Trade secrets for perfect hair colour

Today's clients are clamouring for colour services and having the skills to deliver sumptuous shades could lead to a creative and rewarding career.

We asked some of the best hair colourists in the business to give their advice on successful colouring techniques and how to colour hair to create the best possible result for your clients.

Stay on top of Training and Trends

"Timing is everything. You need to give yourself time to create good colour especially when you are training. I always found it helpful to practise on head blocks and friends when I was training. Application and the products you use are key to ensuring the end result is the best it possibly can be. So give yourself time during your training to learn all the new techniques."

Marie Carolan, Keith Hall Hairdressing, Ashbourne, Derbyshire

"Read the magazines, see what celebrities are doing and always check out fashion websites after the fashion shows as these will show up-to-the-minute new trends. HJ Generation will also help you as you can see some of the UK's best creative hairdressers and colourists and the work that they produced to gain a real understanding into the latest trends and techniques"

Julie-Ann Newton, artistic team director, Regis

Choose The Right Tone

"Look at the client's natural hair, eye and skin colour, then put them in the categories of light, medium and dark. Next check whether they have a cool or a warm skin tone. If an orange tone suits them then their skin tone is warm, and if it's pink their skin tone is cool. You can then choose the correct depth and tone of colour for your client."

Carolyn Newman, Charles Worthington, London

"Skin tone is very important. If your client has a cool skin tone and wants to go blonde then opting for ash shades is preferable. These tones will really enhance their skin tone, while giving hair an instant trend upgrade. While someone with a warmer tone would suit shades such as honey, gold and dark blondes as highlights and lowlights. These shades will add depth to the skin tone, making it look fresh and glowing."

Carly Roberts, Marc Antoni, Reading, Hampshire

"The colour has to be unique, tailored to the individual and be an expression of the client's personality. Assessing the hair type, shape of the haircut, skin tone, eye colour as well as lifestyle will determine the success of your colour creation."

Francesco Fontana, Essensuals, London

"Hair colour should enhance the face and, in particular, the eyes. Techniques, tone and depth choices should reflect the eye contrast. The key to great colouring is all about a good consultation, which includes not only the eyes, but personality, skin and eye tones and face and body shapes."

Karen Dodds, Cutting Room Creative, Leeds

"To ensure maximum movement through the hair, you should only ever take it two or three levels lighter than the natural shade. This will ensure colour is bold, natural and multi-tonal, but full of movement. Use only tinted lights to accentuate this natural movement and give a deeply sun-kissed look."

Daniel Galvin, Daniel Galvin Salon, London

Get The Base Right

"I always begin with a pre-colour treatment. It's especially good for damaged hair as it fills in the cracks and breakages of the hair shaft and creates the perfect base to work on. This treatment really does optimise the colour result and leaves hair feeling shiny and healthy."

Robert Eaton Russell Eaton, Barnsley

"Always correct the base colour first. It is no good working with old or patchy colour. Get rid of all the old colour so you have an even, neutral base. Colour placement is much easier this way and will be more accurate."

Lisa Shepherd. Lisa Shepherd Salons, Kidderminster

Use the Right Technique and Products

"Using the right products is essential. Professional haircare products have had the benefit of lots of research and development to ensure they maximise hair results. Such products will protect and prolong your hair colour, giving you optimum results for longer."

Christel Lundqvist, hob salons, London

"Perfect hair colour results come from precision colouring. Start with clean sectioning, making sure all the hair you don't want to colour is pinned up neatly out of the way, and apply the colour only where you want to see it. Nothing ruins a colour more quickly than careless overlapping."

Ian Black, Aveda, London

"We advise our colour rubbing technique. It creates soft, beautiful colour that adds depth and enhances tone. When more than two shades are applied throughout the hair with a highlighting or slicing technique, remove the foils and take two minutes massaging the colours into each other. This blends the colour so there is a softness between them."

Gary Hooker and Michael Young, Hooker & Young, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

"Make sure you apply colour evenly and apply enough of it. Also before you start have a detailed consultation and make sure you have enough product and equipment such as foils to hand so you can concentrate on the application."

Claire Chell, Francesco Group Advanced Academy, Stafford