The ombre hairstyle has been kicking around the fashionable set for a few years now. The look, which originated on surfers, is being emulated by everyone from Alexa Chung to Gwyneth Paltrow -- but getting the color done professionally can set you back hundreds of dollars. Here's how one consultant skipped the salon and just did it herself:
At the beginning of last summer my hair was pretty much all the same color. I actually never planned on doing ombre, it kind of just came out light like that. I knew that I wanted natural summer highlights, and it just happened that the lower half of my hair naturally highlighted itself.
I was going to the beach a lot in Rhode Island, and I would squeeze lemons in my hair or use lemon juice from the grocery store. Then I'd go for a dip in the water, so my hair was always always wet and I was spending at least six to eight hours a day in the sun. I would start from the top of my head and drag the lemon all the way down, rubbing it against my hair. The top didn't really lighten up, but the lower part seems more susceptible to getting lighter, probably because it's dryer.
Then in the fall, I went to Bali for surf camp. I think that's what made it extremely light -- I was spending a lot of time in the sun and the water, and salt water will bleach your hair naturally. I started to notice the color after a couple weeks, but it took six weeks overall to become as light as it is now. I would put the lemon on very liberally and just lay out in the sun.
People are shocked that it's natural. They're like, 'What? You did that with lemon?' People assumed I dyed it with regular drugstore dye. I'm just relieved it's so trendy right now, otherwise my hair would look kind of weird. I've never really dyed my hair. I did Sun-In when I was 12, and it was just an orange halo, and like, really dorky orange bangs. It was the ugliest shade, so I know that kind of bleach doesn't really work for me. Sometimes I'm tempted to go to the drugstore and try stuff, but I just haven't had the courage.
I moisturize my hair a lot, so I don't have to cut it. That's the other thing, too. A lot of this color is from last year, and it's because I haven't cut it. I just heavily moisturize it. I use Davines Love Shampoo, but lately I've been using L'Oreal EverSleek Sulfate-Free Shampoo along with Kiehl's Formula 133 Leave-In Conditioner. I'll also trim my own hair. I'll find a split end, and just trim that one so I don't have to cut it. I like it as long as possible. It's actually getting healthier in a way. I still have split ends, but it used to be worse. Last time I had a haircut at a salon was 2009. I went on this creepy website for long hair, and they say you don't actually need a cut your hair every six weeks, it's a total myth. They say to go through, find your split ends and to cut as needed. Cutting it every six weeks only makes it shorter, it doesn't make it grow any faster. Yeah, I barely ever cut it.
You have to treat it like a job, you have to put in the hours. I wanted beachy hair, even though it took a bit longer than a salon visit.
Check out Liza's ombre hair color in the slideshow below, then keep clicking for more celebrities who've also tested the trend.
