Alicia McLaughlin, better known as Lish Mac (@thehairstylish), an artist at Calista Grand, West Chester, Pennsylvania, says that "The Unicorn Tribe is the epitome of why I joined this business. I love making people feel beautiful and unique. There's literally no greater joy in my world. Having the opportunity to share and inspire others to do the same makes it even better. Stylists lifting up other stylists. Bridging the gap. No egos. No judgement. Just appreciation and love." A former art major, McLaughlin became a hairdresser at the suggestion of HER hairdresser. It was meant to me.

For this transformation, McLaughlin had an opportunity with her coworker. "Liz has wanted to get away from her copper tones and start fresh. We have been talking about blue for a while now so I'm happy she finally got to be a beautiful blue mermaid. Since Liz works at Calista, she always has awesome hair. This was her last salon service, done by Lauren Henry (@laur_hen). The red was absolutely stunning. It faded out in intensity but was still going strong when we started this process. It was crucial for Liz, as it is with most people, to keep the integrity of her hair intact. She has super fine hair so I took some measures to insure minimal breakage."

Here she shares the HOW TO:

Color Removal:
Liz's starting level was a 4/5 red with 6/7 red copper highlights. First we color removed her with Pravana Color Extractor. I love this product because it's not harsh at all and takes about three levels of color out with out any damage to the hair. To avoid lightener as much as possible I went in again with Eugeneperma's Demaq (a more intense color remover) and 30 volume for 45 minutes, being conscious of avoiding the root because this product does lift the base. This processed for 45 minutes. This resulted in a 6 copper at the roots and a 7/8 gold on her ends.

Foiling:
For the foil, I used Solaris Poudr7 with Oxycrem 30 volume, a splash of Oxycrem 40 vol, and a 1/4 ounce of the amazing Olaplex. I did back to back foils, feathering towards her root but not lifting it because I wanted to maintain a softer root area. I let it process with no heat for about 20 minutes, pulling out the back foils first and rinsing while the front and sides finished processing for another 10 minutes. I was looking for a nice level 9/10 banana yellow. It came out great with no breakage.

Shadow Root:
I dropped her base with Carmen Ultime 1/2 6*1 and 7*1 with shots of 1*10, *10 and *20. Taking small sections and avoiding the ends while feather it down about a inch and a half. This processed for 30 minutes. At the bowl, I toned her ends with Carmen Ultime 10*02 with equal parts 10 volume and double Equivital Shampoo to cut out the yellow undertones.  

Pravana Application:
I knew we wanted to do blues but when I started mixing the colors and looking at her dropped base I thought of the black sand in Hawaii with the Torquoise waters. I went there about ten years ago and fell in love with it. So I mixed two separate formulas using Pravana. Neon Green, Mint, and Locked In Blue in one bowl and Mint with Pastel Blue in another. Taking triangle sections in a bricklay pattern going up the head, I alternated formulas, applying to the root and melting the other into the ends. This is what made it looks so fluid, like the ocean. It processed for 25 minutes. I rinsed with cold water very quickly and did not shampoo.