Hair colour: good-bye uniformity, hello personalisation
Today’s styles showcase colour effects, balayages and highlights. Nobody wants their hair to be all one colour anymore. L’Oréal is keeping in step with this shift away from homogenous colour by developing products and rituals that meet the expectations of professionals and their customers.
Hair trends are unpredictable and fleeting. These ephemeral styles nevertheless gain traction thanks to social networks and influencers. They structure more long-term shifts, to which hairdressers must adapt to continue to meet consumer expectations. Hair colour, which is always changing, embodies these fleeting trends but also fits in with a long-term evolution: the decline of uniform colour.
From classic hair colours – blond, light-brown, dark-brown – to bright, original hues: having a single monotone colour is out. Hairdressers are now incorporating balayages and highlights to create a nuanced look with several different shades. L’Oréal responds to both the changing trends and the broader shift away from homogenous colour with innovations and adaptations. These are further enhanced by the professionals’ touch, which is key to obtaining optimal results.
New colours, new techniques
With Instant Highlights, a high-performance lightening cream that is gentle on the hair, L’Oréal Professionnel has innovated by reducing the time necessary for bleaching before balayage. This major innovation fits in perfectly with the move away from monotone colour and has met with great success, particularly among rushed working women and hairdressers, who can use time saved to optimise traffic in their salons.
L’Oréal is innovating in terms of techniques, but also in terms of colours with its SoColor Cult range by Matrix, its first bright hair colour with customisable longevity. Combining several technologies (new purple pigment, pigment concentrations, etc.), this new range launched in 2018 can create permanent colour or shorter-term results depending on the desired style. The large palette of 28 shades has been a remarkable success and has been heating up social networks thanks to 130 influencers speaking for the brand.
Revamping iconic products
To keep in step with this shift away from homogenous colour, L’Oréal has also adapted its iconic products.
With Color Me French, L’Oréal Professionnel promotes French-style elegance. This innovation by combination pulls together several technologies – permanent colour and tone-on-tone on different sections – to subtly accentuate the contrast for a sophisticated, natural-looking result.
Redken is also expanding its star range Shades EQ, a unique semi-permanent formula with a liquid gloss texture that is easy to use. Its unique acid technology for the ends ensures optimal gentleness for hair (which has a naturally acidic pH) and instant shine. Hairdressers are enthusiastically promoting the range on social networks.
Pulp Riot: hair colour for the digital age
With the acquisition of Pulp Riot, known for its bright, bold colours, L’Oréal has begun a new chapter in hair colour. This brand, which forged its reputation online, has created a digital ecosystem: a community of hairdressers and colour artists who have become influencers and now train their colleagues. The high engagement rate achieved by their publications on social networks confirms the enthusiasm of hairdressers and consumers. The brand is an inspiring model for all brands in the Professional Products Division. David and Alexis Thurston, the founders, decrypt this universe for us:
David and Alexis Thurston
Founders, General Manager and Creative Director of Pulp Riot
