Articles > Color Corrections: How To Transition Brunette Hair To Blonde
May 9, 2019

Color Corrections: How To Transition Brunette Hair To Blonde

Celebrity Hair Blonde Cate Blanchett Corrective Color Tips Virtue Nicole Clarke @nicolaclarkecolour
close formula
Instagram via @nicoleclarkecolour and @moreculturelesspop

Brunette To Blonde: Tips For Transitioning Corrective Color
There’s no getting around it—color corrections can be challenging and they oftentimes require several steps or multiple sessions before you reach your end goal. If you think that’s risky, imagine this: Your client is a celebrity and basically everything they do is broadcast all over the world. You don’t want an unhappy celeb client, right?! But regardless of who is in your chair, you should always trust the corrective color process from start to finish because every step counts…and here’s why!


We talked with celeb colorist Nicola Clarke (@nicolaclarkecolour), who recently took actress Cate Blanchett from blonde to brunette for a play at the National Theatre. After its eight-week run, Nicola needed to take Cate back to blonde within a strict time limit and we had her break down her process below, plus her best tips on transitioning color.



Slide Through The Initial Blonde → Brunette Transformation

close formula


Products Used


1. Strategize Each Session With Different Techniques
It took three separate lightening sessions to achieve Cate’s color transformation, and with each session, Nicola strategized different techniques to hit every goal on her journey back to blonde. Here’s a breakdown of each session and what was accomplished:


  • Session 1: With a strict two-hour time limit (celebs are busy!), Nicola balayaged with 40-volume developer on the mids to ends to break through the brunette gloss. Then, she applied the Virtue® Restorative Treatment Mask to each section before rinsing out the entire head. “Round one done and no breakage,” shares Nicola. “Cate’s hair actually felt better!”


  • Session 2: Within a similar time limit, Nicola foiled highlights alternating 40-volume developer, 10-volume on natural hair and 20-volume on the remaining brunette strands. She applied the Restorative Treatment Mask on the hair left out of the foils and processed for 30 mins but pulled out the face-framing foils earlier.


  • Session 3: Nicola repeated the same techniques until Cate lifted to a rooty, bright blonde and applied the Restorative Treatment Mask again—this transformative treatment features Alpha Keratin 60ku™, so it has the power to bind directly to damaged areas and repair…and boom! That beautiful blonde was back. 


Tap Through Cate’s Color Journey Below! 

Instagram via @nicolaclarkecolour


2. The Secret To Heavy Lifting Without Damage? Human Keratin!
That’s right, Nicola adds HUMAN keratin into all of her color formulas. Well, she adds Virtue® ColorKick™ (the first-ever human keratin hair filler) to every formula—why? It helps lift hair higher without breakage which was critical given the time limitations Nicola faced when taking on three lightening sessions in a short amount of time. 


Virtue ColorKick Article What It Is How It Works Why Colorists Should Use It
Instagram via @virtuelabs_pro



We are LIVING for this blonde transformation…and the finished look!

Instagram via @moreculturelesspop

More from