Lived-in color. Bright platinum. Rooty warm shades. It's summer, which probably means you colorists are hearing these requests a lot during peak-blonde season.

To help your bright endeavors, we asked Johnny Ramirez, L’Oréal Professionnel international hairstylist and co-owner of Ramirez Tran Salon, a few "lightening"-round (ha. ha. ha.) questions regarding how he helps his clients achieve their ideal blonde hue (and helps make it last!). 

How do you choose what blonde would best fit a client?
"I base coloring a woman's hair on her skin tone and eye color," Ramirez says. "I want to make them feel like a natural blonde with lived-in color. I ask them to look my Instagram and see what they're looking for, and then we talk about what's best for them. If it's a brunette, we usually start slow and as the seasons go on, and they have fallen in love with being blonde, they come back and I make them lighter." He says if a client's skin is more yellow or golden, that means they have warm tones. If they have cool tones, their skin will be more pink or red. 

If a brown haired or red haired client comes in for a consultation and wants to go to a level 10 blonde, what do you tell them? Do you color that day or book other appointments?  
"It depends if they have virgin or color-treated hair," Ramirez says. "Sometimes with color-treated hair, a test strand is necessary to make sure the integrity of the hair won't be compromised. If the hair is strong, color the same day is possible."

How does your approach to color and blondes change with each season, specifically spring and summer?
"We choose the shade of blonde that is best for them based on how much red or olive tones they have in their skin," he says. "With summer and spring, women are usually a little tanner and also want to go lighter at the beach [and outside in the sunshine] so we bump up the highlights around the face."

What recommendations do you give clients for maintaining and caring for their blonde at home? 
"The maintenance of blonde hair really comes down to utilizing the right products at home, in between your salon appointments," Ramirez says. "After making sure hair is properly conditioned, keeping blonde strands from turning brassy is next on the list. To do so, try L'Oréal Professionnel's Vitamino Color A-OX Color Corrector Blonde Cream. This cream protects blonde highlights by neutralizing any yellow tones, leaving a pure cool blonde." Ramirez also suggests a weekly mask at home to maintain highlights. His salon recommends L’Oréal Professionnel Pro Fiber.