Michelle Keegan wowed fans when she debuted a striking new platinum blonde hairstyle, for her role in upcoming ITV drama Tina & Bobby. HELLO! Online spoke exclusively with hair colourist Vernon Deysel, the man behind creating Michelle's eye-catching makeover, to find out how he created the look, and get his top tips if you're thinking of making the change…
Michelle Keegan wowed with a new blonde hairstyle
"I have to say, I could not have asked for a more amazing client for this to happen with," Vernon, who works at the Paul Edmonds salon, told HELLO! Online exclusively. "She was absolutely lovely, from the first day I spoke to her all the way through to making her this blonde."
It comes as no surprise that Michelle turned to the salon's team, who already an impressive list of A-list clients including creating Margot Robbie's gorgeous hair colour for The Legend of Tarzan.
Michelle's hair colourist Vernon Deysel spoke to HELLO! Online exclusively
Explaining that "Michelle's never coloured her hair before", Vernon revealed that she was pleased with the look – especially when husband Mark Wright gave it his seal of approval.
"She was just amazing, lovely, and I think what happened is when her husband came in at the end of day one and he loved it, I think that automatically made it easier for her too," he said. "She loved it from when we started which was great."
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It took Vernon two days to change Michelle's trademark chocolate brown tresses to platinum blonde hues, but he admitted that it was really a "six week process". The show's head of beauty for Tina & Bobby, Helen Tucker, first contacted Vernon and asked if he would dye Michelle's hair. After doing a patch test on some of Michelle's hair to check the dye wouldn't ruin it, he called up the former Coronation Street star to check she was comfortable with the change.
It took two days for Michelle's hair to be transformed from brunette to blonde
"I called Michelle and discussed it with her, what would happen, how was she feeling about it, and then decided to go ahead with it," he explained. "Then Michelle came in. It took two days." The first day, Vernon used an "ammonia-free pre-lightener, which is really gentle on the hair but lifts it up really nice and light".
He added: "All through this process I was using a new product by L'Oréal called Smartbond, which strengthens the hair from the inside. It's because of this amazing product that I actually took on this project. It was such a big change."
The next morning, Michelle returned to the salon to get highlights added into her 'do. "Because they wanted the blonde to be quite close to Tina Moore's hair colour – that was the brief I had to work with, but I was also aware that I had to make sure it was a colour that would suit Michelle," he explained, before adding that he recommended a series of products for the star to use at home to ensure her hair stayed in a healthy condition.
The actress' new look is for her role in Tina & Bobby
He said: "If you're going to make such a big transition on your hair from dark to blonde, make sure that you take really good products. We recommended Rescue Remedy by Shu Uemura and Colour Lustre in Cool Blonde by Shu Uemura, that Michelle took with her."
As to whether Michelle will be keeping her blonde look, Vernon revealed that she has already hinted she'll be returning to her natural brown tresses after filming. "Maybe she'll decide that blondes have more fun, but she has discussed already that she'll be going back," he said.
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