Not for nothing, but after doing "Ambush Makeover" for more than a couple of years I have only gained more respect for hair color. I am constantly overwhelmed by the power and importance of hair color. I think that hair color is the quickest way to dramatically change your looks. You can look younger, prettier, sexier, completely natural, or incredibly chic and stylized. The true miracle of hair color is that in most cases it takes less than an hour to complete the process. On the Today show's Ambush Makeover I color hair in less than half that time. Hair color truly is the quick fix that works. I am fully aware of that hair color is only one part of "Ambush". I truly believe it is the most significant change that sets the tone for the makeover's cut and style, make-up, and clothes. I know this statement might ruffle a few feathers in the fashion and beauty community, and maybe even with the other members of the "Ambush" team. I am not trying to emphasis my importance or underplay the significance of a great haircut, perfect make-up, and a great looking outfit. I am solely talking about the power of hair color.

I have made many dramatic color changes on young girls over the years. Many times the change was for young actors playing a movie role or an attempt for a real girl to look like her favorite "it" girl of the moment. I think hair color on young girls is fine but I do suggest subtle changes. I always think of hair color as make-up. You and your hair color are most likely beautiful as a teen. Very little needs to be done, you are perfect already. But if you want to have fun and color your hair I only have one comment. Color it! A touch of hair color is no different than trying on a lipstick. It's a fun way to try a different look. It always grows. Now is the perfect time to experiment. By the way, you can also get away with color choices that probably won't work when you are a bit older.

Did you ever feel like you were fading away? You know that horrible feeling when you look in a mirror and you feel as invisible as a ghost. This usually happens when your hair color and skin color are the same tone. This can occur when your hair color starts to go grey or simply when your natural hair starts to fade as time passes.

It can also happen when you pick the wrong hair color. When your skin color and hair color blend together, you have made a wrong color decision. Most people think about hair color when they start to go grey. The actual reason most people start to color their hair is because their skin and hair color turn a similar shade, making them feel washed out. The usual solution to this problem is to pile on more and more makeup until they look alive again. This is simply a Band-Aid to hide the problem. The best solution is to pick the color that will provide contrast with your skin color. This will instantly put the color back in your complexion.

Blah brunettes are boring. Brown hair is one of nature's most beautiful colors. Darker hair colors almost always have more shine than any other color. Upon closer examination, you realize that dark colors are multidimensional and often include subtle warm chestnut and chocolate tones. This makes brown hair anything but boring. In fact it can be one of nature's most flattering shades.

But brown hair does change over time. The hair color you have at 20 is different from what you have at 30, and it only continues to dull with passing years. It is essential that you maintain your vibrant brunette color. This is an instant age-eraser that will keep you looking young. You probably should not color your hair as dark as it once was, but you must keep it a rich brown to maintain the perpetual glow of youth.

Want to know the biggest hair trend for 2009?  Go red!  At the end of last year I turned supermodel Coco Rocha into a fiery redhead, which was featured in Vogue Magazine.  Now I'd like to tell you how to get this glamorous look.

Is red a color for everyone? The answer is no, but it is the most influential color of the New Year. Blondes now want to be golden strawberry shades, and brunettes want to have warm chocolate hues. Ultra blond and ash colors drain colors from your face, while red adds color, warmth, and youth. Remember, there are very few natural redheads so if you choose to be red you choose to be noticed.

Watch the segment from TODAY

Here are my tips for going red:

1. Use a slightly lighter formula around the face and progressively darker formulas going towards the nape. To keep color real use at least three formula's in the same color family. Making the tips of the hair lighter will help to keep your new color looking natural.

2. Think copper, not burgundy. Natural red hair has golden undertones. Blue reds do not exist in nature. If your color looks more like a car color than a hair color, you picked the wrong color.

3. The best candidates to go red are people with pale or pink skin. If you have olive skin and insist on trying red you must chose a very dark auburn shade. Red hair is not an option for people with ruddy skin.

4. Beware of hot roots. There is nothing that shouts "I color my hair red" more than bright roots. Hair should always be slightly darker at root and lighter on the tips.

5. Red hair fades more quickly than any other hair color. It is essential red heads keep their hair in optimum condition to keep their color vibrant. Always use a color preserving shampoo and conditioner.

6. Never highlight red hair. Highlights make red hair look faded, brassy, and orange. Use translucent colors to accent the natural nuances of your hair color.

7. Glosses or semi-permanent colors will extend touch-ups. Red hair fades faster than any other hair color. Supplement your touch-ups with semi-permanent colors and glosses. This will keep your color bright and condition your hair.

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Christmas came early this year for one of the world's top models. Coco Rocha is the darling of the fashion world. She was discovered at the age of 14 while participating not in a fashion show but, and I know this sound crazy, in an Irish dancing competition! She was immediately brought to the attention of Vogue's Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, Jean Paul Gaultier, and photographer Steven Meisel. Almost immediately fashion royalty declared her queen of the modeling world. What makes Coco wonderful is that she is like no other model. Yes, she is incredibly beautiful. Her body is long and lean like a fashion designer's drawing. She looks more like a beautiful creature from another world than a mere mortal. Her modeling portfolio resembles portraits of a great actress preparing for her Academy Award performance. What truly separates her from all other models is her soul. Coco is a simple Canadian girl from Vancouver who is as comfortable at home hiking or biking as she is strutting down the runway or posing for pictures. She often goes home on weekends to visit her mom, a flight attendant. She shows up on time for her hair appointments. I promise you, this is very rare for any model, never mind a model of this echelon. She is a fun loving girl with a constant smile on her face. I adore her.

