Tried and Tresseded...the NEW root stretch

Given the A-lister treatment on the balcony

A few weeks ago, I was invited for a colour at achingly trendy HOB Salon, Camden, where the likes of Pixie Lott and Ellie Goulding hang out under the driers. I was lucky enough to have my consultation with uber colourist, Christel Lundqvist, Colour Techinician of the  Year. During the colour chat, she studied my skin tone, as well as the base tone of my hair, to best find a colour to suit me. With my choppy style, she decided that monotone colour did nothing for my tresses, making it look 'wig like'. True dat. She decided that a root stretch colour would work well with my layers but not the grungey, block root stretch of last year (think Drew Barrymore) but 'the new root stretch', a lot softer, a lot more blended in tone (think Whitney Port). I was shown my intended shade on a colour pantone (like the sort of paint charts you get in a DIY shop), something that I've never experienced in a salon before but made it a lot easier to visualise the end result. The lovely Mariesa created my root stretch, painting on the colour by eye to create a really natural, grown-out look. 

Before

In the interest of fairness, I have attached two pictures that feature my hair in exactly the same style, i.e. naturally wavy, backcombed at the root and on a side parting. The first picture looks flat and lifeless, while the second looks like a completely different style - all bouncy and defined. As a very dark brunette and having played around with dark to very blonde highlights in the past, the root stretch has allowed me to lighten up for summer but still look very much brunette. Love, love, LOVE. Sx

After