Changing seasons beg for a new look. And, this fall: the bolder, the better. From pastel ombres through to chestnut browns, fiery coppers, icy blondes, and gothic blacks, hair color in New York City has never been so exciting. With autumn (and metamorphosis) in the air, we scoured high and low to bring you the top colorists making waves across the city.
Meet 16 hair colorists — also known as magicians, mavericks, model-favorites, on-the-cusp stars, and titans of color — who will leave you turning heads this season.
Parvin Klein
Red requires a lot of maintenance — and when we say a lot, we mean every three weeks. Luckily, uber colorist Parvin Klein, color director at John Barrett Salon, is no longer our little uptown secret — she's yours, too. "Once you go red, you never go back. People never stop talking about it," Klein explains, while weaving tangerine and copper tones (the hottest hues for fall) à la Amy Adams and Jessica Chastain through a client's hair. "Just add a stroke of crimson lipstick and you're set," she says of partnering a saturated color with a flame-haired mane. Try it. It's pretty damn amazing.
John Barrett Salon, 754 Fifth Avenue (at West 58th Street), #9; 212-872-2700.
Single Process: $225; Single Process With Some Highlights: $400; Highlights: $465.
Carlina Ortega
Red is a tricky color to pull off — and an even trickier one to mix up. In the wrong colorist's hands, the results can wind up looking positively cartoon-like. Uptown mix-master Carlina Ortega is a self-proclaimed "mad scientist" when it comes to creating strawberry blondes, rich auburns, and fire-engine reds for royalty and celebrities. "Pairing someone's specific skin tone with the right hue is part of the challenge. I go about it very deliberately," says the native New Yorker. Ortega can elevate your color to striking russet hues that will seamlessly enhance what your mama gave you.
Rita Hazan, 720 Fifth Avenue (at West 56th Street); 212-586-4343.
Single Process: $150; Highlights: $350.
Chelsey Pickthorn
"Redheads are always amazing, whether they be natural or enhanced," says Chelsey Pickthorn (a favorite of model Abbey Lee Kershaw), citing Julia Roberts' classic '90s red as the ultimate hue. After a long stint at Orlando Pita's celebrity-filled salon, Pickthorn branched out on her own, opening an intimate three-seater in Bushwick. The stylist is pushing the boundaries of the red spectrum with rosy-pink and apricot shades, which "warm the face post-summer so it doesn't go sallow, and bring out [the] peaches and cream hues in the skin." We're crushing on her Jessica Rabbit-meets-acid-bright orange on British songstress Neon Hitch.
Pickthorn, 61 Wyckoff Avenue (at Willoughby Avenue), Brooklyn; 718-928-7336.
Color: $160 and up.
Carlos Ortiz
Fashion's love affair with the dark side shows no sign of abating — just look at newly minted brunettes like Suki Waterhouse and Sasha Luss. Carlos Ortiz's East Village salon won't hit you too hard in the pocketbook, but his color packs the proverbial punch. From the lightest fawn to the deepest ink, he uses a minimum of two to three different shades to allow for dimension and color that reflects the light. "When I was young, I played around with food coloring on my six sisters, which made me think out the box," explains the L.A. transplant. It's this experimental energy that assists Ortiz in deriving new techniques — like coiling shades together in such an intricate way that your local drugstore tube of blue-black dye will never, ever hold the same appeal again.
Shampoo Avenue B, 42 Avenue B (between East Third and East Fourth streets); 212-777-2031.
One Color Single Process: $100; Multi-Coiled Color Process: From $150.
Reyad Fritas
"Autumn leaves may be all the inspiration needed to dip into a richer color palette," explains Reyad Fritas, a French-born Fekkai colorist and the man behind the beautiful locks of Diane von Furstenberg and Heidi Klum. "The beauty of brown hair? Its amazing versatility." Fritas creates earthy bases that can be played with, allowing rich mochas, toffees, and caramels to all happily co-exist. And, sometimes, he just paints a semi-permanent shade with a wide brush all over, leaving clients with a lasting afterglow.
Frederic Fekkai Fifth Avenue, 712 Fifth Avenue, Fourth Floor; 212-753-9500
Single Process: From $200; Highlights: From $385.
Aura Friedman
With a 35K-plus following on Instagram, this Sally Hershberger colorist has earned cult status as the go-to gal for models and icons. Friedman gave model Soo Joo Park the icy-platinum hue that transformed her from star-on-the-rise to Chanel campaign-worthy; concocted Sky Ferreira's faded silver-to-pewter-tip hue that sparked a social media frenzy; and regularly colors the likes of Lady Gaga and M.I.A. Basically, she's one to dye for.
Sally Hershberger Downtown, 425 West 14th Street (between Ninth and Tenth avenues), #3F; 212-206-8700.
Single Process: From $200; Highlights: From $325.
Brooke Burbee
When our very own beauty director Megan McIntyre took the platinum plunge this past summer, she received so many compliments that her colorist Brooke Burbee's ears had to be burning. An Oregon native, Burbee has become known for creating translucent tresses that seem to emit a blonde halo at the crown, a style sensibility she attributes to having grown up in the West: "The perfect icy blonde can come to me from seeing a frozen waterfall — nature is my reference palette," she says. That sort of poetic inspiration doesn't always translate literally, but in Burbee's case it does, earning her praise from industry insiders and high-profile clients like Sleigh Bells' Alexis Krauss along the way.
Blackstones, 19 East 7 Street (between Cooper Square and Second Avenue); 212-353-2680.
Partial Highlights: From $195; Full Head Highlights: From $250; Double Process: From $200.
