contouring your hair
PHOTO COURTESY OF BODRE CUT & COLOR ROOM IN NYC

This contour has nothing to do with the Kardashians or makeup. When we at NaturallyCurly heard of hair contouring, we were fascinated. From balayage, to ubiquitous ombré, sombre and then babylights, we love watching a hair trend develop (no matter how wild“> and hair contouring is now on our radar.

The stylist colors the client’s hair according to their facial structure–meant to give dimension and accentuate or hide some traits. 

Hair contouring is in fact a fascinating technique: According to the Artistic Director of Hairroin Salon in New York, Luis Payne, “Hair contouring is a technique used to sculpt the head and hair shape of the desired look. The “sculpting” is done with hair color as opposed to brushes and makeup.”

What is hair contouring?

The stylist colors the client’s hair according to their facial structure–meant to give dimension and accentuate or hide some traits. Every technique can be used to create the results, from foils highlights to balayage ombré; the main difference is where to place the color. Basically all is in the eyes and hand of the stylist– it is a difficult technique that has yet to be mastered by all stylists. We would not recommend doing a DIY hair contour unless you are a pro at coloring!

Unlike some hair coloring techniques, hair contouring works on every hair type, but on textured hair we believe the result will be even better because as we know curly hair can hide a lot . For example, if you think about the ombré style, it looks far better on curly or wavy hair than on straight hair because with textured hair you never see a demarcation line…hooray for our amazing hair!

contouring for your hair
PHOTO COURTESY OF STYLIST SHEBA ROYAL IN BARBADOS 

Your perfect color placement, according to your face shape

Oval

Your face shape is considered the perfect face shape, and every color, cut and style actually looks gorgeous on you, according to hairstylists. Think about adding some lowlights to add movement to the hair!

Square

You have a squared and strong jawline and a wide forehead; you want to soften your features. In the same way that with makeup you would darken your edges, try to keep the hair roots darker than your overall color, that should be on the light side with some soft balayage highlights. For you, the golden rule is “soft and delicate.”

Round

You want to elongate the face and give more shape to your features. The best way is to keep the hair around the face a bit darker than the rest of the hair, lightening the ends to draw the attention in a vertical line. For you, the golden rule is “structure and strong contrasts.”

Long

You face is longer than wide. Your goal is to create a horizontal line to draw the attention away from the vertical plane. You are the best candidate for the Ombré look! Having dark roots and lighter ends will create a horizontal division that will make your face appear shorter! Your golden rule is “horizontal lines.”

Heart

You have a cute pointy chin and a wide forehead. You goal is to minimize the wide forehead and accentuate the chin region, so you need to darken the top of the hair and go lighter around the chin and jawline. Opposite to the long face shape, you need softer transitions, like a balayage ombré effect. Your golden rule is “soft gradient.” 

Will you be considering hair contouring at your next hair appointment?

Nora Huber

"I am a curly rebel, youtuber, model and medical student, with a scientific approach to my beauty obsession!"

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