Autumnal Hair by Symon May

Hair Ideas & Inspiration

Autumnal Hair by Symon May

16 Nov 2017

With autumn having truly set in; the leaves now coloured by the beautiful palettes of copper, orange, red and brown, it seems the perfect time to introduce you to the next creative experiment-gone-right by Symon May.

If you haven’t watched already, then check out the behind-the-scenes, inspirations and demonstration video here that also shows what an amazing day we had at Redken's Exchange:

A post shared by The Chapel (@thechapelplace) on

The Root Of It All

Image credit: Bento Yoshida / Shutterstock.com
Image credit: Image credit: Bento Yoshida / Shutterstock.com

Image credit: Bento Yoshida / Shutterstock.com


When we converse with you over a glass of wine or a cappuccino before an appointment, we love finding out more about you, for example, your lifestyle, colour palette in your wardrobe and which aspects of your hair you love or maybe dislike. This is exactly what Symon explored with his model, Tash...

Living in Brighton, Tash is already surrounded by hair of an enormous colour spectrum, the expressive culture of in Brighton of individuality is already at home, so together, Symon and Tash wanted the challenge of trying something new to Brighton.

The inspiration for the idea came right from the season that surrounds us now; autumn and its colour palette that it brings, even the textures of crunchy leaves and that ‘crispness’ that we all describe in this transition from summer to winter.

The Method

As with all of our cut or colour services, we always tailor to the individual. We advise that you refer to this simply as a rough guide (including volumes) and we only recommend the colour application by professional hairstylists.

Colours used:

  1. Redken Shades EQ Gloss 8N and 7P with processing solution
  2. Redken City Beats Big Apple Red
  3. Redken City Beats West Village Sunset
  4. Redken City Beats Yellow Cab
  5. Redken City Beats Broadway Blue
  6. Redken Freehand Lightener with 30 vols pro-oxide


Step by step:

  • “First, I needed to refresh Tash’s previous balayage, so I used Redken Freehand Lightener.
  • Once applied, rinsed and dried, I applied Shades EQ 8N and 7P Gloss to the root area to darken it and add a touch of winter.
  • I then started using my own technique that I coined as ‘Sponging Technique’ (shaped sponges are available from many art and craft shops.). I used the different shapes to create edges and curves to the shades of colour I applied - I wanted to create the yellow, burnt orange and reddy purple you see in the leaves in autumn.
  • For the yellow, I mixed 35 ml of Redken’s Yellow Cab with 5 ml of West Village Sunset.
  • For the orange, I mixed 35 ml West Village Sunset with 5 ml Big Apple Red.
  • Finally, for the reddy purple I mixed 30 ml Big Apple Red with 10 ml Broadway Blue.
  • I then sectioned her hair into three sections; the back and two sides.
  • (The key to using sponges is making sure you can saturate your shape into the hair so you ensure your sections are fine enough.)
  • I worked up from the bottom taking thin sections. Then combed the hair out flat at a low elevation and applied the colour using the sponges. (You need a lot of product on your sponge to saturate the hair but not so much that you lose the shape.)
  • Finally, I covered all the hair in each section in glorious colour!

Contact The Chapel on WhatsApp