MAKEOVER: From Classic Blonde To Tasteful Pastel Pink

George Johnson (@georgejohnsonhair) of Bisoux Hair, Darlington, England, says his new client, who normally had very natural highlights or balayage, “wanted to try something new! She was looking for a very soft pastel pink, nothing too bright, as it was a very big change for her.” Johnson realized he had his work cut out for him, needing to achieve a clean slate on his client’s multi-tone hair before formulating for the perfect pink finish.

Here Johnson shares the details for this dimensional pink finish:

STEP 1: Lighten the mid-band with Milk Shake Decologic Blue Lightening powder and 20 volume (blended with a bond builder) in foil, weaving out previous highlights and concentrating on the darker parts of the hair. Process for 20 minutes, lifting to the desired shade.

STEP 2: While processing, go to the roots. Apply Milk Shake Decologic Total Roots Lightener blended with 20 volume and bond builder, blending through to the mid bands while removing the previous foils. “This way I could see that every section was saturated properly.” Process for an additional 15 minutes, then work through to the ends to lighten the hair that had already previously been lightened to lift out any buildup of toner or product. Process for an additional 5 – 10 minutes, lifting to a level 10. Rinse and dry the hair.  (“There were a few tones of level 9 still running throughout the hair. I explained as we were going for such a soft pink that some areas might not accept the color as well as the lighter areas so it could be a mixture of pink and peach tones. My client was happy to have a mixture of tones and stay more pastel.”

STEP 3: Using Milk Shake, blend 1/2 Creative Color 10.76 and 1/2 .6 Creative Metallics with 10 volume. Apply to the hair and process for 35 minutes. Rinse.

STEP 4: To wet hair, apply Milk Shake Pink Grapefruit toner with activating emulsion. Process according to the manufacturer’s instructions.