Everything about Lady Gaga screams innovation and creativity, from her song lyrics to those outrageous outfits, not to mention some unquestionable talent (her recent Grammy show performance pretty much took over the night).
Then, there’s the hair.
Somehow her most striking looks — giant hair bows and neon yellow, two-tone streaks, just for starters — wouldn’t be the same if Gaga stuck to the natural brown she had in her pre-superstar days.
That shocking platinum comes courtesy of Aura Friedman, Senior Hair Colorist and Educator at the Bumble & bumble salons in New York City. StyleList caught up with Friedman recently to get an insiders glimpse into the Lady Gaga universe.
“We have to do a double process to make Gaga’s hair the right shade, which means removing her natural color with cream bleach and then applying a high-gloss dye that actually contains pearly pink, sparkling tones,” says Aura. It might seem a little odd, but those pearly pink tones she uses for Lady Gaga’s platinum also help boost shine and gloss for anyone with highlights.
Hair as blonde as Gaga’s takes lots of maintenance. “We have to do it every three weeks, which is extremely damaging,” says Aura. So that Gaga’s hair doesn’t turn into a fried mess from the repeated stress it endures, she uses Bumble & bumble’s Bb Wear and Care Mending products on her tresses.
Aura’s advice works in the real world, too. She suggests the Bb. Wear and Care Mending line (coming in March 2010) for anyone with colored hair, since they “maintain shine and luster in between all color services.”
And when it comes to DIY, Aura is emphatically against it — especially if you’re veering far from your natural color a la Gaga. “My thought on home color is don’t do it! I’ve spent many hours trying to fix the mess it can create,” she says.
With fifteen years of dyeing experience, we’ll take her word for it on the bleach jobs. But we’re all for using an ammonia-free glaze to cover up our grays.
