Akanksha, creative head at Juice Hair Salon says, "A mix of mahogany and gold works for most skin tones. What's in right now is to go warm yet subtle. People are wearing a lot of bright clothes and subtle shades complement the outfits." You must always go back to the hair colourist if you are unhappy with the final results.

To highlight or to lowlight?
Highlights lighten hair and tend to make it look really bright. Lowlights add depth and darken hair. In India, highlighting is a lot more popular than lowlights. The light gold, caramel, chamomile tones work wonderfully as highlights. Generally, colourists mix two to three different shades to get a shimmering multifaceted effect. If your tresses are looking tired and flat, this is a great solution to give them some life. Whatever your natural colour, you shouldn't go more than three or four shades lighter or darker, as the results will be too harsh and unnatural.

Problems with coloured hair
Sometimes, over dyed and coloured hair tends to look very dry and brittle, almost like straw. Strong Ultra Violet rays in the summer months add to hair woes making hair colour look uneven and drained. The unevenness of the hair fibre results in an unattractive difference in colour result and appearance along the length of the hair strand. All hair dyes fade, whether permanent or not. The culprits are oxidation (unavoidable) and the sun, so your first line of defence is to cover up.

Maintenance and protection
There is no doubt that coloured hair requires a little extra effort to keep it looking great for long. Kerastase offers in salon treatments to seal the colour, instant and long-lasting radiance. To be done on the day of the colour service, these pampering rituals are called Chorma Perfect 1 for colour-treated hair and Chorma Perfect 2 for very sensitised colour treated hair. As any hair stylist would advise you, it is extremely important to use the right shampoo and conditioner for coloured hair. Between each colouring session, use shampoos containing a colourant, which can help freshen up your look. Akanksha recommends the oatmeal and honey shampoo from TIGI for thick and coloured hair and the dumb blonde shampoo along with a light moisture conditioner by TIGI for finer hair types. Lakme, too, has introduced a colour fresh shampoo and conditioner. Try the L'Oreal Intense repair mask at intervals to hydrate and replenish damaged hair.

Blondes may have all the fun, but so do the mahoganys, coppers and reds. Revel in compliments as your face glows, your tresses light up with brilliant sheen, and frizz is a world away. Rush for touch-ups today!