Capitol Hill's Premier Haircuts & Color

Emerson Salon is the best hair salon on Capitol Hill, Seattle. Our experienced hair stylists and colorists have been fusing the latest trends with top hair techniques for years. Whether you’re looking to transform your look in Seattle with a new haircut and color or just maintain your already hip style, we are here and ready to help.

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909 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
T: 206-323-7437
@: emersonsalon@gmail.com

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Articles from ‘Hair Color’

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Is Balayage Right For You?

Balayage

Heard of balayage but not sure what it is exactly? Is it for you? What does it even mean? I will tell you!

Balayage is a French term that was developed in the 1970s that means “sweeping” or “to sweep.” It is essentially named after the way in which the color is applied to the hair. It is actually swept on or painted on by hand leaving a more natural looking highlight or lowlight. The technique was developed as a new way to add variation to the hair color with a more natural appearance and a more subtle grow out. The color can be applied for a more bold variation or slight depending on the client. Balayage isn’t just for lightening either. Many stylists will use it to add lowlights or a combination of the two.

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Who is balayage right for? Balayage is a technique that is great for anyone who appreciates a little versatility in their color but who doesn’t have time for a lot of maintenance. It also works well for the client who likes a more sunkissed or natural look. It is a great technique for shoulder length and longer hair. Balayage is the perfect color technique for summer, as it offers the same benefits as someone who would be spending a lot of time outdoors. I wouldn’t recommend it for someone with a lot of grey or shorter, finer textured hair.

The technique, that is becoming more and more popular, definitely offers many advantages. It is a foil free color application in which your stylist hand paints your highlights. Picking up layers and “sweeping” the color on different sections of the hair allows the stylist to move more quickly and efficiently while picking the proper placement for the color. It focuses more on the base of the hair shaft rather than concentrating on the root area. Thicker sections will lead to a more bold highlight while smaller will do the opposite.

Come see our balayage experts here at Emerson Salon!

Post by Amanda

TagsAmanda Kochansky, Balayage, Hair Color, Highlites

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Thanks Dani!

yelp

We just got another great review for our stylist D’Arcy, read this an all of our reviews on our Yelp profile.

“D’Arcy is the cat’s meow! I found her while yelping and I think it was a match made in heaven. I have seen her twice for the baylage treatment. I would recommend this over regular highlighting/ coloring treaments. It grows out super natural which is what you want. Root rot I think not! Easy street parking, convienient location across from QFC.

I recently brought my Mother-In-Law here for a walk in appointment. She was treated like royalty- hot tea and conversation. After her style her stylist sat and talked with her while my 2 hour ‘do was processing. D’Arcy is very personable, professional, hip, and uber talented. I am a regular. I have a ritual every 8 weeks: after my Saturday appointment I head over and gorge my self on crepes at 611 Supreme. (A suggestion from D’Arcy i might add).

Prices are reasonable and are not pushy about product sales. No cliquey, gossipy bs that I have found in salons in Capitol Hill”

TagsD'Arcy Harrison, Hair Color, Reviews, Yelp

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Valentine’s Day Special: Free Fudge Shampoo & Conditioner with Cut & Color

fudge-torture-tonic-shampoo

While supplies last. Get free Fudge Shampoo & Conditioner when you get a Haircut and Color at Emerson Salon.

While supplies last and promotion ends February 14th.
Book your appointment today!

TagsFudge Hair Products, Hair Color

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Nichole Richie’s New Brunette Locks

nicole-richie-house-of-harlow.1

Nicole Richie’s all grown up, with a family, her own jewelry line, the launch of her new fashion line and some new brunette locks. She has come a long way since her reality show “The Simple Life” with Paris Hilton. The new mom of two has come into her own over the last couple of years and what a difference it has made. She has found her own niche in the fashion world and is slowly but surely making an impact on style today.

house-of-harlow-1960-nicole-richie

Even as a busy mom of daughter Harlow and son Sparrow, Nicole finds time to keep her look fresh and fashion forward. Giving me, a mom to be, and many others hope that we can still look hot post baby. Her new hair color is my favorite on her by far. It definitely compliments her skin tone and her bangs suit her face shape perfectly. Not only do the bangs look great on her, but they give the appearance of a style. You can easily leave your hair in it’s natural texture and just blow dry your bangs to give you a more finished look. A great trick for a girl on the go!

