Another week, another rainbow hair color. Summer offers a never-ending array of colorful hair trends to try out and play with, and this week the whimsical-sounding rainbow prism hair is up to bat. This technicolor hue was created by the St. Louis–based hair stylist Kristina Cheeseman, who apparently whipped it together on the fly. Her client came into her salon, sat down in the chair, and told Cheeseman to do whatever. The end result was a masterpiece.
What makes this particular color a "prism" is that it completely changes in look depending on how you style it. Different colors come out when you put the strands up into an up-do, different highlights pop when you change your part, and it turns a different shade when you just keep it down. Since it carries a series of strategically placed highlights, it keeps changing depending on how you style the locks. But to create this look, it did take a lot of effort — so it might not be a great fit for people who are trying to not bleach and over-process their hair. According to Allure, Cheeseman had to first completely bleach her client's hair into a platinum color. That way the color could really cling to the strands and come out vibrant. But that wasn't all.
"Once she had a lightened canvas to work off of, Cheeseman parted the top of her client's hair in a horseshoe shape and colored that section silver. This acts as what she calls a 'veil' over the rainbow," Allure explained. Once she had her foundation, she started to paint on colors horizontally — not vertically — so she could create a gradient-rainbow effect.
Here's how the style looks with a diferent hair part:
And how it looks swept up in an up-do:
Wild! But if your next worry has to do with keeping the color from fading, make sure you stock your bathroom with the proper products to keep that pinkish hue in tact for as long as possible. "Color depositing shampoo will be your best friend if your trying to preserve your new hair color," Sarah Ramos, the hairstylist and manager at MacKenzie Hair Parlor, tells Bustle. Her favorite ones are the Tressa Watecolors shampoos and conditioners, which not only help to maintain the color but also intensify it.
Another great tip is to pop back into the salon for a slight refresher. "Two to four weeks after a color service, schedule a toner to re-brighten your color as well," Ramos suggests, helping you keep the hue vivid.
But even if you keep this color just for a month to experiment, you have to admit its magic-like qualities will be well worth the effort. The rainbow hair trend keeps giving beauty lovers something to look forward to.
