pastel hair

A Breath of Fresh Pink Hair

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 by Alyssa Garrison

Holy wow, it’s been a minute!

In all honesty I didn’t even intend to put together this post – the stress of existing in the world these past few months has taken a massive toll on my creativity and I’ve seriously struggled to write anything more than an Instagram post.

But it turns out fresh pink hair is a really great motivator – a breath of fresh “hair” in these troubling times!

One of the big challenges for me when facing our unexpected move to Vancouver was losing all of the amazing connections I’d made over my 12 years in Toronto. Not just my beloved friends and my work contacts, but my cool dentist, the neighbourhood coffee shop, our family doctor, and my hair dream team! It took a long time to find “my people” in such a big city, and the idea of starting from scratch was pretty disheartening.

I hadn’t put much thought into my hair between the stress of moving and everything else happening in our lives, but a few weeks ago I drove by GlosSalon in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood and instantly knew I had to make an appointment. My incredible friends at Blyss salon in Toronto left some big shoes to fill (love you Amanda and Alyson), but I had a good feeling about GlosSalon – it was love at first sight after all.

A few weeks later I found myself in Elise’s chair discussing what I might want – I had walked in wanting to be as blonde as possible without a bleach out, but as soon as we started chatting I changed my tune. Why go more blonde and not add some pastel?

The great thing about pastel colours is no matter how bright they start out, they fade super quick, especially this time of year when sunshine and swimming is abundant. In my experience, a pink or purple will always fade to a beautiful shade of blonde, so there’s not much to lose (but be careful with shades of blue, yellow and green!) We decided to use Davines pink conditioner, a natural tinting product that leaves hair super silky, lasts surprisingly long, can be modified (by adding conditioner) to lighten the shade of pink, and can be bought to take home for touch ups. I love this product so much that I even did a DIY with the old version (the formulation now is similar and the tutorial stands true) years ago. You can read the step-by-step here!

Elise did an incredible allover highlight job to make my blonde base dreams come true – I was so impressed by her patience and attention to detail when it came to putting in (what felt like) the hundreds of foils. The salon itself was truly magical – like being on vacation for the afternoon (without the current travel risks!) I soaked up every second in GlosSalon’s beautiful space, and even did a bit of shopping while my highlights processed. Apparently pre-covid they also served glasses of rosé alongside services, and you best believe I’m already excited for that add on to return!

If your hair is already pre-lightened and you want to try adding a pinch of pink at home, I highly recommend the Davines Pink Conditioner that we used. If you’re local, you can buy it directly from GlosSalon, or online here!

Special thanks to GlosSalon for the amazing service!

Dress Up Oh so Pretty

A Good Hair Holiday

December 7, 2018March 21, 2019 by Alyssa Garrison

Tis’ the season for holiday parties, rocking around the Christmas tree, and great hair! There’s nothing I love quite like getting all dressed up at Christmas time – let’s be real, it’s the only bit of the year where adults cover themselves in sparkles and sequins and it’s considered totally normal. Stories are stocked up with all the glitter, and let’s just say I always feel like it’s my time to shine.

I usually struggle with dry brittle hair in the winter, but this year I have the blessing of pregnancy hormones on my side, making my hair much more full and luscious than usual. For the first time in a long time I’m taking my hair health seriously, sleeping with a silk head wrap (LOVE Silke London) and being wary of using too much heat. I’ve also been letting my natural colour grow in, which means with less bleach I’ve needed to get used to washing my hair way more, so choosing a good shampoo and conditioner combo has never been higher on my priority list! This holiday season that means the new OGX x Nicole Guerriero Limited-Edition Holiday Collection.

I am scent-obsessed, so this super cute Disco-themed festive collection is absolutely speaking my language. Created in collaboration with beauty influencer Nicole Guerriero, the three shampoo and conditioner pairing scents are Ice Berry Queen with sugared cranberries, jasmine and amber, Midnight Kisses with warm vanilla, orange blossom and sugar cane, and my personal favourite, Mistletoe Wishes. With notes of red holly berries, light fresh evergreens, and a touch of sparkling grenadine, your hair really can’t get more Christmassy than this!

Available for $10.99 each at most major retailers and drugstores like Shoppers Drug Mart, this collection is only here until Christmas, so make sure you get them on your list to Santa!

Lash Extensions via N15 salon

Oh so Pretty

Perfect Purple Pastel Hair

May 4, 2018May 4, 2018 by Alyssa Garrison

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted here about a new shade of pastel hair. I have tried almost every product on the market, so for a while I didn’t have anything new to report – that is, until göt2b launched their new CREATIVE colour line!

I’ve been a fan of göt2b’s flashy design and bright packaging since I was a teenager, and I was super excited to try out their first foray into the world of hair colour, especially because their kit gives you the power to choose your colour intensity. As someone who likes to end up with a more pastel look, I’ve had more than a couple crazy bright hair mistakes, and if you’re doing your hair at home it can be quite the nightmare.

