"I have always wanted to go a little red, but wasn't planning on it this time around," Colleen told Rojas when they discussed her options. She mentioned her thoughts about a dark blonde hue, but the two settled on a "dark strawberry blonde," said Colleen. They both agreed it would play up her fair skin and sparkling eyes. Was Colleen nervous about this change? "Yes! I mean, we all know the saying 'blondes have more fun,' so I wasn't sure about how I would feel with dark hair," she says.
To create the new hue, Rojas used two shades of Wella Color Charm Permanent Hair Color (ask your stylist if they use Wella color and you can request this specific formula). First, a dark blonde shade that would match her natural base and then a more reddish hue to add a strawberry color. Both shades were applied all over and the total processing time was a mere 20 minutes. This liquid hair color is an ideal product to use on busy moms, because they won't spend hours in a salon.
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The new cut:
Because Colleen went for a dramatic color change, she wanted to keep her long length and simply dust off split ends and shape up her long layers. Rojas was happy to oblige.
Ready for the final reveal? Click "next" to see it.
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Colleen "after":
So what did Colleen think of the color process? "I loved it. It was super fast � perfect for a new mom." And the look? "I like the color. It was a little dark for me at first, but I knew it would fade a bit so I didn't panic. I feel great when I look in the mirror. I just feel more put-together," she said. And what feedback has she gotten from others? "My husband likes it � although it took him awhile to get used to it � and most of my girlfriends like it, though guys don't seem to notice � no shock there!"
And, is Colleen still having fun despite having dark hair? "So far so good � my baby thinks I'm fun either way," she laughs.
We all make sacrifices for various reasons, but the biggest one (as most moms will attest to) is the sacrifice made when you decide to bring a new life into the world. With that responsibility comes the giving up of time. Time to go to the gym, time to shower, time to apply lip gloss, time to eat dinner and, of course, time to have your hair color done and hair cut (among many other things). Because of this fact, many new moms end up with inches of obvious roots and so many split ends that cutting off the non-split strands would take less time.
This was definitely the case with Total Beauty reader Colleen. She had lots of highlights and about three inches of obvious growth. But, instead of going back in to have her sun-kissed hair color freshened up via foils, she decided she would go with a darker shade in hopes it would be less maintenance and more affordable. We were happy to help her out and hooked her up with Ricardo Rojas, eponymous owner of the New York City-located Ricardo Rojas Salon.
Together they came up with a gorgeous new hair color hue for Colleen that plays up her fair skin tone and really makes her blue eyes sparkle. See her speedy transformation and how you can copy it too.
