Highlighting your hair is so last year dhaaaling! The newest colour trend that’s all the rage is called BABYLIGHTS.
Similar to highlights, babylights are super fine streaks, inspired by natural highlights baby’s get when they spend time in the sun.
Of course my fantastic hairdresser Shelene Shaer of Tanaz picked up on this trend months ago. When I strolled into the salon for my appointment last year December, she told me in no uncertain terms that today we’d be trying something different. “Candice, today we’re lifting your natural colour with babylights – trust me you’ll love the effect.”
Shelene explained to me that while sun-kissed, blonde strands inspired the technique, it really is suited to almost anyone. Because babylights are so subtle, the technique can be used on any colour hair. She explained that on darker hair like mine, the trick is to go a shade or two lighter than my hairs current colour.
Excuse the slighlty red eyes, but this pic was taken on Christmas, after two glasses of red wine!
I love the effect! Because I have a lot of natural red in my hair, the babylights really pop. I love how glossy and healthy they’ve made my locks appear.
MAINTENANCE
Maintenance is really minimal, and because the babylights are so finely woven, they blend well into the natural hair colour as it grows. If you’ve had a full head of babylights, you’ll need to re-touch every two months. If you’ve just had a few pieces throughout, re-touching every three months will suffice
TIPS
Shelene reckons that babylights are best suited to those with shoulder length or longer hair. On shorter styles or very angular cuts they don’t work as well. She also says it’s important to ensure hair looks shiny, so she recommends enhancing the look with serums, oils and sheen sprays.
MUST-HAVE PRODUCTS
These are the products I’ve been using to keep my babylights looking fresh.
1.Milkshake conditioning whipped cream (R246) is a protective leave-in conditioner that’s applied to clean, damp hair. It smells fantastic – just like a vanilla cupcake.
2. L’Oreal Elvive Colour Protect Masque (R99.95) nourishes and seals the intensity of coloured hair. It also contains UV filters that protect hair & colour from sun damage.
3. Kérastase Nectar Thermique Polishing Nourishing Milk (R340) protects hair from heat styling without weighing it down.
4. Dove Colour Radiance Leave-in conditioning & care spray (R71.95) is a lightweight conditioning spray that can be used on wet or dry hair between washes to boost hydration, leaving hair soft & silky (I LOVE this product).
5. Kérastase K Touch Finale Polishing Serum (R295) is great at fighting frizz & fly-aways. Apply two pumps to the lengths of the hair, concentrating on the ends.
6. L’Oreal Professionnel Inoacolor Care Protective Cream Shampoo for Inoa Colour treated Hair (price dependent on salon, but usually R200+) My favourite shampoo for colour treated hair (not just Inoa colour!). It’s enriched with green tea & Argan oil that intensely nourishes and protects coloured hair. It leaves hair super silky and very, very shine.
