely brilliant concepts that you'll be glad you know about if you didn't before. You may have heard of lowlights to add a warmer tone to your hair, but that was all in the past, my friends. Let's start with hair contouring and what makes it so special: the fact that it works on absolutely everyone.
 
Yes, you read that correctly. This is a color trend that can and will work for anyone who is looking for a change because it is designed by their stylist specifically for their hair and their face. All of your features are taken into consideration to make the proper combination of colors to make your hair contouring special and unique.
 
Hair strobing - Miranda Kerr
Miranda Kerr - Photo: Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock
Hair Contouring
 
Hair contouring is a freehand balayage-type application where different tones are carefully placed, but they are arranged in a way that is novel and unique. The mixture of colors is carefully painted to frame the face, and the two tones serve completely different purposes.
 
The lighter colors are used as a shadow, changing the shape of the face while accentuating the best features. We all have them, we are probably just way too hard on ourselves! Because of the light contour, it completely eliminates the need for makeup, believe it or not. The whole reasoning behind hair contouring is to focus specifically on complimenting your best and most desirable features and with that, the need to overcompensate with makeup should be eliminated.
 
As for where the darker colors come into play, they are used to create shadows as well as to tailor the shape of your face. How? Darker shadows will help to shorten and narrow your facial shape, which is great if you are insecure about a certain width. Meanwhile, lighter colors will reflect the light as they elongate and lengthen the face.
 
So it really is a win-win for those who have insecurities about their face shape, which is probably all of us, which is kind of funny because I have absolutely no clue what shape my face is. I could say heart and someone else could say oval; go figure.
 
Continue reading ...