In this Facebook Live video, in partnership with SalonCentric, we bring you Shelley Gregory (@shelleygregoryhair) the “macaroon hair” queen herself. While at her Las Vegas salon, Gregory takes us through all the steps involved in creating a soft peach and pink “pastelage”—a pastel-colored balayage.
She conceptualized this super-subtle technique by thinking of her own personal aesthetic and the lifestyle of her younger clientele. “I really like the way natural grow out looks,” says Gregory. “And clients that are younger can’t come into the salon as often for a touchup. With this look, they can come in six months or 12 months later, depending on their situation.”
As Gregory takes us through the process we learn some of her best coloring tricks. “What I like to do is balayage first. Let that process. Take it off. Then I go in and paint on some pastel colors. For the balayage, I mixed L’Oréal Professionnel Blond Studio Platinum Plus with 40 volume and Smartbond to protect the hair. Always use Smartbond, because you don’t want to mess with the health of the hair.”
Gregory paid special attention to the hairline, by separating it out from the rest of the partings. “The hairline is so important. It’s the first thing they look at when they walk back from the shampoo bowl,” says Gregory. “I take a tiny bead of lightener at the tip of my brush, and I lightly stroke on teeny-tiny, baby pieces.”
Gregory also let us in on an upcoming color launch that she’s the spokesperson for: L’Oréal Professionnel #COLORFULHAIR Direct Dye, a new vivid direct dye for professionals. She used the new product on her model’s hair, and emphasized how the product conditions while it created a beautiful wash of color. “For this look I worked with the new #COLORFULHAIR Direct Dye Crystal Clear, Pink Sorbet and Sunset Coral. When you want a pastel shade, always dilute with clear for softer results.”
Throughout the process no detail was left uncovered: the number of paddles she uses (three), the set up of her workstation (super neat with a wet washcloth for messy brush wipe offs) and pastel-hair pricing (start with what you charge for a balayage and increase it by the price of a toner service).