The hair technique to remember if you want to go lighter for summer

If you're fed up of the tell-tale line that often accompanies fresh highlights, we may have found your new best friend.

Gloss smudging is the latest buzz in the hair colour industry and if you feel like a hair change but don't want anything too mad, this is for you. Smudging is the final step in the highlighting process and colourist, Kari Hill, an expert on everything blond-related, is a big believer in the technique as "it takes out the deliberate look of the highlight at the root". *books colour appointment* Chatting to Refinery 29, Kari, who just so happens to count Michelle Williams, Anna Faris and Taylor Schilling among her clientele, explains why this step is essential.

"I smudge everyone who walks in the door. It takes away the line of demarcation we all had when we got highlights when we were younger".

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Kari says that smudging can be used by any colourist on any hair texture so it might be worth having a chat with your hairdresser next time you're in for highlights. It simply involves a colour gloss/toner applied to just the roots and it should only take ten minutes. As Kari notes, this technique is exactly like when you smudge eyeliner, you take away the harsh, unflattering lines. Gloss smudging, we're coming for you...

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Main image via Instagram: Bumble & Bumble / Sunnie Brook