3 Platinum Blonde Technique Tips From Kim K’s Colorist

When the hairdresser to the planet’s most famous celebs comes to the BTC House for a live BTC University class, it’s pretty exciting…and then when he shares his must-know platinum tips, toning tricks AND colors BTC’s Mary Rector-Gable’s hair pink, it’s basically the best day ever. Chris Appleton’s BTC University class is over 2 hours long (!!!) and breaks down everything he does to keep the Kardashian-Jenners looking camera-ready! Keep scrolling for three game-changing platinum tips.

A little backstory—Kim Kardashian debuted uber-platinum hair (created by Chris, aka @chrisappleton1) in 2017, and since then, we know your books have been flooded with people who NEED Kardashian platinum. Here’s how he achieved healthy, sparkling platinum blonde, PLUS he demoed his technique for making Kylie Jenner baby-pink. Enjoy!

Products Used

Haircare

Color Security Shampoo

Color Wow

Bond Builders

Olaplex

Olaplex

Avoid baby hair breakage by leaving out the hairline.

Chris begins applying lightener at the nape to make pulling foils and rinsing easier, but his serious pro tip is this: leave out about 2 centimeters around the hairline. “Those baby hairs will lift super quick,” he says. “And that’s the bit that breaks.” He’ll lighten the hairline in the second round of lightening.

Paper-thin sections + saturation = even, clean lift.

The keys to Chris’s technique are taking extremely thin sections, using a lot of lightener and ensuring total saturation in each section. He uses the side of the brush to open the hair and ensure product is completely saturating each strand.

Toners are important, but won’t erase mistakes.

Before you ask, Chris created Kim Kardashian’s iconic platinum with an industry toning fave: Wella T-18. But here’s some advice: “Toners are only a façade,” he says. Without proper application and keeping the hair healthy and strong, the hair won’t look good, no matter what you tone with. That’s why Chris swears by Olaplex through every step and only shampoos with Color Wow Color Security Shampoo (it’s super gentle on newly lightened hair).

Now for the Kim K platinum…

…to Kylie Jenner PINK!

Check out all the pics of Mary going rose, too!