MENU
SEARCHUsing Color Analysis, a system formalized in the 1980s, these stylists create something optimized to bring out the best in their clients, while also helping them stand out with this specialty.
Ricardo Santiago, @stylistricardosantiago is using color analysis to guide him in tailoring bespoke color results for his clients.
Ricardo Santiago
In the 1980s, the book Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson made color analysis a popular topic. Instead of sharing Enneagram type, everyone wanted to talk about their season. Color Analysis meant determining which colors best suited an individual’s skin tone, hair, and wardrobe, and then assigning a season based on the result: Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter.
Two stylists who love this flashback form of personalization say it helps them create something optimized to bring out the best in their clients, while also helping them stand out with this specialty.
Ricardo Santiago, @stylistricardosantiago is an Orlando-based master hairstylist who is using color analysis to guide him in tailoring bespoke haircolor for his clients.
A bilingual international educator and MODERN SALON 100 honoree, Santiago keeps the client experience at the center of his work, and by using this tool, he is also designing hair that is centered around what will look best for each client.
“For years, I built my career creating beautiful hair and executing trends,” says Santiago. “I customized colors for my clients, and the color was well done and tailored but most of the time, my focus was limited to surface-level matching, often concentrating on select aspects of the client’s features, rather than understanding the full picture.”
Santiago’s wife, Angela, first introduced him to Color Analysis because she knew he loved the theory and science of color.
“That was 2023, and I have since trained on three methods of Color Analysis, been Master Certified and read every book I can get my hands on. As a bonus, I have connected with an entire new community of color lovers and have created my own curriculum. Color Analysis changed the way I viewed color, harmony, and the client experience. I began to understand just how much I had been missing, not only technically, but artistically.”
Santiago says this way of working has ignited his passion for education, and he is now helping other stylists train their eyes to see the subtle differences between warm, neutral-warm, neutral-cool, and cool, and to understand how undertone is only the beginning of the conversation.
Ricardo Santiago
"When you begin to understand how temperature, contrast, chroma, and value work together, you unlock an entirely new level of personalization behind the chair," he says.
At our 2025 MODERN SALON Boot Camp in Scottsdale, Lillian Lavette Freeland,@lillian.lavette spoke onstage about her specialty, Hair Color Analysis and Luxury Hair Color.
Lillian Lavette Freeland says her goal is to help guide clients to hair colors that are going to bring out the natural beauty we are all born with.
Lavette Freeland did a deep dive into studying traditional color analysis and brought all that learning to developing a simple, intuitive system to help stylists create the most flattering hair color shades for their clients.
Rather than using the traditional seasonal method, Lillian has streamlined the process, creating an easy way to determine the perfect hair color based on CONTRAST and HUE.
"Most people think it’s about choosing the “right” hair color. But actually, two things matter more: hue and contrast. Hue is the temperature of the color. Contrast is the difference between your hair, skin, and features. It affects how balanced your overall look feels.
"When both are aligned, everything looks more natural… and effortless."
From tackling stubborn grays and unwanted warmth to achieving the perfect blonde, Moroccanoil Professional artists share their advice and color solutions.
Sponsored by Moroccanoil
Are your blondes feeling blah? Give ’em a lift with LightDimensions SilkLift Strong
Sponsored by Goldwell
Trending, fool-proof, and fantastic formulas.
Schwarzkopf Professional Ambassadors Carly Zanoni and Brendnetta Ashley share the express color and treatment services helping stylists deliver great results in under 30 minutes while creating new opportunities for client retention and revenue growth.
As rich red-violet tones continue trending, the brand introduces two new demi shades designed for depth, shine, and dimensional color.
In an industry with so many options and opportunities, we asked artists what made them niche down and select a specialty. Amelia Fugitt (@ameliahairmakeup) says choosing to focus on transformations has transformed her career.
From gray blending to glossing services, stylists are redefining low-maintenance hair color and building more consistent, profitable salon business.
Neutralizing the damaging effects of water benefits the hair from texture to shine to color longevity, and it’s the science behind Malibu C products.
Sponsored by Malibu Wellness
Craft with confidence, challenge your creativity, work from inspiration. Prepare your chair for every canvas with Moroccanoil's expanded color lines and advanced technology.
Sponsored by Moroccanoil
Create a look of quiet luxury with this modern take on ombré, featuring beautiful dimension and depth with strategic pops of blonde around the face and ends. The initial effect is bright and beautiful, with purposefully placed depth creating longevity as the hair grows out.
A master colorist on why great hair color is never “simple.”
Meet the next generation of lightening with cleaner lift, less breakage, and built-in Metal Purifier Technology.
Sponsored by Wella
Oligo Professionnel, the Montreal-based hair color powerhouse, expands beyond the salon with a new routine-driven system designed specifically for blondes and those with highlighted hair.
These stylists practice hairdresser magic, transforming clients into unicorns, mermaids, rainbows and living works of art.
Ahead of the Winter Olympics, Alysa partnered with St. Louis–based color specialist Kelsey Miller to elevate her DIY bleach work into clean, high-contrast halo placements.
PRAVANA Sugarcoated expands the ChromaSilk VIVIDS line with two new pink shades, Juicy and Crush.
Blonde hair is as All-American as baseball, apple pie, and Stars and Stripes forever. And as America approaches her 250th birthday next year, we celebrate the birth of the Global Blonde.
