There’s a gorgeous new hair trend floating around social media these days, and we have to admit, we definitely want in.
A takeoff of the covetable "mermaid hair" look, it’s called "fluid hair painting," and it’s almost certainly the next big thing in hair color. The technique, pioneered by colorist KL Christofferson, first cropped up on our radar in this Buzzfeed article.
Essentially, it’s a reinvention of an earlier "it" hair look: the hand painted style known as "balayage." As in balayage, the color is applied to small segments with a paintbrush, but that’s where the similarities end.
Instead of painting razor thin sections to create a sun-kissed glow, this technique has more in common with this popular technique for home-coloring your hair with Kool-Aid, just with a longer lasting effect and a great deal more professional finesse.
The aim is essentially to create soft, gradient triangles of color that will fall naturally in with the hair, either creating something totally otherworldly, or a gently enhanced version of the subject’s natural color. Scroll through the gallery below to see a few examples of the different possibilities for this technique!
This technique starts with spreading the ends of the hair out across a flat surface, then sectioning them into small, tendril-like segments.
Then, the color is mixed and painted on by hand to give the hair rich depth of color. Painting each segment individually means that the colorist can give attention to every little detail.
And the results speak for themselves! Using this technique, colorists can create a rich, multi-toned blonde with a million subtle shades….
Or, just as easily, a rich and decadent ombre look that's as cool as it is understated.
Fluid hair painting is also ideal for creating deep, cool tones that wouldn't look at all out of place on a real mermaid.
Not to mention whimsical jewel tones that look like they would blend right in with autumn landscape!
And somehow, the effect is never unnatural, as you can see with these barely-there opalescent shades. If anything, the faint pinks and greens work with the original color, creating a stunning final look that's delicate, vibrant, and oh-so-lovely!
Check out the video below to see this technique in action!
If you instantly fell in love with this beautiful coloring method, please SHARE on Facebook for everyone who has ever wanted to bring "mermaid hair" to life!
