I’m like Oprah and bread when it comes to hair color. I LOVE color. I.Love.Color. So, when the Aveda team asked if I want a color change, I naturally eagerly nodded yes. I was going to do a poll for what color I should do next on Instagram, but the timing didn’t quite work out. So Pinterest and my lovely hair colorist, Courtney Sutherland at Spoke & Weal, served as my brainstorming society.

My biggest complaint with maintaining my color was the fact that I had to do my roots every 6-8 weeks. If you’ve gone blonde before, you know the struggle. I found that maybe my schedule isn’t as forgiving as I thought it was, which means that I didn’t have the time to maintain my bleaching process.  I wanted something that would be a bit more forgiving if I needed to delay an appointment. Ombre/balayage to the rescue!

I’ve gone silver-ish before, but never fully gray. This was my opportunity. So, with roots fully grown out and my pre-fashion week DIY Manic Panic hot pink hair nearly completely faded, I skipped over to the salon.

Let me preface this with the following: Courtney is quite seriously the best colorist I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. She listened to me thoroughly, Pinterested a few looks with me, and showed me swatch options of gorgeous shades of gray. It felt fantastic to be heard and to have someone so earnestly devoted to the perfect color.

She, her color assistant, Erika, and I giggled through stories of everything from favorite travel destinations to NYC lifestyle problems, all while meticulously painting my strands. Take one didn’t quite work out after the first wash. Apparently, Manic Panic is the devil of the hair universe. Once it possesses your hair, it takes everything short of an exorcism to get it out.

The ends were beautiful, but the darker gray on top needed another layer of color to deepen the shade. Courtney happily offered a solution and asked if I can stay for a little bit more while she evens out the tone. Nothing beats having a hair color perfectionist!

The color turned out gorgeous, and I received compliments on it the rest of the night. I made an appointment for next touch-up with Courtney before leaving the salon and swore to myself I will never touch Manic Panic again. It’s Aveda color for me from now on.