Glam Slam: Color Me Beautiful

Is it just me or do star hair styles overshadow hair color when it comes to the red carpet? Sure the coifs are critical (we’re still talking about Jen’s casually cool braid and Miley’s soft up-do) but without the perfect hue, these ‘dos wouldn’t be nearly as dazzling! Jason Backe, Clairol Color Director and Master Colorist at the Ted Gibson Salon in NY, gives us tips for captivating color for your tresses!

Jason colored Anne Hathaway’s beautiful brunette hair about a week before she headed to Hollywood for awards season. “For Anne, her statement isn’t about her hair color. She wants the color to look great whether she’s caught by the paparazzi or stepping on the red carpet. It’s about making the whole girl look amazing.”

He describes her brunette hair as “almost like velvet… it’s not really hard looking. It’s not solid.” With different shades of brown throughout, Jason says, “The highlights in it are really subtle. You may not look at it and see highlights. But the variation gives it movement.”

To get these tone-on-tone shades at home, Jason recommends using a demi-permanent gloss like Natural Instincts Demi-Permanent Hair Color ($8.99). “There’s no ammonia. It just really enhances the natural variation already in the hair.” A great tip: if you’re experimenting on your own, put the gloss on for only a minute or two (rather than the full 20 minutes) to see how much color deposits. If you like it you can then do it again.

If you’re more of a salon kind of girl, ask for highlights that are hidden – they should come from underneath the part and behind the hairline. For Anne, after doing her highlights “I then went over the whole thing with a demi-permanent– that serves to soften everything up.” And if you can’t touch up your highlights as often as you’d like, Jason advises to just go in for the gloss treatment between sessions.

While brunettes really dominated this awards season (Angelina! Sarah Jessica!) , Jason also has tips for beautiful blondes like Kate Winslet (sporting a lighter shade lately) and ravishing redheads like Amy Adams.

If you’re going blonde at home follow the basic rule of only going two shades lighter than your natural color. Use a permanent color like Clairol Perfect 10($13.99) whenever you are going lighter you must use a permanent color. Choose your shades based on your skin color. If your complexion is pinky, use a sandy, more neutral blonde. If you have more brown or golden undertones, you can pull of golden blonde.

If you want to be bold and go red, Jason advises, “As a general rule, if you’re highlighting red into a different color base it looks like red stripes in brown or blonde hair. I much prefer a red that’s a single process and if you want to add variation then put in highlights going anywhere from gold to vibrant copper.”