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Johnny Ramirez Shares Five Tips For Choosing Hair Color

BellaSugar — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:00:14 -0700

Recently, colorist Johnny Ramirez shared with us his tips for achieving the impressive, gradiating color tones he creates for The City's Whitney Port. And now I've got the lowdown from Whitney's resident colorist on choosing the most flattering shades for your skin tone.

Ramirez, who keeps his main base at the Chris McMillan Salon in LA, now also moonlights at Serge Normant at John Frieda in Manhattan. While the celebrity colorist avoids dishing out advice on using box color ("I end up fixing it," he says.), he did give us the scoop on choosing a shade. Check them out when you read more.

Baby pictures: "You can't go wrong with your natural color when you were a little kid," says Ramirez. "That color goes away, and as you get older, that's the color you keep going back to," he adds. See if you can find pictures of yourself from when you were around six or seven years old. "Your skin's glowing, and everything complements each other - your eye color, your skin color, your hair color," he advises.
Think seasonally: Along with using skin tone and eye color as a guideline for choosing what tones he uses on his clients, Ramirez uses the seasons to find the right shade. He recommends warmer shades to avoid the dreaded washed-out look. And in the summer? Golden and caramel tones work beautifully with a tan.
If you're getting highlights: Ramirez cautions against leaving them raw. Make sure your stylist gives you a toner, gloss, and conditioning treatment for "natural, beautiful, and healthy" results, he says. Your highlights will look more pure, and they'll last longer, too.
Do your homework: That's right. Ramirez actually dispenses homework. "I tell my clients to show me a picture of something that you want, that you've always dreamed of," he said. "And then take a picture of something that you hate, that you never want." These pictures help your stylist determine what you're truly looking for.
Take it up a notch: While Ramirez obviously looks to his client's personality, skin tone, and eye color for inspiration, this summer he's going to take it up a notch with the blond tones. Always the optimist, he explains that he'd like to "change up whole energy right now with the economy," with this lighter, brighter color.

Is he on to something here? Even if blond is just not for you, perhaps some brighter, face-framing highlights or a shift in color tone just might provide us with sunnier, economy-stimulating dispositions, eh?

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Love Whitney Port's Hair? Get Tips From Her Stylist

BellaSugar — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:01:06 -0700

You might remember my interview with celebrity hair colorist Johnny Ramirez, who has styled the likes of Victoria Beckham, Kirsten Dunst, Ellen Pompeo, and Amber Valetta - just to name a few. Also among his celebrity clientele? Whitney Port, the cordial, soft-spoken, lanky blonde from MTV's The City.

Whitney will soon have an old friend in New York, as Ramirez, who works at the famed Chris McMillan Salon in LA, is about to go bi-coastal. The first week of each month, the talented colorist will also be waving his magic color wand at Serge Normant at John Frieda in Manhattan. Check out what he had to say about Whitney's hair color, along with tips on preventing hair color from fading when you read more.

If you like Whitney's hair, but a trip to NYC or LA is not in the cards for you, Ramirez has advice for achieving her multidimensional hues that you can take to your colorist. It's even recession-friendly, too.

To start: Whitney's hair color is light brown/dark blond near the top, and it fades into a light blond towards the end. To get the look, "grow out as much of your roots as you can," Ramirez advises. "I know it will be a little bit of a process, but focus on keeping it really soft and natural at the top. . . Have very minimal highlights at the top, and keep the ends light," he advised. "It's very low-maintenance."
Multidimension: When she first started The Hills, Ramirez says, Whitney's blond hair lacked depth, which washed her out. And now, "It's beautiful, healthy, and it looks natural," he says. "I saw baby pictures of her. It's exactly what she had when she was a kid."
Layer it up: Ramirez advises using a toner and gloss to keep the color from fading. "After about two to three weeks, the gloss starts fading away," he says. "Then, about two to three weeks after that, the toner starts fading away." By the time his clients come to see him again, their color still looks fresh. "It's time-consuming, but it really stays," he adds.
Refresh: "Stop by [your salon] in between hair visits for a gloss," he said. This keeps the color rich, and it's cheaper than a full color treatment.

Soon I'll share more from Ramirez, including tips on stepping up the color for the warmer months ahead.

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Hair Color Dos and Don'ts From Celeb Stylist Johnny Ramirez

BellaSugar — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:00:34 -0700

After chatting with Posh's colorist, Johnny Ramirez, I learned he is a mayjah proponent of soft and natural looks. With high-profile clients such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Mariska Hargitay, and Hilary Swank, it's clear to see that Ramirez's take on hair color certainly lives up to this simply sophisticated approach. Take a look at his tips for having beautiful color.

Pack in the color: After coloring a client, Ramirez coats the hair from the outside with a gloss. "It stays really, really soft and pretty," he says. "This makes the color stay for a long time."
Get a conditioning treatment: "I do Kérastase conditioning treatments afterwards to everyone that walks out of my chair," he says. "When they are due to come back for their color or highlights, their hair is always thick and healthy."

For what not to do, read more.

Don't:

Get big streaks: "Chunks are out. Anything with chunks."
Too-dark or too-light colors: For Posh's color, Ramirez went natural. "We kept it a soft chestnut brown for the winter because in the winter we also go a little more pale," he said. "Harsh colors can look frumpy, like you are trying too hard."
Punky colors: Keep it age-appropriate. "When you are 18 you can pull off anything, but when you get older, certain colors don't work anymore."

