Beauty Report: Flirt with colour without commitment

Summer is traditionally silly season for hair.

Drastic changes in style will generally happen in the frivolity of the warmer months. The desire for colour doesn’t have to stop at lipstick and eyeshadow. Something about the extra sunlight seems to make us braver. But there are sensible ways to try something new and dramatic.With festival season and the sun comes a certain tacit permission to push the boundaries a bit, and expressing yourself a bit with colour can be as transformative as it is refreshing.

If you’d like a change, or want to give summer colour a try without having to commit long term, there are a lot of fun options which – despite appearances – don’t necessarily have an age limit.

While I was at Dublin's Mane Salon trying Wella Professionals Instamatic colour, there was a woman sitting across the salon with a head of salt and pepper hair who was trying the same product in soft streaks to add dimension to her hair.

Instamatic is a temporary colour available in six muted pastel shades. Rather than imbuing the hair with vivid colour, they leave a wash which adds interest to hair. They can be left to develop longer for a full-on pink, mauve or blue finish, or used to add verve to drab highlights.

As a soft wash of overall colour, they are a stylish way of tipping your cap to the pastel hair trend without committing to anything extreme, and will fade with each wash, lasting about eight washes in total. It is available at Wella salons nationwide.

Primary colours such as reds and greens are the hardest to remove from the hair shaft once you decide you're tired of them. For a festival-worthy transformation without colouring your hair, try Great Lengths Apps extensions. Less expensive than standard Great Lengths bonded extensions, they are more along the lines of classic tape extensions, and last for about three to four weeks.

They are perfect for adding interest and volume to shorter styles, or adding brightly coloured ends to longer styles without frazzling your own hair or committing to something really vivid. Try a perfect match for your own colour for more hair than you can shake a stick at, or go full-on fun with a trend-driven shade. Teal is particularly popular. I opted for a matching tone and volume rather than length, and the extensions lasted three weeks and looked entirely natural. Price on consultation at Cowboys and Angels and other salons nationwide.

If you're feeling brave, opt for a wash-out metallic pomade which catches the light to add shimmer to hair. This looks particularly fantastic and eye-catching on braided hair, and anything is permitted during festival season. Redken Metal Fix 08 metallic liquid pomade (€23) is available in both gold and silver.

Just braid barely damp hair and rub a tiny amount of pomade between your palms before running it along the braid. At night, the shimmer will catch the light beautifully, and then you can wash it out when you’ve had enough of it.

lkennedy@irishtimes.com