A Colorist’s Guide to Strawberry Blonde: How To Define & Formulate
Strawberry blonde is trending—but defining the shade goes far beyond “warm blonde.” According to color expert and Kenra Color® Artistic Director Eric Vaughn (@realericvaughn), achieving a true strawberry blonde requires tone control and an understanding of how pink, gold and copper deposit on light levels.
BTC Editors stopped by Eric’s Houston salon, REV, to get Eric’s full technical breakdown. Plus, he shared his key tips for pre-toning, balancing pink with copper and achieving the perfect strawberry finish.
Tap the beaker to reveal the color formulas:
Understanding Formulation: What Defines a True Strawberry Blonde?
“Strawberry blonde is not a golden blonde. It’s not a copper,” Eric explains. “It’s that perfect, beautiful mix of blonde with this really gorgeous strawberry pinky undertone. I truly do think there has to be some pink in that undertone,” he says. “If you look at a strawberry versus an orange, you can clearly see the difference.”
To achieve that balance, Eric turns to Kenra Color® Copper and Rose Metallic (ROM) shades: “That gives you that kiss of copper with that rose and slightly violet undertone,” he shares. “It creates a really beautiful, muted strawberry blonde.”
Pro Toning Tip: “I also think it’s really important to tone the blonde to a really beautiful gold—not ashy, not copper. True gold mixed with that Level 8 Copper-Rose is gonna give you the most beautiful strawberry blonde.”
Want to try Kenra Color® in your salon? Here’s how Eric made the switch:
“I think the first place to start would be with our demi colors. They’re so easy to use, especially as a toner at the shampoo bowl. When we started carrying Kenra Color® in my salon, I bought blonde swatches off Amazon, and I required the team to swatch every single shade in the Kenra portfolio. It really makes sure that there are no surprises when you’re using the colors. You know exactly the undertones.”
How To Prep a Pre-Lightened Ash Blonde for Strawberry Blonde
If your client comes in with an ashy or over-toned blonde, Eric recommends a pre-tone gloss to fill the hair first, even if you’re only going a few levels darker.
“We often think, ‘I’m just going from a 10 to an 8—I don’t need to fill it,’” he says. “But in reality, you’re going to create neutrals when you add warmth instead of creating warmth.”
His go-to filler formula:
- “I’d take her back to the bowl and gloss her with 9GB and a hint of copper,” Eric says. “That gets some of that gold, brown and copper already existing in the hair. Then, when you add your lowlight formulas, you’re creating tones instead of neutralizing ash.”
Skipping this step, Eric warns, results in a flat “neutral gold” instead of a true strawberry finish.
Why Permanent Color Is Ideal for Porous Blondes
Eric reaches for permanent color when transforming compromised or overly porous blondes who struggle to hold tone—here’s why:
“I know we live in a world where we’re demi-crazy, and I love the Kenra Color® Demi-Permanent for so many scenarios,” he says. “But when you’re trying to deposit color—especially onto overly porous blondes—sometimes permanent color gives better absorption, more even results, truer tone and longer-lasting results.”
He adds that since strawberry blonde lives in the Level 8 to 9 range, the tone will stay longer without being difficult to lift in the future. “When you establish that foundation, it’s going to hold longer,” Eric says. “In five shampoos, she won’t be blonde again, but it’s not going to be impossible to get her back to blonde either.”
Want the full step-by-step and formulas for Eric’s strawberry blonde? Click here.
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