Göt2b takes the guesswork out of the process, including a pastelizer packet in their colour kit that you can add to the colour to desaturate. That said, I used my full packet and the colour still turned out quite bright, so if you have super bleached hair like I do, it might be best to add a touch of conditioner to the mix to get your colour to be more on the pastel side. Don’t worry if it ends up too dark after the first dye – it will fade a bit with every wash!

So what’s the step by step? Easy peasy:

-Empty the colour into the plastic dish provided.

-Add pastelizer if you desire.

-Do a strand test on a small part of your hair at the back where it’s not super obvious to make sure you’re happy with how the colour looks on your actual hair. Like I mentioned if the colour is still too dark, you can add a bit of conditioner to the mix (just make sure you mix it in well or you won’t get that super perfect coverage!).

-Once you’re happy with the shade, apply the colour all over as quick as you can. Be careful of getting it on your clothing and skin as it may stain, and don’t forget to wear the gloves included in the kit. If you’re doing portions of your hair or attempting an ombre, use the brush!

-If you’re going for a super bright look you can leave the colour on for up to 20 minutes. I left mine on for less than 2 minutes, and I would recommend nothing more than 3 if you’re trying to achieve a more pastel look.

– Shampoo, condition, dry and style! It’s that easy!

The Creative colour line is semi-permanent and lasts up to 15 shampoos, so in the world of fun colours it’s on the more long-term side (if you’re looking to experiment with something more temporary, göt2b also has a new temporary colour spray called Head Turner that lasts up to 3 shampoos!). Your hair needs to be blonde or pre-bleached for the colour to show up, and you can try göt2b Be En-Lightened to prep if needed.

Excited to see my Creative colour reveal?

Oh so Pretty

Locks Spun From Gold

December 6, 2016December 6, 2016 by Alyssa Garrison

When two of my favourite things, pink and gold intercept, you know there’s going to be a love that lasts a lifetime. I have been swooning over rose gold everything for years, and though I’ve tried, I never quite perfected the colour on my mane – until now!

Some of you may have noticed my hair has been getting darker and darker lately, a decision I’ve made in light of the ridiculous amount of breakage and damage bleaching for 10 years straight has caused. I just want to give my hair a little break, you know? So, I consulted with Jaymi at Good Day Hair (aka pastel goddess of the world) and together we came up with a multi-step plan to get my hair back to a healthy state, without losing my pastel.

First we needed to break up the root line Jaymi added a bit of darker colour about halfway down my hair to an ombre affect, then highlighted throughout to create a more natural blonde. In all honestly, she did an amazing job, but I just didn’t feel like me without the pastel! So a few weeks later I headed back to Good Day and we came up with this masterpiece- a peachy rose gold ombre that didn’t involve any bleaching at all! Only colour deposits!

I’m so over the moon with the results – it’s the perfect middle ground until I can bleach again. For the next little while we’ll just be highlighting and adding fun colours on top, and if this attempt is any indication, it’s going to be AWESOME!

Thanks again to my girl Jaymi and Good Day Hair Shop!

Oh so Pretty

Prismatic Rainbow Pastel Hair

June 23, 2016June 23, 2016 by Alyssa Garrison

And just like that, it’s one of my favourite times of the year again: Toronto Pride is around the corner! In all honestly things feel a bit different this year for all sorts of reasons- I’m dating a cisgender man for the first time in a long long time, my best friend Sarah is coming to spend with weekend with me from Vancouver, and most importantly, I’m still reeling from the mass shooting in Orlando. The more I read about this horrible tragedy, and the more I think of how easily it could’ve been so many of my nearest and dearest in that club… it’s almost unfathomable, but it’s reality for those victims and their families.

With that in mind, the common consensus in the community and beyond is that we need to band together, become stronger than ever before, and most importantly, spread love over spreading hate. Pride has always been a celebration of love, friendship, community, and strength for me, and I think this year more than ever it remains important to sparkle on in full capacity. Rumour has it you might even catch a glimpse of my rainbow hair in this year’s parade if you look closely enough…

Anyway, on to the hair!

I almost always have some sort of unicorn-type thing happening on my head for Pride, and there’s no one better at swirling blended rainbow hair goodness then Amanda Quarshie at Blyss salon. I was introduced to the Blyss team through my PR contact at Davines (aka my go-to hair brand), and we’ve been pretty much unstoppable when it comes to amazing colour creations ever since. This year she used 6 different colours on my locks (including peach and lavender) to get the dreamiest pastel mane possible, all blended at different strengths so certain shades showed up more obviously.

Using Davines “A New Colour” in a warm beige blonde to create a base, and Davines Pure Colour for the actual rainbow, the end result was a subtle yet beautiful opalescent masterpiece, and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been terrified to wash my hair and lose the effect!

Stay tuned for more glimpses of my rainbow hair at the #RAOPrainbowparty post, coming early next week!