From Harley Quinn to Kill Bill Cruela deVille, there’s plenty of inspiration from celebrities and movies. We looked at the three key looks for Halloween hair this season.

Pumpkin Spice

Charie Illi Brooks & Brooks for L’Oreal Professionnel
Pumpkin Spice is a deep copper tone merged with bright notes of orange and red tones and is great for Halloween and perfect for the autumn season. For a soft warm pumpkin tone I like to use L’Oreal Professionnel iNOA colours which are ammonia free, playing with 6.45 and 6.34 for a deep rich result. For more vibrancy L’Oreal Professionnel Majirel is the perfect choice, creating a more brighter result. 7.44 and 6.46 are amazing bright shades.

You want to make sure you can have the perfect balance of copper and red tones for this look. When it comes to techniques, I love working with dimension. You want to see the colour pop in different angles and reflections. Placing brighter pieces either with a freehand technique or some framing pieces with baby lights. Depending on the length, the thickness and the vibrancy, the technique can vary. For a first-time colour, I would also recommend starting soft by just adding some Pumpkin Spice pieces so you don’t have to commit to the full colour, meaning it will blend out softly over time.

My Top Tips
1 Decide what kind of tone is suitable – a red copper, a copper red, or even a copper brown. For a dark brunette, red undertones are richer, for the light brunette copper undertones are softer.
2 Consider the placement of the colour: where do I want to place brightness and where do I place depth depending on face shape, hair length and personality.
3 For all the highlighted blondes, don’t forget to add gold and copper pre-pigmentation to assure a long-lasting, bright pumpkin spice colour.
4 Home haircare is so important to keep your colour nice and shiny and bright long term. This colour doesn’t wash out any quicker than other, but it is more visible if it does. So always use colour conditioner, heat protections and hair masks to prevent this from happening.

Inky Black

Adam Cunningham at Zeba Hairdressing, Dublin for L’Oreal Professionnel
“Inky Black hair is my dream head of dark locks; the type of dark hair that has a blue shine when the light hits it. As a hairdresser, putting lots of blue ash into a black mix is my favourite formula and perfect for this time of year as the light changes. My go-to formula for Inky Black is L’Oreal Professionnel Majirel Base 1 applied from root to tip. Rinse off and then apply one tube of L’Oreal Professionel Dia Light Blue Booster with 6vol for the ultimate glossy, luxurious colour. When it comes to black hair, it has to be mega shiny! Using L’Oreal Professionnel Metal Detox Shampoo, Conditioner and Spray during and after your colour service will make that inky black hair look like dark silk!”

Vivid Colours

Frazer Wallace for L’Oreal Professionnel
Halloween is instantly a more playful time of year. It gives you a reason to play with colours you wouldn’t normally use – but be careful as some may stick and not wash out as easier as others! There’s lots of Halloween inspiration around, check out Pinterest, movies and celebrities. Frankenstein’s wife is my favourite, her white panels are iconic! And anything vivid is always fun.
When working with vivid colours, always prime the hair to get a great canvas. L’Oreal Professionnel Metal Detox is my absolute favourite product for protection when colouring. And L’Oreal Professionnel Blond Studio Purple Lightening Balm is the best on the market for fast and conditioned lightening results every time.

My Top Tips
1 Try creating formula out of tubes before rushing for direct colour (L’Oreal Professionnel Dia Light is a personal favourite) this ensures bespoke results and a lot less hassle for fade and removal.
2 Be clean and precise with your application.
3 Swatch before you apply any vivid colour and show the client so everyone is on the same page before you colour the whole area – your vivid blue might be totally different to what they are thinking.
4 Have fun it’s only hair after all. Hair is for expression and creativity so live a little!

For more information visit www.lorealaccess.com