This Pixelated Hair Color With a Hidden Flamingo Design Is Going Viral on Instagram
Just after we got done obsessing over this gorgeous flamingo-inspired hair color, another totally different — and equally exciting — variation popped up on our Instagram Discover feeds. We're talking about this look, which imagines pixelated motifs of the hot-pink bird on jet-black hair.
The idea sparked from a seminar held by X-presion Creativos, the Madrid-based group specializing in research and development for hairdressing. Student Cristina Vigna used the team’s pixel hair technique and created numerous flamingo designs on her client at Roberto Marcon Hair Boutique. It's impressive for sure, but the most compelling part is the fact that the designs are hidden within the hair.
“It’s not drawn on the surface,” says Jorge Cáncer, who founded X-presion Creativos with Marco Antonio Restrepo and Jose Luis Almendral. “It’s an architectural work studying the placement of the pixel in every layer.” So, with the hair down naturally, you just see a sporadic pink pattern, but in a video posted by Vigna, the flamingos show up when she combs through sections. According to Cáncer, there are not just two or three flamingos, there are thousands — they'll show up no matter where you section the hair.
Vigna tells Allure, “I started by studying the patterns that I learned in Madrid and drew them on graph paper. The starting point had been very difficult, I had many sleepless nights and my mind melted because I could not figure out the flamingo pattern.” After a number of brainstorm sessions, Vigna nailed what she had envisioned and used her outline as a map.
Although she says explaining the step-by-step process would be impossible as it's necessary to actually show the technique to fully understand it, Vigna does give us a glimpse on how the look was created. First, she bleached the parts where the pixels would fall using Kydra Blonde Beauty Poudre, then rinsed and dried each section one by one. Next up comes the color process: she applied Pulp Riot’s dyes in Cupid Bright Pink for the body of the flamingo and Lemon Yellow for the beak. This style works best on straight, dark-colored hair for the design to appear clearly.
“We are really proud of our students who are going even farther with our techniques,” adds Cáncer. Since pixel hair rose onto the scene, we’ve seen it in the form of yellowfish scales and Super Mario designs. As for what's next for the team? “Right now, we’re creating a product line of beautiful dyes. It will be called X-presion Color,” he reveals. Until then, we'll be keeping an eye out for their latest and greatest pixel creations.
More cool hair-color stories to check out:
Now, learn about 100 years of hair-color history:
