What is hair contouring, features of its implementation and existing techniques, rules of execution for persons of various shapes. Hair contouring is a special technique for dyeing and cutting hair, in which a play of shades is achieved, which allows you to emphasize facial features and correct the image. Hair coloring requires high professionalism from the master, since in the process it is necessary to build on the individual characteristics of the client's appearance, to select the best option.
Hair Contouring Price
This is a rather complex technique for dyeing hair, which should take into account the peculiarities of the structure of the face. Before proceeding with the application of paint to the curls, the master must mentally draw up a scheme for the play of light and shadow on the strands. Therefore, contouring requires a lot of skill from the hairdresser.
Not every beauty salon has a high-class specialist who can make high-quality coloring. Therefore, this service is highly appreciated and not cheap, in comparison with other techniques for dyeing hair. The price of the procedure is influenced by the length of the hair, their thickness, the type of dye used.
In Russia, contouring will cost 4,000-10,000 rubles
| Hair length | price, rub. |
| Short | 4000-5000 |
| Average | 4500-6000 |
| Long | 5500-8000 |
| Very long | 6000-10000 |
There are many beauty salons in Moscow that offer hair coloring services using the contouring technique. Prices in the capital are slightly higher than in other regions.
In Ukraine, the contouring will be done at a price of 1500 to 4500 hryvnia
| Hair length | Price, UAH. |
| Short | 1500-2500 |
| Average | 2000-3500 |
| Long | 2500-4000 |
| Very long | 3000-4500 |
Highly qualified hairdressers work in Kiev. The cost of their services is usually higher than the national average.
What is hair contouring
In the broadest sense of the word, hair contouring includes a complex of procedures aimed at making your face as attractive as possible. As a rule, we are talking about cutting, dyeing and styling. The combination of these procedures, performed by the hands of an experienced hairdresser, is capable of completely transforming a woman, emphasizing advantages and hiding disadvantages.
Contouring uses the play of light and shadow on the hair to give a certain visual effect to the face. So, you can visually make it narrower, smaller forehead or, conversely, higher, soften rough facial features and so on. As for the contouring in haircuts, fine work is done on the direction and angle of the cuts in order to create the optimal shape. If we look at contouring from the point of view of coloring, then it is about adding shadows to those places that you want to hide or make less noticeable, and lighten areas that can emphasize natural beauty.
Contouring in haircuts is the basis, and coloring improves the result, makes the image complete. Contouring does not force the owner into a single image, but allows experimenting with styling and hairstyles, as ideally it should "work" in different versions.
The main advantage of contouring is that, unlike other coloring options, it does not radically change the appearance, but only emphasizes the natural natural beauty of a woman. For example, dark shades make the face and its parts smaller, light shades lengthen, expand. In addition, using this coloring technique, you can emphasize the natural tone of the face, the shade of the eyes.
Contouring cannot be done in a specific pattern. For each woman, this coloring is individual and is based on her facial features, the pros and cons of her appearance. Ideally, after contouring, the impression should be created that there was no staining at all, but at the same time the appearance should be noticeably transformed.
Hair Contouring Basics
Contouring is usually done on dark (sometimes light brown) hair. The darker the natural shade of the hair, the more noticeable the effect of facial contouring with coloring will be. Sometimes contouring means one of the fashionable hair dyeing techniques - balayazh, shatush, amber. However, the concept of contouring is much broader than simply applying paint in a specific order. This technique takes advantage of the additional benefits of cutting and styling to a certain shape of the face.
As in the case of facial correction, hair contouring depends on its density, splendor, structure, color, head shape and color type. If we talk about the general rules of contouring, then light shades help to make the face more elongated or wider, depending on the place where the paint is applied. And dark shades, on the contrary, narrow and make the face smaller.
Modern hairdressers and stylists have developed several techniques for applying contouring paint:
- Flash effect … This technique is also called "flash of light" for the effect it gives to hair. It is often used by Hollywood stars. Blond hair in flowing strands is skillfully combined with a thick dark mass. Thus, the effect of the camera flash on the curls is created, which makes the overall look stylish and luxurious.