Photo courtesy of Johnny Ramirez

Talking Soft and Natural Hair Color With Posh's Colorist

BellaSugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0700

The other day, I had a chat with the ultrafriendly celeb colorist Johnny Ramirez, of the Chris McMillan Salon in Beverly Hills, about techniques and products he used for his high-profile client, Victoria Beckham. Ramirez, who trained under famed color guru Michael Canalé (of Jennifer Aniston caramel highlights fame), also talked about where he gets his inspiration, along with color trends for Fall. Here's what he had to say:

On his approach to hair color:

"I look at my 4-year-old daughter's hair. She's got Gisele [Bundchen]'s hair color. It's an illusion. It looks really, really blonde, but when you crack it open, it's dark blond underneath. It's so natural - she's born with it. So I take that (inspiration from my daughter) and do it on someone that's older."
"When someone comes back from vacation, and they have virgin hair (meaning they have no artificial hair color), I always look to see their hairline and how their hair around their face looks. I duplicate that. Sunkissed highlights around the face are so subtle. I'll do (bleached) tips at the bottom, too. . . and comb to blend. When you do this it creates the illusion of soft, beachy hair - like you've been hanging out at the beach all month."

Regarding trends for Fall:

"Soft and natural hair colors just make your skin glow like you were born with it. Soft and natural - you just can't go wrong with that. Anytime you go really light or too dark it just doesn't look right, so just keep it very soft."

Photo courtesy of Johnny Ramirez.

Color It Like Beckham: An Interview With Posh's Colorist

BellaSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:00:11 -0700

Last year, upon the Beckham's much-anticipated arrival to the States, Celebrity colorist Johnny Ramirez welcomed Posh to her new home by "Californizing" that famous graduated bob to platinum blond levels.

Just this past weekend, Ramirez, who works at the Chris McMillan Salon in Beverly Hills, gave the petite trendsetter's chic pixie some extra zip, and I've got the exclusive details on what went down. Check out my interview below, and look out for some more of Johnny's hair-color advice to come:

Is Victoria just as funny in person as she is on TV?
"Victoria is the most generous, warm person. She's considerate, and super nice - not just to me - but to anybody."

Can you tell me a little about what you did do enhance Victoria's chestnut-brown hair?
"After discussing what she wanted, we decided to keep her a brunette. Victoria's ends were faded to a reddish warm color - this happens to most brunettes. To keep her a soft, natural medium brown, I started with her roots by applying a permanent hair color. Once the color was done processing, I combed it through the ends to break up the line at the shampoo bowl. Then . . . two different types of toners were used to tone the warm ends. I always finish my hair color with a gloss to lock in the color and seal it with shine. That's what makes color look healthy, natural, and beautiful."

To learn more about what products Victoria took home with her to maintain her look, read more.

What did you recommend to Victoria to keep her color looking fresh?
"Right now I've been playing around with the Davines shampoos. They come in different colors. For Victoria, I told her to use the one called Tobacco Shampoo ($22.50) and Tobacco Conditioner ($26.50) once a week. It doesn't have warmth in it, so it's more of a cool brown.

Anything else?
"I also sent her home with Davines Love Shampoo ($16) and Love Conditioner ($18.50). I love the citrusy smell - it's got a pomegranate smell, too. They (Davines) also have a Mask ($23.50). And those are the goodies I sent her home with."

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What's Your Hair Color Tip?

BellaSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:06 -0700

A few weeks ago, I chatted with celebrity colorist Johnny Ramirez about ideas for choosing the right hair color. One homework assignment he gives to his clients involves having them bring in baby pictures, so that he can determine which tones and placements will provide the best results. "You can't go wrong with your natural color when you were a little kid," he explained.

So, I shared with him my aunt's tip on hair color, and he thought it was a brilliant idea. Lucky for my aunt, her mother cut a lock of her gorgeous auburn hair off when she was in high school. Now that she's coloring over the gray decades later, she has an exact match to hand to her stylist. So if you have a lock of hair from your youth, consider this idea the next time you're in the salon. Do you have any hair color tips to share?

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How Much Has Your Hair Color Changed From Childhood?

BellaSugar — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:07:15 -0800

Earlier, Geek and I were discussing the pure, unadulterated beauty of children's hair colors. Seriously - they've got gorgeous shades. Even celeb colorist Johnny Ramirez looks to his four-year-old daughter for inspiration when consulting with clients.

After staring in awe at Sugar HQ resident sweetie Katie Sugar's fluffy blonde multi-dimensional locks, this got us to thinking about our own born-with-it hues. I was honey blonde as a child and now I'm light brownish all the way. What about you? How much has your hair color changed over the years?

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Best of Bella, 10/19

BellaSugar — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 07:00:22 -0700

We talked to celebrity colorist Johnny Ramirez to get the low down on Posh's new hue.
Leslie Blodgett, founder of Bare Escentuals, shared with us her best beauty advice, including how to update your makeup for Fall, and why never to fall asleep with your mascara on.
Bella's personal hair stylist shares her five essential hair-washing tips.
Ouch. Y'all really weren't feeling Lo Bosworth's makeup at the Lauren Conrad show.
Do tell: What are you worst beauty bad habits?

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