Coco had one wish for Christmas this year. She wanted to be a red head. Red was always Coco's fantasy color. When Vogue called me and told me about Coco's desire for a color change, I tried my best to contain my excitement as I said, "Send her in, I would love to do it". There is no greater challenge than creating an entirely new look. You have to really put your color eye and imagination to the test to make a change of this magnitude. Of course I do my best to do this every week for the Today show's Ambush Makeover, but this time I was completely changing the look of one of the most scrutinized models in the world. I felt the adrenaline flowing through my veins.

Coco has pale skin and natural brown hair color. This made her the perfect candidate to be red. I wanted her red hair to look like it could grow from her head, if she were incredibly lucky. Here are some salon secrets I used to turn Coco's mane red that will help keep your red hair vibrant and believable.

1. Use a slightly lighter formula around the face and progressively darker formulas going towards the nape. To keep color real use at least three formula's in the same color family. Making the tips of the hair lighter will help to keep your new color looking natural.

2. Think copper, not burgundy. Natural red hair has golden undertones. Blue reds do not exist in nature. If your color looks more like a car color than a hair color, you picked the wrong color.

3. The best candidates to go red are people with pale or pink skin. If you have olive skin and insist on trying red you must chose a very dark auburn shade. Red hair is not an option for people with ruddy skin.

4. Beware of hot roots. There is nothing that shouts "I color my hair red" more than bright roots. Hair should always be slightly darker at root and lighter on the tips.

5. Red hair fades more quickly than any other hair color. It is essential red heads keep their hair in optimum condition to keep their color vibrant. Always use a color preserving shampoo and conditioner.

6. Never highlight red hair. Highlights make red hair look faded, brassy, and orange. Use translucent colors to accent the natural nuances of your hair color.

7. Glosses or semi-permanent colors will extend touch-ups. Red hair fades faster than any other hair color. Supplement your touch-ups with semi-permanent colors and glosses. This will keep your color bright and condition your hair.

Is red a color for everyone? The answer is no, but it is the most influential color of the New Year. Blondes now want to be golden strawberry shades, and brunettes want to have warm chocolate hues. Ultra blond and ash colors drain colors from your face, while red adds color, warmth, and youth. Remember, there are very few natural redheads so if you chose to be red you chose to be noticed.

Merry Christmas, Coco, and have a Happy Red Hair Year!

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There was a time, not so long ago, when the quintessential beauties were always blonds. People born blond wanted to be blonder. People with dark hair wanted to be as light as they could be, even at the risk of frizz and brassy hair. The woman with the lightest hair was always considered the prettiest. Well, times have changed.

Women have realized that the most flattering hair colors often extend far beyond the blond pallet. I myself became aware of this doing the Today Show's Ambush Makeovers. The blonds always looked good, but the warmer, richer, darker colors looked great. They made the most significant positive difference on almost every makeover. More vibrant hair colors made women's skin tones look more radiant. The makeovers looked prettier and younger. No one was more surprised than me by this realization. I made my career keeping some of the most famous women in the world blond. Have I been blindsided by blonds? I might have been guilty of being a "blond addict", but one day at a time I am opening up myself to the world of more fiery colors.

Tonight I am teaching a single-process class to the assistants at my Beverly Hills salon. I often learn as much as they do because teaching class forces me to rethink and pare down hair color theory to its simplest form so it becomes easy to understand.

Class night was full of action. There was a Paris Hilton sighting at the restaurant Mr. Chow's which is directly across the street from the salon. People are still fascinated with her. The paparazzi went crazy. I am personally amazed her 15 minutes lasted this long. Janice Dickinson stopped by the salon to say hello. She made a grand entrance and was actually very sweet to all the clients. She might be a bit eccentric but she is a spirited woman that puts a smile on everyone's face. She was helping the assistants critique the coloring of models scheduled that night. The models and assistants loved every moment. She actually has a very good color eye. She breezed in and out and then we got down to serious business.

Color class models often color their hair at home. This provides me with a chance to see what makes at-home color work and all of the most frequent at-home color mistakes. As you all know, I believe in at-home color. I think that it provides a viable way for people who can't afford the time, money, or both to take advantage of the wonders of hair color.

The big tips for surefire results for at-home users are things I said many times before.

1. Always stay within a few shades of your natural color.
2. Avoid frequent color changes.
3. Do a preview or strand test to see the results before you begin.
4. Never use at-home color over hair that has been previously chemically processed (i.e. permed, relaxed or straightened)
5. Never try to color your hair black or platinum blond at home.
6. Hair to be colored at home should be in good condition.

