Hairstylists often say that one of the telltale signs you’re ready for a change is when you keep putting your hair up in a ponytail. Day after day, pony after pony, with no desire to style it in any which way. Just bored, bored, bored with it all. That’s how I felt after a year of no new haircuts or color.

Shortly after saving a few (dozen) of my favorite photos to my phone, I found myself in the chair at Nova Arts Salon in Los Angeles. My stylist, Cindy Pak, and I looked through the photos together and decided on an underlayer of rainbow shades that would melt into my naturally dark hair.