Post by Amanda

TagsAmanda Kochansky, Celebrity Hairstyles, Hair Color, Hair Ideas, Women's Hair

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Emma Watson’s New Burberry Ad Campaign

emma-watson-burberry-beautiful

Emma Watson is all grown up and looking stylish in Burberry’s Spring 2010 campaign. The British actress, best known for her role as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter, is the poster girl for Burberry yet again. The young fashionista is turning heads with her signature blonde hair and fierce fashion sense. Costarring in the campaign is her younger brother, proving good looks run in the Watson family.

Emma is rocking some beautiful, golden brown locks, with some lighter pieces blended in a very natural looking texture. Her smokey eyes, give the actress a very sophisticated yet young appearance to go with the classic look of the Burberry collection.

emma-watson-burberry-campaign

To achieve Emma’s look, ask your stylist about balyage. This is a technique in which the hair is highlighted or colored without using foils. The end result, is a very natural looking color with variation that blends evenly and naturally. Your stylist can then give you some face framing layers. Finally, to finish blow dry towards your face, using some volumizing spray and finish with a texturing glaze on the ends to give it a bit of separation.

Post by Amanda

TagsAmanda Kochansky, Celebrity Hairstyles, Hair Color, Hair Ideas, Women's Hair

Friday, January 1st, 2010

The Right Hair Color For Your Skin Tone

AbevC-SS-hair-colour

Having great hair doesn’t stop at a great cut. A killer color to accompany your cut will give you the total look. But first, you and your stylist need to figure out what kind of skin tone you have. Everyone falls into one of two categories- cool or warm. Trying to figure out which one you fall into is simple if you just follow a few guidelines.

If you have pale or medium skin with no real undertones, an olive complexion or pale skin with a slight hint of pink in your cheeks, you are cool. Your skin tone can also be determined by your eye color and your natural hair color. Blue/grey or dark brown eyes, and black or ashy hair also indicates a cool skin tone. Red and golden tones in the hair or green, hazel and brown eyes indicates warm skin tones. Peach, rosy, gold or brown skin is always warm.

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Still not sure? For cool think winter and all the colors you see. Blues, greys and icy colors. For warm think autumn. Reds, oranges, golds and browns. Look in your closet and see what colors dominate your wardrobe and which category they would fall in. Chances are, that is what your skin tone is.

What is the point of all this? Simple, you want a color that will compliment your features. You wouldn’t want a color that would wash you out, make your skin yellow or excentuate the pink in your skin. A complimentary color should make your eyes stand out and your skin glow.

For cool skin try going with blue black, dark brown ash blondes or platinum. For warm skin try golden blonde, golden brown, strawberry blonde or red. Your stylist can definitely assist you in picking the right color to suit your skin. It makes a world of difference!

Post by Amanda

TagsAmanda Kochansky, Hair Color, Hair Tips

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Corrective Color Explained

CorrectiveColor

Going from light to dark or dark to light?  Not sure what is considered a corrective color?  Why are corrective colors so pricey?  I’ve got the answers!

I will start with the obvious.  Dark to light.  This is almost always considered a corrective color.  The reason being is that is often at least a 2 or 3 step process.  This usually means that it requires a lot of time, product and knowledge.  Lifting hair color is a delicate process or at least should be if you want to keep the hair on your head.  Your stylist may recommend a color remover first and then a highlight to maintain the integrity of your hair.  It also almost impossible to quote a price over the phone.  You will want to make an appointment for a consultation beforehand.  Your stylist won’t be able to know what needs to be done until they have thoroughly examined the hair and you have agreed on a plan of action that will work for both of you.  Don’t try this at home!

Going from light to dark isn’t as tricky but should still be done professionally.  I have seen some green hair in my day from clients who have attempted this on their own.  Grocery store color is a big no-no.  This is usually because your hair has certain undertones to it that when mixed with “medium brown” color will turn green or kind of a swampy (for lack of a better word) brown.  If you are a blonde considering going several levels (shades) darker, your stylist will need to use a filler.  This is where it turns in to a corrective color.  A filler IS necessary and will prevent the hair from turning green and keep it from fading so quickly.  If you are just going a shade darker and don’t require a filler, then it wouldn’t necessarily be a corrective color.  That’s not to say you should do it yourself.  You wouldn’t want to turn it into a corrective color.  Again, Don’t try this at home!

Our stylists here at Emerson are hair color experts. So take my advice, squeeze a little extra out of your wallet the first time and avoid having to walk around with green hair. Our stylist knows what they are doing and know how to make your color shine!