The biggest mistake I see in coloring is when people become obsessed with covering every grey or try to be the blondest or the reddest they can be. They will bring in pictures from magazines that are too light, air brushed, and photo shopped. These colors are impossible to achieve unless you wear artificial Dynel wigs. This is why class models frequently color their hair at home in between class touch-ups. They are attempting to achieve impossible results. This can result in a number of gross errors that might take a long time to repair. If you find yourself strolling down the hair color aisle every time you are in a drug store you are probably a hair color addict. Don't allow yourself to walk down the hair color aisle. It is too tempting and easy to pick up another box of color. This is called flirting with the substance. It will only result in a large bill when you have to go to your beauty salon to have your color corrected.

Another reason people color their hair too frequently is because of grey hair. No one notices your grey hair more than you. It could be a single strand that blends with your own color but when you look in the mirror it stands out like a big wart at the end of your nose. You can easily be obsessed with covering a few grey hairs. This results in people coloring their hair way too often. I have known clients to color their hair every five days to rid themselves of grey hair. When you color your hair too often this results in dark walls of color around their face. This is a major beauty faux pas. It makes your face look harsh and uneven. Natural hair color contains many nuances of color. The darker the color, the more difficult it is to see variations in color. If you have one or two strong grey hairs on brown hair use an eyebrow applicator. This will help to keep the hair color specifically on the grey hair only and help to avoid dark spots.

The other reason at-home colorists end up with the wrong color is because they pick the shade because of the picture of the great-looking girl on the box. That is how the hair color looks on her natural color. Remember your end result will be a combination of your natural color plus the shade you chose. Your natural hair color can be darker, lighter, more warm or ash than the model on the box. Hair texture will also change the results of the final color. Coarse hair is more resistant to accepting hair color. Read the tips on the back of the box. They will help you to achieve the hair color results you desire.

I love teaching class to the color assistants. It forces me to keep thinking about how to make hair color simpler and easier to use. If hair color becomes too complicated you are doing something drastically wrong. Always remember our model (KISS-keep it simple, silly) and you end up with your perfect color.

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Inspired by the Emerald Isle, Hairstylist Louis Licari reveals the new looks of women and men who wanted their manes to look fiery-hot. Watch the video below to see the dramatic new looks and for tips on how to go red and look great! Watch the segment from TODAY What do you think of the makeovers? Leave a comment or question below!

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• Red is the new trend for 2008
  
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The theme for this week's Ambush Makeover was red and, boy, did we pull off some magic this time!

Watch the segment from TODAY:

Check back later for some behind-the-scenes tales only Louis could tell!

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New Year's is a day away! New York is crowded with tourists from around the world. Most of them seem to be here at the TODAY show plaza. People are screaming for makeovers. Pandemonium has set in. "Ambush Makeover" Friday is hot!

Since it is almost New Year's, I though I should talk about the most important trend of 2008. There is no doubt in my mind that the color red will be the most significant trend of the new year. The color red blows every other hair color away. Blonds and brunettes pale by comparison. Red is vital and demands attention.

I can hear the people reading this blog thinking, "No way am I going red!" Calm down! I am not saying that everyone has to be a no doubt about it, red head, but red undertones can help every color to come alive and make you look prettier. Think about the difference between an ash blond and golden blond or an ash brown and chocolate brown. The ash colors are drab and drain the color from your complexion. The warm (red) base colors make your skin color come alive. This is what today's hair color is all about. Hair color should brighten your look. When you have the right hair color, it should look like you have on a bit of makeup. Red tones will make every hair color more dynamic.

BEAUTY WARNING! I must address all people with sallow complexions. You must avoid lighter warm shades. They will blend with your skin color and make your skin appear more sallow. This is a major beauty faux pas. You should choose a darker color to provide contrast with your skin color. Dark golden blonds, deep chocolates, and dark auburns work best with sallow complexions.

TIP - If you have to wear more makeup to make your new hair color work, you have picked the wrong hair color.

Two perfect examples of the power of red are our last two "Ambush Makeovers."

Watch the segment from TODAY: The first makeover was Rose, a 70-year-young woman with an incredible spirit. Her hair color was a light brown with large stripes of white blond highlights. The highlights were so pale it almost looked like grey hair. This is a definite beauty "don't". I chose a soft, golden red color that immediately eliminated her dull grey brown look. We then gave her shorter layers to work with her fine texture hair. Rose's hair looked lush, thick and vibrant. She looked at least 10 years younger.

The second makeover was Debbie from Worcester, MA. She works with special needs children and had no time for herself. Debbie had golden highlights on her brown hair and she looked good. But, I wanted her to look great. I made her hair a rich auburn color and the stylist gave her a beveled back bob. The new Debbie looked like a movie star!

Do hair color and hair cuts make a difference in the way you look? The answer is yes! The biggest trend in 2008 is warmer colors. This is the easiest way to update your look.

The color pallet for 2008 includes golden blonds, strawberry blonds, light golden browns, chocolate browns, auburns, and true reds.

BEAUTY WARNING! - These colors must always look natural, not like they come from a bottle. Copper tones usually look the most natural.

Look hot, add a pinch of red, and have a Happy New Year!

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