When you hear 'tweed hair', think of 'texture'. This new trend has gone viral over the past couple of weeks thanks to Yahoo, Allure, Popsugar, Glamour Italia and more. Food and beverages have inspired hair color trends over the years but this new fabric inspired trend is credited by Rex Jimieson, a stylist and color educational director from Maxine Salon, Chicago IL. You can find him on IG @colorbyrex.
By now, everyone knows something about balayage and ombre which has been the thing since 2014. Everywhere you turn, you're bound to see a woman with a variation. Balayage and ombre color techniques require nailing the perfect ice or silver blonde - not always easy to achieve especially if your natural color is darker than a level 7 (dark blonde/lightest brown). To achieve ice or silver blonde tones, hair needs to be lifted to a level 10 using a hard-bleach process in most scenarios to remove unwanted natural pigments such as copper, copper/gold or gold. Nailing the placement of brush strokes and toner is another topic.
What does "Tweed Hair" look like? Let's take a look at a side by side comparison below - tweed vs balayage:
As you can see, both processes result in multi-tones while maintaining dimension/depth. Tweed hair color should not necessarily require bleaching to a level 10 unless your base color is within 3 levels of a level 10. The tweed images show natural warm undertones and softer highlights starting from the root. The balayage image shows more contrast as the blonde starts below the root gradually moving down the ends with an icy tone.
On IG, Rex Jimieson advises:
1. The color should fill up the hair.
2. The base and highlights should be within 3 levels of each other.
3. Incorporate your natural tones so it's easy to wear.
Let's elaborate more:
1. Use thinner strokes and/or weaves when painting or foiling while maintaining depth throughout. Consider starting at the root instead.
2. Whatever the desired lightest level is, the base should be lifted just enough to be within 3 levels of the lightest color.
3. Allow your natural undertones to show for easy maintenance as opposed to a hard- bleach process for an ice or silver tone that can be difficult to maintain.
4. "Tweed Hair" can be accomplished without bleach in some cases.
These tips might make more sense to a professional stylist but you get the gist. Balayage or ombre might not be going anywhere anytime soon but according to Rex Jimieson, he considers balayage/ombre as 'edgy' whereas his new tweed hair color is considered 'sophisticated'.
Could this be what the industry needs to encourage healthy hair and to embrace our natural undertones? If you're looking for a change, why not give it a try? I think your hair will thank us.
It has yet to be discovered how many top hair designers around the world will jump on the bandwagon but our team at Serenity Studio is ready when you are! Thank you, Rex for inspiring us!