Two-Tone Hair: Zesting Up Your Tresses

Dying your hair is a big decision to make. Oftentimes it’s the first thing people notice about you, so you don’t want to get it wrong. There are many ways to color your mane, from subtle lowlights to bold single-process dyes. This makes it trickier to choose the right one for your style and personality. But if you’re a spunky girl who wants to stand out and turn a few heads, we’ve got the right dye job for you: two-tone hair.

Many peoples hair isn’t exactly one color all around. Blondes tend to have traces of brown in their locks and vice versa. Some raven-haired beauties have also been known to strands of of brown sugar or salt in their pepper tresses. Two-tone styling can enhance your natural pigment, or change it all together for an eye-catching new style.  This type of coloring can mean different things for different people. An important point to consider: Stark contrast in hair color evokes ideas of rebellion or recalcitrance. Remember that semi-scary girl in your high school class who wore lots of black and sported hair color worthy of neon signs? Theres always at least one in every school, and her style comes off a bit too strong for our purposes. So if you don’t want people to think youre trying to revolt against society, stick to our suggestions.

The striking two-tone style usually involves great contrast, but with room for subtle variation as well. For a distinct look that’s sure to catch a few glances, choose dark dyes for light hair and light dyes for dark hair. Red has been and still is a popular choice for those looking to zest up their hair tone. Goldielocked and brunette girls alike sport streaks of bold red through their tresses for a daring yet urbane style that shows they arent afraid of a little spicy color in their lives.

Other popular striking two tone hair colors are black/blue and blond/blue. Unlike its crimson counterpart, blue in two-toned hair carries connotations of a punky rebel deliberately trying to draw attention to herself. Blue doesnt have the luxury of being only a personal style choice, since it has these stereotypes attached to it. Think of that semi-scary punky goth girl again: chances are she had some blue or purple in her hair. Blue is a color rarely found in nature (not even water is blue, water is clear) so it stands out no matter where it is. Putting it into your hair, a natural aspect of your beauty, will make you appear blatantly artificial as well, perhaps even alien. If you really want blue in your two-toned style, don’t opt for a look that looks like its trying too hard to be different and unique. Instead, choose a more subtle approach, a splash of blue in one strand here, or a light spray of blue across several locks.

Two-tone styles can add an spirited accent to your natural hair color, without covering all the of strands on your head. Adding the two-tone splash to your hair will make it even more fabulous. In this look, color stands out from underneath the top layer of your natural locks, so these hues stand out while blending in. A splash of two-tone color is the perfec option if you dont want to the eye-catching boldness of the striking look. Although a splash of a bright color is also an option.

On a similar strand to the two-tone splash, peek-a-boo highlights and tips are other ways to add color to your hair without going overboard. The peek-a-boo look has color from underneath your main tresses like the splash, however, the splash focuses on a patch of color in one place. Peek-a-boos can weave out from everywhere on your head for a stronger look.

A popular peek-a-boo choice is blond highlights in dark hair or brown/black highlights in blond hair. These snazzy strands are great for people who are tired of the same dark mane they’ve been sporting for years. And another great advantage: the colored strands can grow out without looking like a dye job gone bad:  no worrying about redying your roots!

The two-toned natural look is arguably one of the most popular for people who want to maintain a classy mature style without having to sacrifice some vibrancy in their hair color. To pull off the natural look, choose a mild color that will convincingly fuse with your natural hair and accent it. For brown hair, lighter shades of caramel can convincingly brighten the dark.

The two-toned ombre palate has been popular with many celebrities, such as Drew Barrymore. It looks like such an effortless blend of brown and gold that one might think it were a sun-kissed color change. Even certain tones of red may work.  Auburn strands can be accented with strawberry blond hues, and you can even go the opposite way, lowlighting with some browns. This type of two-tone style brightens a dull palate and adds some glam.  Blond hair can be accented by very light strawberry blond and even lighter strands like white. Remember: nobody really believes two-tone hair color is natural, but the illusion of natural is what really matters. So the key is to use convincing color fusions.

With so many options for two-tone hair, anyone can find a combination that’s the right fit for them. Bear in mind that as a ground rule, bolder colors like blue should be used sparingly and for special occasions, while natural tones can spice your look to just the right noticeable degree. If you want to go for the goth or rocker chic look, feel free to add a splash of electric blue or fire red to your locks.