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