- Compound coloring … This is a classic staining option. At the same time, a couple of muted shades are applied to the strands, which are optimally combined with each other, and accents are made on the desired areas. As a result, such coloring looks very stylish and natural.
- Underlighting … A very popular staining technique among young girls. In this case, the paint is applied only to the lower part of the strands. Moreover, the shade can be either muted, natural or extremely bright. The peculiarity of this contouring technique is that bright curls can be slightly covered with upper hair if necessary, or you can collect strands into a high hairstyle, leaving bright ends in sight.
- Strobing … Strobing uses three light shades of paint. They are applied in turn on wide and narrow strands. As a result of this dyeing, the hair seems more luxuriant, and the color transitions are as natural as possible.
All of the above contouring techniques on dark hair should take into account the features of the face shape and imperfections in order to maximize the image. In this case, we can say that the contouring has achieved its goal.
Remember that the oval face shape is considered the reference. This is the visual effect that makeup artists and hairdressers achieve. Oval is the balance and symmetry of proportions. To make the curls look natural, the shades of the paint are selected two tones lighter and darker than the natural hair color. In addition, the paint should optimally match the tone of the epidermis of the face and the color of the eyes.
Hair contouring technique by face type
Hair contouring is a rather complex coloring technique. Therefore, beginners should not take it up at home. If you have some hairdressing experience, you can try painting yourself.
Hair contouring at home for a round face
Chubby women tend to most often seek to reshape their face through various cosmetic techniques. Now their arsenal of enhancing tools now includes hair contouring for a round face.
A mistake in the case of a round face would be to paint all strands in a light shade. There is a risk that the shape of the head will visually become even more round, and the face will become wider. The main goal of hair contouring in this case is to visually narrow the face, make it longer. With a round face, over-pronounced bones of the skull are noticeable. To hide them, it is necessary to use light shades along the growth line of the strands in the forehead and from one ear to the other. The darker natural hair color should be located throughout the rest of the mass of curls below the ears. You can apply a little light color to the ends of the strands if the hair is long enough.
It is also recommended to adjust the length and shape of the haircut. It is optimal if the hair will go down below shoulder level. It is recommended to lay the curls in front in light large waves that will gently frame the face.
Hair contouring technique for a square face
Women with square faces tend to have large and broad features. In this case, it is recommended to use a combination of dark and light shades of natural color in order to create layers near the angular parts of the face, as well as around the temples and chin.
The above contouring technique will visually soften angularities and broken lines, the hair will appear thicker and more luxuriant.
Wide cheekbones are best hidden with lush strands of a lighter shade. At the roots, you also need to add volume, which means, dye the hair in this area in light colors. If the strands are long enough, then it is recommended to lighten the ends as well.
Features of hair contouring for oval face
The oval face is the standard of shape and proportion. Therefore, for most women with such a face, any haircuts, styling and coloring methods are suitable. In addition, contouring looks great on this form, especially in the strobing technique.
To make facial features deeper and more expressive, it is recommended to add depth to the natural color and choose a textured haircut.
They go well with this form of dyeing technique such as a flash effect, when a slight glare of "light" is added to the hair. This method of applying paint will help to achieve visual density and splendor of the hair.
Well suited to the correct oval and with high-quality contouring of hair, haircuts in the form of a "ladder" and various cascades.
Hair contouring for the heart-shaped face
The heart-shaped face resembles an inverted triangle. At the same time, it tapers towards the lower part, the chin. Stylists recommend visually "align" the shape to the correct oval.
To achieve this, you need to add more light shades in the area around the chin and ears. Thus, it is possible to soften the sharp features and broken lines. It is also recommended to use dark shades in the upper part of the face, near the forehead. To do this, paint the roots in a darker color.
Well suited for a heart-shaped face is the classic highlight and amber, which starts from the chin and ears to the very ends of the strands.
Hair dyed using this technique should be styled in large waves, giving volume to the lightened ends.
