00:00I am so terrified that it won't look good
00:03and that I won't feel confident.
00:06Hair is so important to me and my confidence.
00:08And if it looks bad, I'm not sure what I'm going to do.
00:13Hi, my name is Jessica Meador, and today I'm getting caramel hair.
00:18I want this look today because I saw this photo of J.Lo
00:21with caramel honey hair, and I was obsessed with it.
00:25My mom had every hair color under the sun,
00:28and I always loved that she did that.
00:30I have this gray streak in my hair.
00:32It's a birthmark. I've had it since I was young.
00:34My mom has it on the same side,
00:36and that's the reason, actually, why she went blonde.
00:39Growing up, I was really insecure about the gray streak.
00:41Every single person would call me rogue from X-Men
00:44because of the gray.
00:47I just didn't want to be known for that,
00:49and I think I became the girl with the gray streak.
00:52It's always a topic of conversation,
00:54and I don't always want it to be.
00:56Hi, I'm Larissa Benavides.
00:59I'm a stylist here at Salty Maine
01:00in beautiful Santa Monica, California.
01:02I've been doing hair pretty much since I was 12,
01:06but professionally about six years.
01:09I would say my specialty is styling brunettes.
01:12When I first met Jessica, I knew instantly
01:15that she needed to be lighter.
01:16Her skin tone, her eyes,
01:18I just wanted to give her life and brighten her up.
01:22Hi, what are we doing today?
01:23Um, so I think I want to go lighter, definitely,
01:26like a caramel honey,
01:28but other than that, I don't really know,
01:30so I'm just gonna trust you, whatever you think.
01:33Okay, well, I think doing some caramel highlights
01:35in your hair will look really nice.
01:37I also love this, by the way.
01:39I kind of don't want to hide it.
01:41I want to, like, just work with it.
01:42I think that'll look really nice.
01:44I think you need to cut off a little bit.
01:46What are you thinking?
01:47Yes.
01:48Okay, I'm totally, I know my ends are fried.
01:50Let's get started.
01:51I'm excited.
01:53I have never dyed my hair before.
01:55I've been so scared,
01:56so my hair has always been this color.
01:58I've never been bold enough,
01:59so when this opportunity came up,
02:01I was like, I'm gonna try something new.
02:05The first step, I'm gonna cut her hair before I color,
02:08trimming off any dead ends that I see.
02:15The next step, I'm gonna mix the lightener,
02:17starting in the back of her hair.
02:19I'm mixing 20 volume for the back,
02:23and I may move to 20 to 30 volume for the front,
02:26depending on how she lifts.
02:32The next step, I will start to foil her hair in the back,
02:35working my way to the front.
02:37Hair is an expression of being creative,
02:40and making somebody feel the most beautiful,
02:43and enhancing their natural tones.
02:45I love that I can be able to do that for somebody.
02:49Now, I'm gonna let Jessica process.
02:52It may take up to 15 to 25 minutes,
02:56depending on how her hair lifts.
02:57I'm gonna put Jessica in a little heat,
03:00only putting heat on the front and the sides,
03:03but taking off the heat from the back,
03:05because that has been processing for a little bit longer.
03:08Now that it looks like it's ready,
03:10I'm gonna rinse out the back and clip it up,
03:13and let the front and the sides process a little bit longer.
03:19Working during COVID, being a hairstylist,
03:22has definitely been challenging,
03:24but also, I feel like our industry has been highlighted.
03:30And we feel really appreciated for what we do,
03:34making people feel really good during times
03:37when they weren't feeling their best.
03:39So, I really feel great doing what I love.
03:48Jessica's hair is fully processed.
03:50Now I'm gonna rinse the whole thing out,
03:52and bring her back to my chair.
03:57Now that I have her back in my chair,
04:00I'm gonna root tap her with 4MB, 5N for 15 to 20 minutes.
04:06I tone the roots to match the natural level of her hair.
04:14I'm really excited to show my mom my new look.
04:16We're both obsessed with J.Lo,
04:18and she has blonde hair right now,
04:21and I know that she's secretly really excited
04:23that I'm gonna look a little bit more like her.
04:28After that's been sitting for 15 to 20 minutes,
04:30I'm gonna rinse her out and do a second toner.
04:36Second toner is 7N in the mids,
04:38and 9GB NB on the ends.
04:41I'm gonna let that sit for about 20 minutes.
04:46With doing brunette hair, it takes a second to live in.
04:49You don't wanna do too much at once.
04:51Less is more.
04:57Now that it's wet,
04:58I'm gonna make sure that the cut is even.
05:02Now I'm gonna finish her hair
05:03with using a 1.25 curling barrel.
05:07And also, I'm gonna finish it with curling.
05:11I'm gonna shake it out, use texture spray,
05:15and there she is.
05:17Time to turn around for the big reveal.
05:21Oh my God, it looks so good.
05:28I love my caramel hair.
05:31I think it turned out so perfect.
05:33She blended it so well.
05:35I feel like it looks so natural,
05:36and I feel like a different person.
05:41I feel like I'm a little bit closer to looking like J.Lo.
05:45And feeling like J.Lo.
05:46This look is really gonna boost my confidence.
05:49I'm excited to get up in the morning and style it,
05:53and actually go places and go outside.
06:00Seeing Jessica's reaction was so cute,
06:03especially when she called her mom.
06:05It was nice to see her just be shocked.
06:08I feel like I wanna do that for everybody when I do color.
06:13Oh.
06:18Do you like it?
06:19It looks beautiful.
06:20Oh my God.
06:22Do you like it?
06:23Oh my God.
06:24I love it.
06:28I was so nervous because if you know Latina moms,
06:32they are so honest.
06:34So I knew if she didn't like it,
06:36she really wouldn't be able to fake it.
06:38But she loved it,
06:39and she's always my number one hype woman.
06:42It is such a big change.
06:43Like, I know it's just highlights,
06:45but I just feel like brighter and lighter,
06:48and I'm really ready for summer.
06:50Okay, I have no idea how to be a blonde.
06:53Or how to be a caramel-colored gal.
06:55Larissa gave me some good tips,
06:57so I'm gonna follow those
06:59and probably come back to Salty Maine
07:01because I loved it so much.
07:03Jessica, now that she's blonde,
07:05she should maintain her hair by using
07:07a color-safe shampoo,
07:09a moisturizing conditioner,
07:11and make sure to use Olaplex.
07:13With Jessica's birthmark gray streak,
07:16I honestly wanted to keep it in.
07:18Rock with what you have.
07:20It honestly turned out so much better than I expected.
07:22She blended it so well.
07:24I think it's really hard when you have hair as dark as mine
07:27to pull off lighter colors.
07:29It looks like this is just the way my hair
07:32has always meant to be.
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