Going from black to blonde is a colour service that would test any stylist, so when Louise Hilsz decided on her new summer look, we needed to call in the best - New Zealand hairdresser of the year, Danny Pato from d&m Hair Design. Trudi Brewer shares this stunning transformation.

Hair colour speaks volumes about your personality and fashion look, so when our fabulous style director Louise Hilsz makes a style decision for herself, it's always radical.

No stranger to change which includes bleaching and a rainbow of hues, this makeover was one high tech hair transformation. "I was sick of the feeling hair on my face. My hair is fine and gets very knotty as it grows and I was so bored of my classic bob shape." Hilsz has her finger on the pulse when it comes to fashion and wanted a change that reflected the latest trends. "I love fashion and changing my hair is so important each season as I feel it completes an outfit."
After an initial Pinterest viewing of a range of pixie cuts and blonde colours (styles and shades Hilsz has been coveting); the big chop began. Hilsz’ hair is washed using Davines OI Shampoo and Conditioner before cutting.
"The first cut removes the length and gives me a guide to the new pixie shape; there is also no point colouring hair that is going to be removed." Hilsz hair was dried before an application of Davines Glorifying Pre-Colour Treatment to protect the scalp, then lightened using Davines Mask Bleaching Powder. "To preserve the health of the hair and scalp, the blonding process may need to be done in a two or three stage process. Going from black to blonde is taking the hair at least eight shades lighter and because the hair at the scalp processes bleach faster (due to heat from your head), the ends are bleached twice to remove the residual black tint," says Pato. Who adds, "To get the final hair colour the same level of blonde you should expect the bleaching process to take a few hours and it often needs more than one session." The next step is a violet-based toner to remove the yellow tinge from the ends and give the hair shine. "The toner helps to create a 'shadow' effect at the roots, which gives that lived-in balayage feel to the overall colour," says Pato.

Brunette woman with shoulder length hair and fringe smiling in colourful shirt

Male hairdresser in stripe t-shirt cutting brunette woman's hair

Hairdresser hands cutting brunette woman's hair

Brunette having hair cut by male hairdresser in stripe t-shirt

Brunette woman in hair salon with short hair smiling

Brunette colourist colouring brunette womans' hair

Hair colourist colouring blonde woman's hair

Blonde woman waiting or hair dye to settle in

Blonde woman with colourful shirt smiling

Blonde woman with colourful dress standing arm in arm with brunette man in stripe t-shirt

Finally, the pixie cut is perfected, followed by a speedy blow-dry, with Davines Forming Pomade worked into the hair once dry to create texture. "Louise has the most stunning head shape; she has the style to pull off an on-trend look like this, and her warm skin tone suits the honey blonde colour."
The success of any new hair look is always in how you can style your hair at home and this short, gamine shape is both easy and ideal for Hilsz' hair texture.
"I love the result. I feel younger and more modern. I also love that it's on trend right now and it will complement my summer fashion look, which is going to be bold and bright with lots of floral prints for the party season ahead," says Hilsz. She admits this new cut is easy to style and is also very low -maintenance. "I like to experiment with makeup and now with my hair is out of my face I can do that," she adds.
To protect blonde colour during summer a violet based shampoo and conditioner is essential. "Blonde hair is notorious for throwing a warm yellow cast once it exposed to the UV rays and chlorine, so it's essential you take care of the condition and the colour," says Pato. He recommends the new Davines Alchemic Silver Shampoo and Conditioner, which is 95 percent natural and 98 percent biodegradable, the range hit salons January 2018.

Take home

Hilsz's hair routine to keep the colour looking its best.
Davines OI Shampoo, $40; Davines OI Conditioner, $43. Davines OI All In One Milk, $38, this is a leave-in multitasker to soften, protect and add incredible shine hair. Davines Alchemic Silver Shampoo, $40 and Davines Alchemic Silver Conditioner, $42. For a tender scalp post bleaching try Davines Naturaltech Calming Superactive Serum, $55. Davines Naturaltech Nourishing Hair Building Pack, $52, this hydrating mask is made with New Zealand sheep wool keratin protein and jojoba oil to strengthen and nourish bleached hair. And for adding texture to short hair try Davines Forming Pomade, $44.

For all Davines enquires email hello@be.co.nz or call 0800 239 687 for stockists.