When 16 talented artists come together to learn and create, amazing things happen. This past September, eight colorists were matched up with eight stylists in teams of two to create showstopping hair based on the theme of “Renaissance” for our Artist Session Creator Series. Editorial nail artist Tara Haye (@tipsxtara) made the models some beautiful press-on nails for the occasion, the perfect finishing touch, and Ulta Beauty provided esteemed makeup artists Deney Adam (@deney_adam) and Dmitry Potapov (@dmitrymakeup). Model prep was followed by a professional photoshoot with celebrity and fashion photographer Udo Spreitzenbarth (@udophotography).

As for our wonderful sponsors who made this event possible, high-tech heat styling tools were provided by Dyson, professional styling and haircare products by Schwarzkopf Professional, and luxury extensions by Great Lengths. Ulta was also kind enough to lend us the salon inside their Herald Square location in the heart of NYC to hold the event.

One of our teams produced a look so intriguing that we had to put it on our Winter 2022 cover. Shannon Demont (@shannondemont) and Geribeth Stigen (@geribleach) ideated and executed a dramatic platinum transformation on Bronx-based fashion model Shadae Blancaneaux (@dreamydaee), who they praised as the perfect model for their project.

Blancaneaux is a natural level 2, so getting her completely platinum in mere hours would seem like a daunting task to anyone. That is, except Stigen, who has built her career on platinum blonding.

Stigen did a global bleach application, keeping ¼ inch away from the base of the head. She then incubated each section and reapplied the lightener. “The third time I applied, I hit the roots and pulled all the way through again,” Stigen explains. “Each time, heavy saturation is key.” Not only did Blancaneaux’s hair achieve that bright platinum they were looking for, but it remained healthy as well.

“With the theme of ‘Renaissance,’ we felt like we wanted a to see a drastic change or ‘rebirth’ while showing off her talent,” Demont says of Stigen’s blonding expertise. “I fully trusted Geri’s experience and vision of going white-blonde while keeping the hair healthy.”

While Stigen was lightening the model’s own hair, Demont worked on tweaking some Great Lengths extensions to match their desired result. Armed with the lightest and brightest shade of luxury, high-quality GL Tapes, she filled a shampoo bowl with water containing Schwarzkopf’s GOODBYE YELLOW Blonding Wash and dipped the extensions in until they matched Blancaneaux’s new icy tone.

“The Great Lengths extensions were a perfect addition to our look because they filled out the hair really well and gave us more hair to work with for the styling portion,” says Demont.

Dyson’s famous Supersonic hairdryer came in handy for giving the GL Tapes and the model’s hair a complete and gentle dry with no extreme heat. The impressive Dyson Corrale straightener/styler helped Demont get the voluminous texture she and Stigen were looking for.

Lastly, Demont used a host of Schwarzkopf OSiS+ products to style the finished look. She started with Keep It Light hairspray to get a light hold to work with while styling, and then finished with Freeze. After working with each section, she used Texture Craft and Dust It to separate and volumize the hair, making it look fuller.

Check out the model's reaction to seeing her pictures!

Upon finishing the project, the duo was very proud of themselves and each other, and so were we.

“We worked quickly and really well together to create this,” Demont says of the experience.

“I was very lucky to land Shannon as a partner because we worked so seamlessly together,” Stigen adds happily.