Strawberry blonde is the new 'it' tone for clients craving warmth without feeling too coppery. This season’s trending shade is all about dimension: golden warmth meets soft rose reflection, creating that lived-in, light-catching finish that flatters every skin tone.
BTC Editors spent the day with two-time #ONESHOT Hair Awards Winner and Kenra Color® Artistic Director Eric Vaughn (@realericvaughn) at his Houston salon, REV, to see how he creates the ultimate true strawberry blonde. What we learned: Balancing pink and gold is key to create a custom formulation that keeps the result soft, wearable and long-lasting. Get the full step-by-step and formulas below!
BTS at REV: strawberry blondes, southern charm and a whole lotta good hair energy!
Want Eric's full formulation must-dos and mistakes to avoid for strawberry blonde? Click here.
The Formulas
- Formula A (base, mids, ends):
- Kenra Professional Color® Permanent 30g 8N + 10g 8C + 10G 8ROM + 20-volume developer
- Formula B (“highlights”):
- Kenra Professional Triple Repair Conditioner
- Formula C (toner):
- Kenra Color® Permanent 8G + 8C + 8ROM (equal parts) + 10-volume developer
- Formula D (gloss):
- Kenra Color® Demi-Permanent 30g 9GB + 10g 8ROM + 7g 6C + 9-volume developer (1:2)
Steps
Before:
1. Apply the base color using Formula A, applying 1 to 1.5 inches past the line of blonde demarcation.
2. Next, begin the “highlighting” process. Since Eric’s client came in with a prelightened blonde base, he was able to skip the lightener by using conditioner, aka Formula B. “She’s basically getting a conditioning treatment and ‘highlights’ in one," Eric explains.
He applies the “highlights” in a zigzag pattern through the back for softness and internal brightness. Near the face frame, Eric adds bright pops with diagonal back sections, accenting with a veil on top of the head.
3. Next, grab Formula A again: “After the conditioner is fully saturated, I’m going back with the base formula and resaturating through the base, but also dragging slightly over the conditioner to create a transition tone—the permanent color will lift through conditioner, but it takes a little bit longer and you have as heavy of a deposit.”
4. For any blonde pieces left out of the foils, Eric applies Formula C, using his hands to work the color into the hair.
5. Wash the hair. Then, at the bowl, apply Formula D as an all-over gloss.
6. Wash once more and begin styling. Since Eric’s client has fine hair, he does a “faux blowout” with a roller set. First, he blow-dries the hair straight; then, he sets it into Dom Dom Metal Hair Rollers and seals in the style with Kenra Professional Working Spray 14.
Finished look:
