Wedding: Nicole Richie's Haircolor Formula


Nicole Richie has hit more than a few rough patches in her life, but none have been due to her haircolor—at least not since celebrity colorist George Papanikolas (GeorgePapanikolas.com) began huetifying her locks two years ago. With all the beautiful pigments that have passed between them, it came as no surprise when Richie chose Papanikolas to tu her hair “fairytale blonde” for her wedding in Beverly Hills this past December. Papanikolas reports that the process began in late August, when he decolorized her chocolate locks, using Joico Vero K-PAK Cre'me Lightener. “Nicole is one very cool lady,” reveals Papanikolas. “She knows what she wants, but she still relies on me to bring her vision to life in my own artistic way.”

The Scoop

After decolorizing Richie’s hair to a warm level 8, Papanikolas applied dark blonde to the entire root area. Emulating natural sun bleaching, he then extended the level 7 tint three inches down the shaft at the nape and less than two inches on top. “To make the haircolor flow in a seamless fashion, I painted sparse, fine highlights at the base and then gradually made them chunkier as I moved down the head,” he reveals. “The lowlights were applied sparingly throughout, starting about an inch below the root area.”

Formula: Nicole Richie Formula: Nicole Richie