January has flown by, and though we're already a month into 2023, the new year revamps just keep coming. Plenty of our favourite A-listers have entered 2023 with a brand new hair look: Hailey Bieber has traded in her chestnut tousled waves for a choppy shoulder-scraping bob, likewise Blake Lively has swapped hersignature blonde for brunette, the list goes on.
And Millie Mackintosh's recent hair colour switch-up has proved a real hit on Instagram too. Revealing a gleaming new golden look - the work of colourist Andrei Alexe at Hershesons - Millie said, 'Whilst January marks the start of a new year, it can be a pretty dreary month! Apart from catching up on "life admin" I have new year rituals to help me get back into the swing of things, that make me feel good and ready to embrace the year ahead.'
Millie's colour refresh was achieved with balayage, a trim and that all-important blow-dry. A go-to for many celebrities, including Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Margret Robbie, balayage involves colour being painted freehand onto lengths for a naturally sun-kissed-style finish.
Alexe used his signature balayage technique, coined the 'alexeyage', to blend the soft lights seen in Millie's ends into hernatural root colour to create texture and dimension. 'It’s an effortless colour look that can last up to six months without you having to worry about major touch ups, you’re basically going to look like you’ve been on a three month summer holiday and the sun did it all!' Alexe tells Grazia.
'I always try to enhance my client's natural beauty by using tones that blend with their natural hair colour,' Alexe continues, 'in Millie's case I mixed warm tones as creamy and honey blondes bring brightness to her face and make her eye colour pop.'
According to colourist at Larry King’s Notting Hill salon, Katie Freedman, 'this look is very current - it’s something that our clients request on a regular basis, a super low-maintenance colour with depth at the root. This is always a great way to get our clients to encourage their natural roots and to help keep the regrowth at bay, as hair will grow out more subtlety.'
Keen to try the look yourself? Katie recommends asking your stylist for, 'low-maintenance balayage with a soft root melt and golden blonde ends, which will quickly make you feel like they’ve had a summer glow up.'
Main image: Instagram @milliemackintosh