Hair contouring for a long face
An elongated face tends to look sadder, so it should be revived with lighter shades of curls. It also needs to be made visually fuller to hide the elongation.
At the roots of the hair, use darker dye colors, the same as at the ends of the strands at the back. You also need to highlight several curls of different widths in the area around the face. This will balance the facial features.
Haircut and styling with this dyeing technique should not be too lush.
Hair contouring result
Hair contouring is convenient in that you do not have to update the dye too often, as is the case with a full monochromatic dyeing. If you have a lot of strands of different shades in your hair, then when the roots grow back, the difference will not be visible too much.
If your roots are painted in a darker or lighter shade than your natural color, then once every 3-4 weeks you can only tint the roots. No more than once every 6 weeks, they require re-dyeing of the strand in the total mass of the hair. Moreover, hairdressers advise applying permanent paint to the roots, and ammonia-free on the rest of the hair. The latter is more gentle, does not harm the structure of the curls as much as permanent.
Of course, dyed hair requires special care. Use oil-based products to maintain their beauty and shine. Only well-groomed curls will be the best decoration. They also keep their natural freshness and radiance longer. Also stylists advise to do contouring before vacation. This advice is especially relevant in relation to the "flash effect" technique. At the same time, the hair looks "sunny" and slightly burnt. The sun's rays intensify the contouring effect, and you'll return from vacation with even brighter, more natural hair.
Real reviews of the hair contouring procedure
Hair contouring is another trendy hair coloring, along with shatush, California highlights and strobing. Many women who are inclined to experiment with their appearance resort to this technique. Reviews of their experiences can be found online.
Karina, 24 years old
I dreamed of making shatush or contouring for a long time. But all did not find a suitable master. It is not so easy to find him in our city. I really wanted to add life and glare to my curls, so that like Hollywood stars. In addition, gray hair appeared early in my life, and I tried to hide it, without resorting to monochromatic coloring. I managed to find a good hairdresser who undertook to contour me. Given my round face, it was decided to slightly lighten the strands near the cheeks and forehead, to darken the back of the head. In general, the master conjured over my hair for a long time. But the result made me very happy. The strands became alive, iridescent, even the face began to look different! In principle, the contouring is designed for that, so we can assume that this staining has achieved its goal. And the hair grows back imperceptibly, two months have passed, and the coloring still looks quite fresh. I will update, maybe in a month.
Alena, 32 years old
I took care of my natural hair color until I was 30, and then gray hair appeared, and I decided that it was time to experiment with the shade of curls. I decided to make the least traumatic and very beautiful coloring in the contouring style, in order to also emphasize the face. There are several advantages for me: there is no need to influence the hair roots, they grow back beautifully and smoothly. The effect pleased me. The master beautifully lightened individual strands around the face, and added a warm copper tint to some. In general, the result is the effect of flow of curls, smooth transitions from one shade to another. It is now much easier to care for your hair than before, oddly enough, because it seems that they lie beautifully by themselves and the hair looks stylish, even if you just wash and dry it in the open air, without thermal exposure. I am very happy!
Olga, 26 years old
I decided to freshen up my head a little by the spring and do the contouring, especially since I had a promotional voucher for a good salon. My hair is just below the shoulder blades, dyed auburn color. I wanted to somehow cut the ends and revive the color. The master came across attentive - she studied my face, offered several options for coloring and haircuts. In general, I approached the issue in a complex way. She conjured over me for about two hours. During this time, I made a "ladder", dyed the hair around the face with alternating strands of light and dark chestnut. The tips are also slightly lightened. In the end, it turned out beautifully, but very similar to the California highlights that I did a couple of years ago. In addition, it is quite expensive, since there is an individual approach, all the cases. I am generally satisfied with the result, but staining is not worth the money. Next time I will do highlights or shatush, and it will be the same.
Photos before and after hair contouring
How to contour hair - watch the video:
Hair contouring is a natural coloring technique, taking into account the individual characteristics of the appearance. With the help of paint of different shades close to natural, it is possible to achieve correction of the shape of the face, features, to emphasize the depth of the eyes.
