All over Europe, streaking and highlighting of your crowning glory is in fashion, so can India be far behind? Different shades of blonde, brunette and black, with streaks of blonde are all the rage. The old style of bleaching the entire head of hair, blonde or black is out. Instead the hair dresser unleashes the creative in him or her and wonderful effects can be created with streaks of colour, highlighting your hair making it look glossier and brighter.
Like anything else you want to experiment with, get your hair streaked by a professional so you are sure of the result. Remember you cannot undo streaks you have done yourself  and will have to wait for your hair to grow out from any self made disaster.

"College going kids like to experiment," says Dr Janet Castelino of Cleo's Beauty Salon on Castle Street. "There are do-it-yourself kits which youngsters try out at home. That's called 'Finger Painting.' It's a very easy process where you wear a pair of thin gloves which are given along with the kit. Dip four fingers of the hand into the bleach solution mixed according to the instructions and run it through the hair, as if pushing it back from the face. Start from the front hairline and push to as far back as you like. Leave the bleach on as per the kits instructions. Then wash well with shampoo and conditioner.

"For a regular streaking of both half head or full head," says Janet, " especially for the older more mature woman who is particular about the results, it is better to go to a professional beautician. The effect can be really dramatic if handled well. I personally prefer my beauticians to take slim swathes of hair, apply the bleach paste and wrap the swathes in pieces of foil. Half head highlights should be placed closer to the hairline. Touch ups have to be done every six to eight weeks as the hair grows out."

A client comes in for full head streaking while I am talking to Janet. " This is a very long drawn out procedure," says Janet, " Here my girls colour the entire head of hair, sometimes bleaching the whole head blonde. Then streaks of darker colour are added to give a pleasing effect. This kind of streaking flatters women with medium -brown or light- brown hair." Watching her handle the clients hair is interesting. Janet holds back the hair with clips so the streaks do not come up to the hairline. She cuts 12 strips of foil which are 10cm long and the girls prepare the bleach. The bleach is mixed in a plastic bowl and put on dry hair.  Using a comb, Janet separates thin swathes of hair and uses a brush to apply the bleach. Then each strip is quickly covered by the girls with foil, making an envelope of the foil and keeping it away from the rest of the hair.  She takes the next layer to streak just a cm and a half away from the original one. Once the whole head is done it should be left for the bleach to take hold. Once in a while the girls open the foil to check the depth of the streak and if it is golden, they quickly remove all the strips of foil. The client is then taken for a shampoo and condition rinse and with the blow dry the myriad streaks appear,  giving the whole head of hair an amazing effect. Unlike bleaching which damages hair, streaking gives an interesting effect to hair.

Low-lights
" Streaks may not necessarily be done only making lighter streaks but interesting colours like red or blue have been requested by several clients of mine. This is called low lighting (the opposite of highlighting) where darker shades are 'fixed' with the use of tin foil again.

There is also the 'cap-method' where the hair is pulled through a cap and coloured creating dazzling effects.This is where the artist in the beautician is unleashed," explains Janet. "By using different colours highlighting creates exciting contrasts to blend with your natural hair colour."

I have a number of fashionable young mothers asking for streaking to be done on their young daughters. "Done professionally, highlights and colouring can be safe for a 12-year-old. However, I discourage mothers from allowing their daughters to chemical process the hair too early, since these steps create permanent changes in the hair and will begin a long period of required maintenance and regular exposure of the hair to chemicals that can damage the hair if not performed properly or not properly cared for afterward. Proper aftercare is the biggest issue. There are semi-permanent colour kits which one can use on children, which can be easily washed out."  

Streaking your hair is nothing but mimicking the effects of the sun on your hair. Go to a professional hair stylist who will suggest streaks which will add to your original hair colour and will flatter your hairstyle and skin tone.

So if you are looking for a slight change in your appearance, contact a good hairstylist and experiment with colours which will give you a cool and sophisticated, casual and trendy or  a wild n’ wicked look. 

Call Dr Janet Castelino on 988666996.