This Red & Green, Christmas-Inspired Hairstyle Is So Pretty, It Should Be On A Christmas Card
In a world where ugly Christmas sweaters just aren't cutting it, I'm turning to my beauty routine to showcase my holiday spirit and get festive. Whether it be a classic red lip or a sparkly glitter eye, holiday makeup is, for the most part, easily attainable — equally festive hair, though, is an entirely different story. When I came across this photo of Christmas-inspired hair, I was instantly impressed by the level of commitment, not to mention how great the resulting style looked. While I can't promise I'll be dying my balayage red and green anytime soon, I definitely support one stylist who was bold enough to try (and succeed) at creating the best ho-ho-hairdo of the season.
When the idea of holiday-themed hair was first presented, many instantly began by doing the most, aka full-on Christmas tree hair. If you haven't seen the trend yet, just know it requires molding a cone of hair into a Christmas-tree shape and garnishing it with garland, baubles, and the like. Cute if you're an elf, or just a generally fun person, but I am neither of these things, and to me it seemed somewhat over-the-top. No shade! Couldn't there be a happy medium, though — something more than a festive glitter headband, but less so than a literal evergreen growing atop my skull? Well, Allure reported on a creation by Instagram user @hairjunkie.jas, aka Jasmine VanAmburg, a hairstylist at Rock Your Locks Salon in Saginaw, Michigan, and her talent restored my faith in the notion that Christmas-inspired hair could be downright gorgeous.
Behold VanAmburg's hair dye creation, complete with flecks of snow:
Have you ever seen anything so downright spirited in your life? VanAmburg created a mesmerizing mix of red, green, and gold curls, accented by a glittery red pointsettia hair pin, and I can only pray this was Mrs. Claus's wedding day hairdo. I had to ask VanAmburg for more details, and she kindly filled me in on why she decided to go bold this holiday season.
"I created the look with the basic festive colors that we all love around the holidays," she explains. "I really wanted the colors to contrast each other and pop! I wanted it to represent the holidays without a doubt." Surprisingly, VanAmburg admits she doesn't do a ton of vivid or fantasy-hued dye jobs, but she hopes experimenting will attract a wider range of clientele.
So, ho-ho-how did she create this perfect blend?
"The overall process took about five hours with lightening, applying the color, and styling," says VanAmburg. "I used 100 percent Pulp Riot, and styled with Evo styling products." VanAmburg is a Pulp Riot Artist, so it's not surprising she selected its vivid dyes for the job.
In fact, a quick scroll through the Pulp Riot Instagram shows quite a few of its talented artists getting fancy with holiday-inspired hues:
VanAmburg and other talented hairstylists have officially made the whole red-green combo a wearable, desirable option for this holiday season, so I had to ask her the secret to making these bright hues last. If I'm going all out, I'm at least trying to rock this look straight through New Year's, after all! "The secret to making a bold color last is using cold water when you wash the hair," she advises. "And, also make sure to use professional color-safe, sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner." Noted! Fingers crossed there's some color-safe shampoo and red and green hair dye in my stocking this year — and also, a hair salon gift card, because there's no way I'm recreating this look without professional help.