Post by Amanda

TagsAmanda Kochansky, Ask A Stylist, Hair Care, Hair Color

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Strawberry Blond Parisienne Bob

Hello Emerson Salon followers, Peter here.

I wanted to share one of my favorite recent cut-and-colors. My client started out with a chin length graduated bob and her color was an all natural dark red-brown. After browsing European hair mags, she saw a shorter variation of her bob that she thought looked great.

By the way, technically the definition of a “bob” is any haircut above the shoulders so many cuts that would otherwise be thought of as short layered cuts are by definition “bobs”. However, I think the soft beveled shape sets bobs apart from your standard shorter layered cuts and are a great option for many women!

Since, my client was not a heavy user of makeup, aside from some black eyeliner and lip color, we decided to add the effect of intense color with her hair. To make the change more dramatic, we colored all over with a light level 8 strawberry blonde to compliment her warm eye color and subtle olive skin tone.

She had been wearing her chin length bob blown under her chin and we thought that bringing the length up and out of her face was a great way of show casing her natural beauty. Because the cut has graduated layers throughout it will style beautifully behind or over the ears. Like most of us, my client is “hairstyle challenged” meaning she doesn’t have the easiest time with brush and blow dryer. I took this into consideration when I cut her hair and guided her through the styling process showing her that she could simply “flat wrap” the style with a paddle brush. Flat wrapping is a technique that anyone can master and all it requires is a paddle brush and blow dryer. No clipping and sectioning, no special training aside from the instruction you get from me during your visit if your cut is in fact a flat wrappable style!

For styling products we used Alterna Caviar anti-aging non-aerosol mousse, applied to wet hair and blown dry with the flat wrap technique, all of this brushing brought out maximum shine and to seal in that shine we followed up with Alterna’s Hemp Spray Shine. Color maintenance is 6 to 8 weeks depending on client preference and the same applies to the cut. Some people can take a style growing out for a longer time than others, you decide.

Thanks for checking in, keep a look out for more style blogs from me, Peter Duerr.

Emerson Salon 909 E Pike St Seattle (Haircuts & Color)
www.EmersonSalon.com / Facebook – Twitter

TagsAlterna Products, Bobs, Client Photos, Hair Color, Peter Duerr

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Cutting Edge Star: Drew Barrymore’s Daring Hairstyles

Drew Barrymore recently directed and released her first feature film, “Whip It”, which is about a roller derby team of girls in the 1970’s (You can see our past post on Whip It and the trailer here). While I was watching the movie, it made me think…..how many different hairstyles has Drew worn since she came on the scene in the early 80’s (remember E.T. and Firestarter?)

Above is a few of the varied cuts and colors Drew has donned over the years and it looks like the only hue we haven’t seen on her before is black!! Doesn’t she look good in all of them? While her pale skin and great bone structure help a lot, I think her fun, effervescent attitude is what really pulls them off!

Drew’s most recent look (below) is quite daring but also very fun. Here, she dons a mid length bob with textured, long side bangs as well as a dimensional blond hue with a special blocking technique call color blocking. The last 3 inches of the bottom of the bob are an extremely dark black. Now we’ve seen Drew in every “natural” color! Fun yet elegant!

If you are thinking of trying out your own bold new look, consult with an Emerson Stylist to determine what would be required. Remember we can help you with looks both temporary or permanent!

Have a blast with your hair and come see us!!

- D’Arcy Harrison

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Emerson Salon 909 E Pike St Seattle (Haircuts & Color)
http://www.emersonsalon.com/ / Facebook – Twitter

TagsCelebrity Hairstyles, D'Arcy Harrison, Extreme Hair, Hair Color, Movies

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Jessica Alba Goes Red


Check out Jessica Alba’s hot new look as she goes with a dark red hair color that works great with her skin tone and really accentuates her natural beauty. We love this dark red as a hair color for fall that meshes well with the changing seasons. With her hair done up in a simple bun and a basic grey blouse, we think Jessica Alba’s look really pop’s and we can’t wait to see what other trends Fall will bring!

Get Our Blog Updates by Email
Emerson Salon 909 E Pike St Seattle (Haircuts & Color)
www.EmersonSalon.com / Facebook – Twitter

TagsCelebrity Hairstyles, Fall, Fashion, Hair Color, Hair Ideas, Red Hair

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