When you hear ‘oil slick‘, you probably think of nasty pools of oil in the ocean. Oil slick hair color gives you a shiny, colorful, satiny look — but no nastiness. Aura Friedman of the Sally Hershberger Salon created the technique for dark hair to reveal the fantastic colors that everyone loves.

What Is Oil Slick Hair Color?

Friedman said she wanted to create a look that resembled oil or gasoline in a pool on the ground in the rain. She did it by layering iridescent dark green and dark purple on top of one another and ended up with an oily look.

Oil slick hair uses hues of purple, magenta, green, and cobalt, which require a dark base, so they stand out — a perfect color option for black and brunette hair.

Why Get The Oil Slick Hair Color Look?

Healthier Hair

The technique gives you the rainbow hair-color look that is so popular but without significant bleaching and damaging your hair. We know bleaching your hair to get the color you want requires more than one visit to the salon, and it is not healthy for it.

With the oil slick look, you can get the look with one salon visit, or color and style your hair yourself at home. Either way, your hair is much healthier.

Less Maintenance

Another plus is that you don’t have as much maintenance with the oil slick look, which saves you money. Typically light shades last no more than one month; oil slick hair colors can go as long as six or eight weeks because the colors are bold, strong, and longer-lasting than lighter shades.

Coloring Options

Depending on your colored strands’ placement, you may choose to work with a professional stylist to create the look you want. But if you are a DIYer, you can do it at home. Think about how long you want to sport your oil slick look because you’ll need to decide whether temporary, semi-permanent, or permanent oil slick hair colors are best for you.