Ombre Hair: Types, Examples, Tutorial

• 1. Pros and Cons of Ombre
• 2. Ombre Types
  • 2.1 Traditional
  • 2.2 Darkened Roots
  • 2.3 With a Sharp Transition
  • 2.4 Colorful Ombre
• 3. Ombre on Different Hair Color
  • 3.1 On Dark Hair
  • 3.2 On Fair Hair
  • 3.3 On Light Brown Hair
  • 3.4 On Red Hair
• 4. Trendy Ombre Options with Photos
• 5. How to Do Ombre Hair at Home
  • 5.1 How to Make Ombre Last Longer

Ombre is a hair coloring technique that creates gradual transitions between colors on hair. It imitates sun-kissed hair and can feature beautiful combinations of different shades, not only natural, but also bright and neon ones.

Pros and Cons of Ombre

The ombre technique has many advantages. Let’s look at the main ones.

• This technique works beautifully with your natural hair color and you can color your hair only partially.
• It doesn’t require frequent touch ups as the roots remain uncolored, which makes for smooth color transitions.
• Ombre looks great both on loose hair and in updos.
• This coloring technique adds visual volume to a hairstyle, which is perfect for thin hair.
• There are countless possible color combinations, allowing you to create different looks.
• Ombre is not too difficult, so you can do it at home.

As for the cons, bleached strands require more attentive care, and in case of reverse ombre, the hair gets damaged as much as with usual coloring.

Ombre Types

Traditional

In traditional ombre, the roots are left uncolored, the tips of the hair are bleached, and the transition between them is very smooth. This is the most common ombre type.

Another variation of traditional ombre is reverse ombre with lighter roots and darker tips. This type is better suited for blondes as they won’t have to do frequent touch ups.

Darkened Roots

The distinctive feature of this type is darkened roots in combination with lighter hair along its length. This type is the best one for adding visual volume, making it a go-to option for people with thin hair.

With a Sharp Transition

In contrast to traditional ombre, this technique envisages a sharp transition between colors, whether close or contrasting ones.

Colorful Ombre

Colorful ombre is a fashion trend that allows for creating daring looks. This type is all about transitions between vivid shades of one color or several bright colors.

Ombre on Different Hair Color

On Dark Hair

Ombre on dark hair is usually done by lightening the tips by 1-2 tones to create the effect of sun-kissed hair and jazz up the natural hair color. Brunettes can also rock transitions to blue, purple, deep gray, or emerald green.

On Fair Hair

Blondes can use ombre to add ‘sun-kissed’ shades and soft light transitions to their hair. On the other hand, colorful ombre on fair hair will create an attractive and clear contrast.

On Light Brown Hair

The sun-kissed effect looks especially gorgeous on light brown hair. Those of us who have light brown hair can lighten our hair without doing considerable damage to it. Light brown hair also goes well with certain bright colors, especially pinks.

On Red Hair

Red hair looks stunning with shiny fiery streaks. This effect is particularly eye-catching in sunlight.

Trendy Ombre Options with Photos

Caramel

White

Gray

Colorful

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How to Do Ombre Hair at Home

Salons offer different variations of the ombre technique: with sharp borders, in the retro style, ponytail ombre, etc. For DIY ombre hair, it’s better to go for the traditional technique with hair dye that is 1-2 shades lighter than your hair color.

Here’s what you’ll need to do ombre hair at home:

• a comb;
• hair dye 1-2 tones lighter than your natural hair color;
• gloves;
• an applicator brush;
• a bowl for mixing bleach;
• hair clips.

Important! Your hair color should be even, without any gradients, or else the result will be unpredictable.

How far down should ombre start

When it comes to ombre on short hair, the shorter the hair, the closer to the tips your natural color and dyed color should meet.

It’s much easier to ombre on medium-length or long hair. Your natural color can fade into another somewhere in the middle or a bit closer to the tips.

Tutorial

1. Mix the components of the dye in line with the instructions.
2. Choose the place where the gradient will start. Divide your hair into sections and secure them with clips a little above this level.
3. Apply the dye to the hair, but avoid making a stark line between the two colors. Don’t press the brush into the hair on the border too hard, but dye the tips thoroughly.
4. To achieve a smooth transition between the colors, brush the hair on the border a bit to spread the dye.
5. Let the dye sit according to the instructions, then wash it out, and moisturize your hair with conditioner.

How to Make Ombre Last Longer

To make your ombre hair preserve its initial look longer, we suggest using the following tips:

• Choose hair care products for color-treated hair, preferably ones without sulfates and with antioxidants.
• If you have cool light colors in your ombre hair, use products with a purple pigment: it will neutralize the yellowish shade.
• Wash your hair with warm, not hot water.
• Don’t use oily nutritious hair masks in the first month after dyeing your hair.
• Use sun-protection products for hair before going outside.

Ombre is not the most difficult, yet a very versatile technique that allows for creating many different looks. Check out hair stylists’ works in our photo gallery and get inspired for experiments!