The Formula and Colorist Behind Jane Fonda’s Silver Makeover Seen at the Oscars

Each time we post an article about Jack Martin, the colorist known for dramatic color transformations out of his salon in Tustin, California, it skyrockets to the top of MODERN SALON’s most-read list. Martin isn’t known for quintessentially vibrant hair color makeovers of traditional Instagram fame, he’s known for helping women embrace their natural hair color, allowing them to own their grays, whites, silvers and all.

At the 2020 Academy Awards on February 9, Martin’s latest transformation hit the mainstream media when he was given the opportunity to transform Jane Fonda.

We’ve long-written articles for modernsalon.com featuring Martin’s color transformations and shared his work across our @modernsalon Instagram platform. Our jaws dropped when he shared that actress and activist Fonda discovered his work and was eager to get her own hair transformed for the Oscars (come on, the idea that Jane Fonda might have posssssssibly seen one of our articles was kinda thrilling. Let us have this moment.)

“She is the sweetest, most humble and kind human being,” Martin told MODERN SALON. “She was shocked with the final results and told me, ‘you nailed it, Jack.’”

Martin said the total transformation time to Fonda’s desired result of white silver—platinum—was 7 hours.

Typically celebrities are used to house calls, especially when a transformation designed to be debuted on the red carpet has to be kept confidential. But Martin said once he told Fonda he needed access to all his products—color, bonder, toner, etc—at arm’s reach for whatever might happen during the makeover, Fonda agreed to meet him at his salon on his day off (Martin's schedule is PACKED) for the big day.

"Ms. Fonda had about 3 inches of her salt and pepper natural roots and the rest was a little tired warm golden blonde," Martin told MODERN in an exclusive interview. "Her goal color was a silver icy blonde to surprise everyone at the 2020 Oscar presenting the final award winner for the movie of the year."

Martin began the process by giving  Fonda a platinum card,  bleaching all her hair back-to-back by taking very thin sections in foils using Oligopro Extra Blonde with 20 volume and Olaplex on the virgin hair with 10 volume and Olaplex on previously colored hair to reach very pale blonde level 11.

"After 3 hours processing, I rinsed and did Olaplex Number 2 for 20 minutes, rinsed again then pre-toned the hair to cancel all the yellowish hue in the hair and prepare a solid white canvas using Redken Shades EQ: 1/2 oz 9B + 1/2 oz 10vv mixed with 3 ounce of clear (00) and double the total amount of processing solution for about 10 minutes," Martin says.

Then, he rinsed the hair, towel dried and applied the final toner: Wella Blondor: 1/2 pale silver + 1/2 pale platinum mixed with 6-volume developer for 30 minutes, then shampooed and conditioned.

"Her hair felt amazingly healthy and Miss Fonda was extremely happy for getting her dream hair," Martin says. "It took her a while to find a colorist that can do it perfectly and in a very painless process."

Bravo, Jack! Congratulations on this MASSIVE moment!

For more information on how Martin transforms his clients, plus his tips on maintaining the transformations, check out 10 Times Jack Martin Colorist Helped His Clients Go Gray.