This is THE color transformation that earned Kenra Color® Artistic Director Eric Vaughn (@realericvaughn) a 2025 #ONESHOT Hair Award at The BTC Show in Dallas! Eric completely reinvented his client’s look, transforming her grown-out balayage into a cool, dimensional brunette with smoky beige tones and high-impact shine.
The finished color is rich, expensive-looking and ultra-blended, showcasing Eric’s signature seamless technique. Get his formulas below!
Key Details of an Ash Beige Brunette
Goal:
- Transform an over-lightened blonde into a soft, beige brunette while maintaining brightness and tonal balance through the ends.
Technique:
- Eric used micro teasy highlights and lowlights with a full base refresh to neutralize warmth and rebuild depth.
Color Placement:
- Teasy slices in a diagonal back pattern throughout for natural ribbons of light.
- Root melt applied to erase the old base break and create a seamless shadow.
- Tone applied mids-to-ends for a cool beige reflect and dimensional finish.
Tone Inspiration:
- A balanced ash-beige brunette—glossy, multi-tonal, and camera-ready. The look perfectly balances cool reflect with soft warmth for movement and natural shine.
The Formulas
- Formula A (lightener):
- Kenra Professional Beyond Bond + 10-volume developer
- Formula B (in between foils, pull through):
- Kenra Color® Demi-Permanent 7N + 8B + 9-volume developer (1:2)
- Formula C (lowlights):
- Kenra Color® Demi-Permanent 7NB + 7B + 9-volume developer (1:1.5)
- Formula D (root melt):
- Kenra Color® Demi-Permanent 6NUA + 8NUA + 9-volume developer (1:15)
- Formula E (all over toner):
- Kenra Color® Demi-Permanent 10B + 10SM + 8VM + 9-volume developer (1:2)
Steps
- Eric begins highlighting the hair with Formula A, creating very small, teased, sliced sections at a diagonal back. He foils each section with intention, blending our old color and achieving even lift.
- Then, Eric begins the base color application all over with Formula B, applying the color to the tease to eliminate all previous color. “I wanted to get rid of that old base break and create a new canvas, so I really neutralized things down,” Eric explains. At the same time, Eric is applying lowlights with Formula C for added dimension.
- Rinse and begin the root melt and toning process. Eric uses Formula D as a root melt and Formula E all over.
- Wash and style. “The color was absolutely stunning as it was, but Priscilla came back two days later to be a model for my extension class that I was doing with my salon team in Houston. I love getting to work with my team, and this was the perfect reason to do so,” Eric shares.
For the extensions application, Eric used his exclusive Bellami Professional collaboration extensions in the shade Rooted Chocolate Coconut Brulee.
