It’s summer! So you know what that means….sun, margaritas, beaches and time to go blonde! I was ready to lighten up my locks. And who better to take me down a few shades than celebrity colorist Tracey Cunningham. After all, she does her amazing artistry on the tresses of some of Hollywood’s brightest and best, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez and Drew Barrymore. And so, I was off to her Meche salon in Beverly Hills on a recent Saturday. And the salon was bustling!
My before look
Upon arriving, Tracey surveyed my hair and we talked about what I wanted to do. Since my hair already had highlights, we thought we would follow along with what I already had, but give it a summer sun-kissed feel. So she applied the highlights, and I was off to let them settle in. But after scrolling through my smartphone and coming up on some gorgeous hair pics of a very blonde Heidi Klum, I decided that I wanted to go even lighter than we had discussed. How was that for throwing a curve ball into the plan? Never fear though. Tracey handled it like a pro. She just added in some extra balayage and highlights to achieve the desired look. In fact, here is the breakdown of exactly what she did:
1. Sun-kissed Blonde highlights
2. Weaved in highlights designed by Tracy
3. Balayage on the ends at the same time to give a natural sun kissed effect
4. Process and rinse
5. Balayage the hairline to make the colors look natural and connected
6. Rinse
7. Put a gloss on the roots to make the stripey effect of the highlights on the top of the head blend in.
8. Rinse and style.
My after look
The back of my hair after Tracey’s color
And she took me to blonde with Redken color. She really made me the perfect shade of sun-kissed blonde and I am so happy with the color. Cunningham is a perfectionist, with extreme attention to detail. If one hair looked out of place, she was there to correct it. And my hair has this beautiful, glossy sheen now and both looks and feels healthy.
Taking a selfie with Tracey Cunningham before I left Meche
Tracey advised post-treatment that I should use Redken’s Blonde Idol hair care products, which promise no more brassiness. Hallelujah! This is because of the exclusive Kera-Bright systems which balance and beautify blonde hair color. I am looking forward to trying these now that I have them and will let you know how effective they are. But for now, I am going to enjoy my new blonde look!
Thanks to Conde Nast, Redken and Tracey Cunningham for partnering on this post.
