I recently had the opportunity to team up with Redken for their Style Transformation campaign, which launched in May. This series is all about expressing yourself by transforming your hair and not conforming to any labels or limits! When I was first approached with the concept, and given the freedom to try something new with my hairstyle, I immediately gravitated towards adding a pop of colour.

I’ve always been pretty guarded when it comes to my hair (it was my safety blanket for many years), and was never comfortable taking risks with it. That is, until the winter of 2016 when I decided to chop 12 inches off! Since then, I’ve definitely been more open to the idea of having fun with my hair and using it to express my personal style.

I was introduced to the lovely Marie-Eve Faucher, a Redken Artist who also works out of Salon Tocci in Liberty Village. I’ve been absolutely lusting after the rose gold hair trend and took this as the perfect opportunity to try it out. After meeting with Marie-Eve and showing her a few inspiration photos, she let me know that a super pastel look I was after would be a bit of a challenge to achieve considering the dryness of my hair. My natural texture is actually quite coarse and wavy (unusual for Asian hair), so I’ve always used hot tools for styling, causing damage over the years. Although a little disappointed, I trusted her advice and settled into my chair for the five hour appointment.

The end result was more vibrant than I imagined, and definitely out of my comfort zone! Marie-Eve used a combination of Redken City Beats (a semi-permanent dye) in Chelsea Coral and City Ballet Pink to achieve the striking colour. What I love about this style is that it starts out bold, but will fade with washing and time, making it the perfect solution for someone like me who’s just starting to experiment with colour and isn’t super committed.

I also picked up a few tips about protecting and caring for my hair, especially since I’m hoping to grow it long again. Marie-Eve used some awesome Redken products to tame frizz and protect my hair from heat while styling, including the Pillow Proof Blow Dry Express Primer Spray, which I loved and smelled amazing!

This was a super exciting experience for me, and I love how it turned out. It was refreshing to take a risk and I’m actually proud of myself for doing it! I can’t wait to see how the colour fades over the next few weeks, and who knows – I may try another fun colour this summer. Have you ever taken a risk with your hair? Let me know about your experience in the comments below!