There are millions of people who claim millennial pink as their #aesthetic, but we bet you don’t know anyone who’s followed through on that quite like Ashleigh Keily. She’s the founder of Australian homewares business, Arc & Family Pots, and last month opened a second project, El Rosa by Arc and Family; a pastel pink coffee shop and event space that, from the natural light to the pastel pink walls, looks like a millennial dream.
In keeping with this commitment to personal brand, Ashleigh recently colored her long, blonde hair a shade of pearly pink that’s landed on her Pinterest hair boards all over the world. Working with Australian hairdresser Hair by Jools over three separate appointments, she gradually achieved a bright, light shade of pink all-over her hair. "[My husband,] Ben wanted me to dye my hair pink years ago and I was so frightened by the thought of having colored hair. But, pink is my favorite color, the store is pink, and I thought the launch of El Rosa would be a good time to go for it. Now my hair pretty much exactly matches our building," Ashleigh told The Prettyish. Like we said: she's committed.
How exactly did she do it? How does she keep her color bright between salon visits? Keep scrolling for all the answers in Ash's own words. Plus, of course, we've included all the photos you need to screenshot and take into your local salon.
17 ~ 08 ~ 2018
I originally wanted to go pastel pink from the very first appointment but my hairdresser, Jools, is amazing and counseled me against it. She knew that going from blonde to pastel pink in a few hours might be a shock, so suggested I do something softer and more gradual to see if I like it before we went all the way pastel. We ended up breaking it into three separate appointments. After the first I walked away with a few pink foils, which I absolutely loved. (See my subtle foils in the image below the gallery, on the left)
Interview continues below the photos.
During the second appointment we stepped it up a notch and I went a lot pinker all over. It was a deeper pink—not yet a pastel—but I still loved it. When you want colors like pink, blue, or purple, the lighter your hair is already, the easier the color grabs to each strand. Jules gave me some foils and then added a pink toner over the foils in both the first and the second appointment. In the second appointment we simply changed up the toner and added more foils so that there were more lighter parts of my hair to which the pink color could take hold. (You can see stage two, the darker pink color, on the bottom left.)
The third stage required a scalp bleach, something I haven’t done in years, since I was white-blonde in my teens and early 20s. We ran the bleach from my scalp all the way to the ends of my hair and then applied the pink. Even after this, I still had a few bits in my hair that were a more peachy pink rather than the desired pastel, which was left over from the previous dyes. We toned my hair again a few days later to get rid of these peachy tones and nab that all-over pastel pink shade. (Check out the pastel color in the bottom right picture.)
Interview continues below the pictures and the quote.
After my very first appointment Jools sent me home with a Delorenzo Rosewood Shampoo. It’s a very purple, toning shampoo that I use to double-shampoo my hair every time I wash. I don’t have much time to blow-dry my hair, so this wash really only happens just once or maybe twice per week. I also have a toning conditioning treatment that I use every wash. My hairdresser mixed for me that helps to maintain the bright pink and stop to color from fading.
I’m lucky in that Jules works right near me, so I’m able to go in to have my hair professionally toned each week. Of course this isn’t realistic for everyone, but even if you're only doing it at home, a good toner is key if you want to stop your pink color from fading.
Photos: Arc and Family, Grace Elizabeth Images, Digy Hu
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