Sarah Fenoglio
Seagull is the West Village's go-to salon for hair color fanatics. Step forward Sarah Fenoglio, who has been at the forefront of the dip-dyeing trend since her early coloring days in Houston. Specializing in ice cream shades and dimensional pastels (think whiter on the ends and more saturated at the roots), her clients rave about her take on the trend. A far cry from the Kool-Aid rinses of your youth, Fenoglio's watercolor pastels somehow look impossibly natural and totally chic.
Seagull, 240 West 10th Street (between Bleecker and Hudson streets); 212-989-1807.
Double Process: From $200 to $250; Partial Highlights: From $160.
Hayden Harker
Hayden Harker's pastels are perfect for commitment-phobes. "Girls love pastels because they can take the color plunge without worrying," he explains. "These pale tones last just a few weeks before fading back." Harker is well-versed in painting pastel shades onto blondes, so he can make your ponytail prismatic and all your childhood fantasies come to life in a blaze of sugared pinks, muted mints, pearly silvers, peaches, and lavenders. Just think: Fairytale hues that are wearable!
Mudhoney, 148 Sullivan Street (between West Houston and Prince streets); 212-533-1160.
Double Process: From $160 to $280; Highlights: From $165 to $225.
Lorean Cairns
The Upper West Side is not immune to the color trend. Fox & Jane's co-founder and creative director has just opened her fifth outpost of the salon, providing easier access to uptown clients and those making the trip from points north of the city. From lukewarm pastels to My Little Pony brights woven through blocks of hair, Cairns' approach enhances buns and conservative cuts, as well as catering to those who want temporary, hidden color. "Lavenders, pinks, and slate greys dominate the current requests, but we’re also playing with sea foams and all the colors of the rainbow for people who want more drama," she says. We're calling it a tonal revolution.
Fox & Jane, 104 West 83rd Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues); 646-478-7948.
Single Process: From $89; Pastel Highlights: $33 to $63/per color used; Double Process: From $213 to $243.
Lena Ott
Lena Ott built her cult following by doing balayage and rainbow colors, but it's her way with bleach that literally sent her career skyrocketing. In 2010, Alexander Wang asked her to bleach his eyebrows, which was followed by a mammoth hair test for his fall collection. Fast-forward a couple of years, and she's the go-to girl for Doutzen Kroes, Scarlett Johansson, and Dree Hemingway — an impossibly cool triumvirate that we're dubbing the Super Flaxens.
Suite Caroline, 65 Greene Street (between Spring and Broome streets), 2nd Floor; 212-431-4400.
Single Process: $150; Highlights: From $350 to $400; Single Process and Highlights: From $425 to $500.
Victoria Hunter
"I love doing blonde hair because it has magical powers that can change lives. It can be glamorous, intimidating, iconic, or even a little cheap and edgy," says Victoria Hunter, mega-colorist, model-magnet, and iconic photographer-collaborator (think David LaChapelle, Mert and Marcus, Ellen von Unwerth, and Inez and Vinoodh). Not only is Hunter the go-to colorist for famed hair stylist Guido Palau, she's also the lady behind the wigs at Marc Jacobs' past two runway shows. Her signature hair-painting method, developed with the salon’s co-owner Larry Raspanti, creates a modern and natural effect that's addictive, but doesn't require high-maintenance upkeep.
Whittemore House, 45 Grove Street (between Bleecker and Bedford streets); 212-242-8880.
From $300 to $400.
Bruna Luiza
For an all-over, soft blonde that's multidimensional and not brassy, the resident color whiz at Soon Beauty Lab’s Carroll Gardens location always delivers. Luiza is also raving about a new product called Olaplex, which can achieve a believable, pale baby-blonde on Hispanic and Asian hair. "I think everyone should be blonde at least once in their life," she says. And, who are we to argue?
Soon Beauty Lab, 290 Smith Street (between Sackett and Union streets), Brooklyn; 718-624-2424.
Single Process: $105; Double Process: $200; Partial Highlights: $165; Full Highlights: $235.
Gyna Cayambe
If you want to cut down on the amount of times you color your hair each year, then balayage is your best bet. The ombre hair trend is maintaining its cool (see: Alba, Kerr, and Barrymore), and Cayambe learned from the best: Abby Haliti, creator of Olivia Palermo's oft-copied golden color. For a subtle transformation that's big on impact, she deepens your color to make the lighter strands pop. And, you won't get a solid root line when the hair grows out. "My biggest tip is to commit to one colorist, because everyone has a different formula and sees color differently," she says. "You have to stay committed to see long-term results."
Julien Farel Salon, 540 Park Avenue (between East 61st and East 62nd streets); 212-888-8988.
Single Process: $140; Balayage: $295.
Elena Ruiz
Just a few of Ruiz’s well-placed highlights can give the appearance of volume, texture, and movement. The reason? While coloring hair fattens up every strand for an overall volume boost, her artful placements of beautiful hues (think rose gold, bronze, or buttery blonde) creates a delicious effect on your skin tone. Plus, the maintenance level is low.
Su’juk, 216 Greene Avenue (between Grand Avenue and Cambridge Place), Brooklyn; 347-223-4707.
Single Process: $95; Highlights: $250.
Mary Ducey
"Little kids' hair has always been an inspiration for me," says Mary Ducey, who's done Julie Delpy's gossamer-fine highlights and pioneered Danielle Bernstein of WeWoreWhat's dip-dyed locks years before they became the thing. For brunettes seeking an instant face-brightener, she weaves golden and amber hues from the mid-shaft to the end of the hair, breaking up dark strands with chocolate highlights and softening wheat-blondes with beige and Champagne tones. "Hair should never be monochromatic and should always look alive," she says.
Paul Fox Salon, 7 Cleveland Place (between Centre and Kenmare streets); 646-666-0559.
Partial Highlights: $120; Half-Head Highlights: $157; Full-Head Highlights: $190.
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