Gripping the edge of her seat, an anxious Caitlin watched as Mekertichian gathered her hair into a ponytail to go for the big chop. Caitlin's hair has never been shorter than shoulder-length, and this single snip was a major moment. Caitlin's worst fear: a complicated new cut that would require a lot of styling know-how. "I was so shocked to see my hair all over the floor. I'm typically low-maintenance with my hair," she said, post-trim. "I stick to the same routine and just wake up in the morning and go. So, hopefully this will be just as easy to style."

As Mekertichian began cutting, she created new layers within Caitlin's cut, adding depth and movement at her crown and at the front of her hair.

"I took off about nine inches of her hair, but this style will still be very consistent with her current styling routine," said Mekertichian. "It's a very wash and go type of look with lots of movement. It's very sexy, with a symmetrical fringe and lots of body -- flowy and fun."

Because her hair is naturally stick-straight, Mekertichian said the cut would create natural texture for Caitlin and a natural bend in her hair.

"She won't really have to work it," says Mekertichian. "Just a spritz of texturizer and scrunching her ends a little will do the job. It's modern, simple, sexy and sophisticated."

Caitlin is a natural blonde, and over the past five years, she's had some partial highlights added, but she wanted to refresh her color to fit the new style and her skin tone.

"We kept her blonde and brightened it up just a bit," said Mekertichian. "I decided to ombre the back and add some framing blonde highlights in the front. The color will be progressive, and coupled with the layered cut, it will give her hair more movement. So the color 'decorates' the cut."

After washing the color out of Caitlin's hair, Mekertichian dried it using a vented brush. After drying, she created a deep side part and styled Caitlin's hair with a medium flat iron.

"The flat iron created waves and really bumped up the texture," said Mekertichian. "I put a little more severity in her side part to go along with the cut and the heavy fringe."

Makeup artist Taylor Babian used a liquid foundation and soft pink blush to highlight the bone structure in Caitlin's cheeks, giving her a natural, fresh-faced glow. Gold eye shadow added a bit of healthy shimmer, and Babian finished the look with a rosy pink lip gloss.

"I'm not a makeup fanatic and I don't ever want to look 'overdone,' but this is a natural, pretty look," said Caitlin. "It's similar to what I do on my own everyday, but a bit more chic."

"I really like the color! I didn't realize how dull my hair looked -- this is brighter and looks and feels so much healthier," said Caitlin. As for the cut? Caitlin said it'll take some time to adjust to the dramatic switch from long and low-maintenance to shorter and styled, but overall, she loves the switch. "It's shorter than I expected to go, and I think it'll take me a little more time to style than my previous wash-and-go style , but I said I was ready for a change," said Caitlin. "I love the makeup, and with a bit of extra effort, I know I can duplicate this look at home."