Chocolate mauve hair has become a quite popular color for the fall season and workplaces. The color was first introduced by Hannah Edelman (a talented colorist based in Brooklyn), and it works especially well with brunettes. If you are trying to give your hair extra texture and subtlety but don’t want too dramatic of a shift, this hair color may be a great choice for you.
What Color Is Mauve?
Mauve is a pale-violet color with a gray tint, and it actually has some remarkable history. In 1856, William Henry Perkin, while trying to figure out a cure for malaria, accidentally created a mauve-colored residue. This was the first synthetic dye ever created, and Perkin’s discovery would eventually revolutionize the fashion industry.
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His luck came at an incredibly opportune time: purple was a highly sought color in the fashion world. Back then, colors used for dyeing clothes were extracted through inefficient means. For example, the color purple had to be extracted from a certain shellfish found in the Mediterranean.
Perkin prospered when he marketed his synthetic dye in 1859. At the time, only royalty could afford violet-colored clothing, so Perkin’s discovery led to copious amounts of purple clothing being produced. Eventually, the 1890s would earn the nickname “The Mauve Decade,” and historians would claim that the color had changed the world.
Today, in the context of color psychology, Mauve is associated with femininity and youth, which may explain why it is so popular in women’s cosmetics and fashion. What’s more, the color is believed to convey virtue and loyalty, as well as symbolize the sense of renewal associated with spring.
One of today’s popular hairstyle trends blends mauve highlights with a chocolate base. Brown is believed to represent wholesomeness, warmth, and stability, so combining the two colors in a hairstyle creates a subtle play of emotions. This new color has become a popular choice in the fall season, as well as in workplaces.
Enter Hannah Edelman
Chocolate mauve hair is both relaxed and classy as its combines warm brown shades with mauve highlights. The base is a chocolate hair color, and the mauve shades shift subtly depending on the lighting of any given place. Chocolate mauve hair is an excellent choice for women seeking a bold but delicate hair color, for those who do not want an excessively dramatic change.
Hannah Edelman, the owner of Bushwick Brooklyn Hair Painter (a salon in Brooklyn), is credited as being the first to create this hair color. In an interview with Popsugar, she revealed how she developed the color for a client, Marlena.
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First, she produced brown tones by blending Pravana Vivids, such as pink, purple, and orange. Edelman said, “The darkest brown started with red, yellow, and green. Then I added orange and purple and another random sh*t until I liked what I saw.”
Marlena was a brunette, so she had matching roots. Edelman then combined five shades: a medium brown, a dark brown, two pink tones, and mauve.
She then painted asymmetrical sections of Marlena’s hair, always following a diagonal pattern. To create subtle shifts of the initial five shades, she “melted” the brown hues into mauve, or mauve into pink. In her words, “That gave this look a subtle dimension, almost an iridescence.”
Marlena requested that light brown is painted on the hair around her face, and Edelman focused on applying light pink and mauve tones on Marlena’s top layers of hair. For the lower layers, she applied darker colors.
Edelman said, “Even though the color is unnatural, following the light/dark placement that occurs naturally is always a good idea. I think that’s what makes this toe the line of natural and unnatural.”
Edelman had to lighten Marlena’s hair to the lightest blonde hue, and she said that chocolate mauve works exceptionally well on naturally light blondes.
After about three months, the client’s dark roots returned. To blend her natural colors with the chocolate mauve hues, Edelman applied the balayage technique.
According to Edelman, “The balayage transition makes this color low maintenance.” A woman who receives a chocolate mauve style will have to deal with roots only every three months. Intakes this length of time for this look to fade back to blond. This time frame is good for women who like to continually change their hairstyles.
Variety of Combinations to Choose From
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Since its introduction, the chocolate mauve style has taken on many different variations, so you have many possible styles to choose from. For example, you can choose a style where pinker shades of mauve are in the front and shift to lavender close to the back of the head.
In another style, segments of caramel, purple, and pink are placed over the brown. This style produces a color pattern that is reminiscent of a chilled dessert.
The shades of pink, brown, and purple can be situated to make the hairstyle seem iridescent. In this style, the shades will be discernable, yet they will retain a chocolate mauve appearance.
Or you can opt for the original chocolate mauve color. In this style, the shades mix with each other gracefully, creating a style that is long and natural and has depth.
What to Expect
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Creating chocolate mauve hair requires bleaching and using balayage to apply pastel rosy tints. Also, if your hair is naturally dark, you will need more bleaching, possibly numerous sessions. In addition, since balayage is a highlighting technique done by hand, applying a chocolate mauve tone should be left to professionals.
When visiting your color specialist, make sure to bring colored photos that show the exact tones you want. However, since balayage is used, you won’t need to get touch-ups constantly, as Edelman expressed.
How to Protect Your Colored Hair
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Let’s say you have spent the time and commitment to getting your hair color changed, and now you have a striking head of chocolate mauve hair. Remember that hair treated with colors needs special care, so a new hair-care regimen becomes necessary. Keep the following recommendations in mind when caring for your new chocolate mauve hair.
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- First, wait at least a couple of days after getting your hair colored before you shampoo it. By waiting, you will allow the color molecules to stabilize.
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- Second, don’t use regular shampoos or conditioners—use products that are specifically designed for color-treated hair. For example, choose a shampoo that is sulfate free. Sulfates are believed to strip color molecules from hair strands.Also, make sure to choose a conditioner that is friendly to hair dyes. Hair coloring damages hair somewhat, so specially formulated conditioners help to heal the protein structure.
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- Third, be extremely wary of heat. Using excessive heat can dry and damage hair. So, right before styling, make sure to apply a product that protects hair from heat. Also, when washing your hair, use lukewarm water. After applying your conditioner, rinsing your strands with cold water will make your tresses glossier.
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- Fourth, prefer air drying your hair. Though blow-drying hair produces more lustrous hair, air drying will cause less heat damage.
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- Fifth, if you plan on being out in the sun often, consider covering up your hair or applying a hair product that offers SPF protection. Essentially, UV light causes hair’s melanin to decompose. Harsh sunlight can cause colored-treated hair to lighten four shades.
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- Sixth, avoid chlorinated pools. The chlorine is there to kill bacteria, but it easily harms hair color. Swimming in a chlorine pool is like swimming through Bleach. If you plan to use a pool frequently, consider getting an appropriate leave-conditioner, which can create a barrier that protects your hair.
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Ultimately, Hannah Edelman came up with a unique combination of colors. It blends shades of mauve with a chocolate base to form a subtle yet textured hair color, making it an excellent choice for the fall season or even workplaces.
What’s more, there’s a wide variety of chocolate mauve styles to choose from. Both the mauve tones and chocolate base can be manipulated in countless ways to produce the right look for you.
However, getting this sort of balayage treatment requires commitment—both during the dyeing treatment and afterward, when your hair must be cared for. If you’re not careful, your shampoo and conditioner, the sun, heat, and chlorine could undo all of the efforts you put into achieving your chocolate mauve hair.
In the end, though, the commitment pays off by producing a stunning blend of warm pinks and deep browns, a style that plays with the themes of femininity, youth, warmth, and stability.
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