After months of using boxed hair dye, cutting our own hair and longingly awaiting our reunion with our beloved hairstylists, the time has come when we can safely enter hair salons and get the color and cut we so desperately need! Inspired by Amanda Stanton‘s ‘buttermilk’ color by Chrissy Rasmussen of Habit Salon, HollywoodLife sought out the expertise of colorist Joanna Pinto of Pierre Michel Salon in NYC to help recreate the look. “Amanda has a buttery blonde dimensional Balayage infused with ivory tones, so I would recommend the client have a thorough consultation with their colorist and specify that they want a majority of the lightness towards the ends and the hairline of the hair.”
She continued, “There is not a specific way to achieve this look there are multiple techniques that can be used I myself would use a combination of baby lights and balayage and tone by doing a root smudge to blend the roots to make it look more natural.” While you might be wondering why one would go light for the fall season, Joanna said it’s actually “perfect for fall, because a majority of the richness and depth is located in the root area.”
“This type of look gives the client more longevity with the color and also makes it look more natural since the roots are blended,” she colorist explained. “Most clients go darker or warmer for fall, for clients who are naturally blonde or clients that like to be bright for most of the year this is the perfect look to get come fall.”
The get this look, Joanna told HL that she would “do a full head of highlights and baby-lights, simultaneously I would balayage the hair in between the foils from mid shaft to ends to get more brightness on the ends.” The most important part of this process is the toner. “This look will require 2 different toners. The first one is The root smudge which will be 1-2 levels deeper then the highlighted look. This toner is meticulously applied on the roots to about one inch down the strand to create a natural transition,” she explained. “After this has processed it should be rinsed and towel dried ready for the second toner. The next toner will go everywhere and it will be formulated to cancel any brassiness and yellow remaining in the hair, giving it a seamless, blended look.”
When it comes to maintaining your color at home, Joanna revealed that this look is the perfect choice for easy maintenance because a majority of lightness is located from mid shaft to ends. “Still, every color needs the proper at-home maintenance, so I would recommend using a purple pigmented shampoo once a week, starting 2 weeks after the color service,” she said. “Try not to wash too often because every time you shampoo you release color molecules, stripping the toner. Aside from the purple shampoo, use a shampoo for color treated hair. and use cooler water when shampooing.”
Follow Joanna Pinto on Instagram for all of your hair needs!