Natalie Portman has hit the bottle and gone blonde for an upcoming film role and there was only one woman she trusted with the job: Hollywood’s go-to colourist Tracey Cunningham.

Tracey’s client list reads like an Oscar nominations announcement with names like Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lopez, Emma Stone (she turned her from blonde to red and back again), Kate Beckinsale and Drew Barrymore, to name just a few.

Tracey spoke to us about how she achieved Natalie’s drastic hair transformation which she debuted on the red carpet this week at a dinner for her choreographer husband Benjamin Millepied’s L.A. Dance Project in Los Angeles.

‘Natalie makes a beautiful Blonde!’ Tracey said. ‘She needed to make the change for an upcoming movie role, and using Redken’s Blonde Dimensions we achieved a gorgeous, multi-dimensional Golden Blonde.’

A big change like this requires a lot of commitment, however, and Tracey recommends sitting on it for a while before making the leap. If you do go for it, here’s her advice.

‘I always recommend colouring every six to eight weeks, but for a single-process colour, you should really do four to six weeks. Two months is just too long,’ she says.

‘You should treat your hair like you would a fine garment—you wouldn’t throw a cashmere sweater into the wash! I love sulfate-free shampoos for gentle cleansing and I recommend Redken’s Color Extend Shampoo & Conditioner to all my clients. It does an amazing job to keep your hair healthy and vibrant’

‘I’m also really into Redken’s Real Control Slim Supreme right now, which I use pre- and post-blow-out for nourishment. It’s just a really good blow-dry serum. It does everything—it gives shine and life to the hair.’

Tracey also says to invest in some styling tools: ‘Buy some hot rollers—big, big hot rollers are awesome. Everybody looks good with a blow-out.’

Credit: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages