Full flower for Blooming Hues

Elyse Glickman is US west coast editor of Lucire.

Sometimes, the best things come out of the most unexpected places, and the ultra-exclusive Sally Hershberger Salon in West Hollywood epitomizes that. While she is known internationally for “that cut” she created for Meg Ryan a couple of decades back, her influence on hair style endures (as opposed to trends, which often go out of fashion), not only through her own client base (Jimmy Fallon, Amanda Seyfried, Kristen Stewart), but also the team she’s assembled with their own star-making approaches and techniques.

Kyle David is in the spotlight for his ‘Blooming Hues’ session—a painstaking approach to a colour-cut experience that is individually bespoke for every client. In my case, it was about setting off my reddish, indecisively textured hair with precision cutting and hand-painted strands. There is the initial wow factor of entering an unassuming mid-century building, getting buzzed in like a VIP, and then emerging into an airy gym-sized room lined in picture windows framing a widescreen postcard view of Hollywood Hills. I am seated next to a 50-ish woman he’s finishing up for her big weekend at Coachella. After she leaves, looking a good 15 years younger, he and his assistant giggle on ‘Co-chillin’s’ annual fashion parade separate from Beyoncé and the other bands on the marquée.

David’s process and personality are the star attraction in the salon, and the individual client’s needs are taken seriously. That said, he’s as approachable as somebody one has known since high school, even as he works with a steady hand and a diamond-cutter’s eye. He explains that to make my hair bloom, he will apply strategically placed highlights and lowlights that form one cohesive effect when it is hit by sunlight. In the cut, he uses a delicate notch technique rather than thinning shears to ensure definition when I let my hair dry naturally.

Different formulations of L’Oréal Professionnel colour are applied to accomplish different things. Majorelle Permanent is used to eradicate stubborn greys and roots, while Richesse Demi-Permanent creates a rich canvas for the final effect. There are also elements of balayage technique and plastic wrap replacing foil. Plastic-covered strands are gently dried with a diffuser to set the colour in such a way that depending on how I take care of my hair, the effects could theoretically last thought a good part of the summer. There is also about 25 minutes of a shine application, and quality time with Hershberger’s 24K conditioner (US$32, with real gold in the formulation) to lock in the colour and add that all-important “halo effect”.

The final outcome? Priceless. David decides to call the result ‘rich girl hair’. However, to be democratic, it’s the hair that looks rich and makes even the T-shirt and jeans I wore look pretty amazing. •

Above: The author, and Kyle David, with her new look