The Technique – Are your skills up to scratch?

So you’ve kitted yourself out with all the best new products and innovations – what techniques should you create with them?

“Trends and techniques change so quickly in hair colour,” explains Pulp Riot artist Danielle Tsimbilaki. “There are lots of stylists who specialise in just working with blonde clients; we can be really great at one aspect and specialise in that area and create a strong clientele.” To make yourself stand out as the blonde expert in your area, identify how you can combine multiple techniques for a bespoke look. “My favourite is fine-woven babylights and more bolder face framing around the front to create a soft pop of colour,” she adds.

“Undone, lived-in luxurious blondes are on-trend for 2022,” agrees Matrix ambassador Christian Wiles. “It’s all about brightening low-maintenance blondes while maintaining a multi-dimensional look using a combination of highlights, lowlights and toning to keep the colour soft and diffused.”

Colour placement is key; map out high impact areas to enhance or create focal points on the hair. Perfect your face-framing, baby lights, freehand colour placement, root shadowing and toning skills – these will form your key blonde basics.

Across the board we’re hearing of more neutral and warmer tones, finally shifting away from the hold that ash has had on blondes for years. But one trend that is going nowhere is balayage. “We are going to see a shift from high contrast balayage with strong face frames into a more blended, seamless look. This will make it seem more expensive and effortless,” says Terri Nadin, ASP Expert Haircare ambassador and balayage specialist.

L’Oréal Professionnel Paris introduced French Balayage to provide a sequence of appointments to keep clients coming in regularly than once or twice yearly, adding stability to your income. It has also introduced French Balayage Shadow, for a 2022 twist on the trend. L’Oréal Access offers all manner of education for balayage, from online learning modules to in-person education with some of its key artists.

What about the opposite – a bold, all-over bleached look? Paddy MacDougall explains: “There’s a few simple rules I always follow: root areas bigger than a finger’s width require a staged application, applying away from the root first to avoid banding. Start at the nape, where hair is darkest and usually strongest, apply to the softer finer hairs at the front hairline last.”