The dog days of summer may be behind us, but it doesn’t mean we can’t still have a little fun—and that goes for our hair, too. All season, people have been talking about “hand-painted hair,” and I know I can’t be the only one who was like, “Wait—what?” Most recently, the experts at Sparrow—one of Chicago’s best hair salons—explained just what some of the most popular hair trends are. It’s not too late to try one on for yourself. Oh, and in more good news, Sparrow recently brought on two new stylists, so the normally booked-solid salon is taking new clients for the first time in a long time.
1. Balayage (pictured). For this style, a lightener is hand-painted on natural hair, creating sun-kissed color that’s both bright and soft.
2. Tone on tone color-painting. The technique is similar to balayage, but without any lightening agents. A stylist paints two colors of the same family in alternating layers over the whole head of hair, giving a deep color that intensifies towards the end.
3. Freelights. These might look like what you call “highlights,” but these are done using a high lift tint, hand-painted to look more natural.
4. Pastels. Obviously.
Photographs: Courtesy Sparrow