The Global Colour Artist for Paul Mitchell shares the professional formulas and techniques.
Published:Actress Mia Goth turned heads at this week’s Academy Museum Gala, with her hair colour attracting attention across social media. Now, Matt Rez, Global Colour Artist for Paul Mitchell, has shared the professional formulas and techniques behind the look.
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Mia Goth’s red-carpet appearance sparked a wave of comments online, with users praising her hair colour and asking which colourist was responsible.
The answer is Matt Rez, Global Colour Artist for Paul Mitchell, who subsequently shared a step-by-step breakdown of the colour process on social media.
The technique combined lifting, base colour application, highlights and lowlights, a root gloss and a final toning service to create a dimensional brunette-blonde result.
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Rez began by lifting the existing dark brown hair using Paul Mitchell Dual Purpose Lightener.
His formula combined 30g of lightener with 30g of 10-volume developer, three pumps of EPRES Professional Bond Repair Treatment and five pumps of shampoo.
The lengths were lifted to a level six, establishing the foundation for the subsequent colour work.
To bring the roots into line with the mid-lengths and ends, Rez applied the same lightening formula to the scalp area, switching to five-volume developer.
He increased the amount of shampoo to 10 pumps to dilute and soften the lift, helping control the processing speed in response to scalp heat.
For the base, Rez used Paul Mitchell Pro The Color, combining 50g of 7NA with 10g of 6AB, alongside 60g of conditioner and 60g of 10-volume developer.
Rez explained that incorporating conditioner into his depositing formulas reduces the alkalinity of permanent colour without sacrificing its depositing power.
He also noted that, although the hair had already been lightened, permanent colour was selected because it penetrates deeper than a traditional demi-permanent cream colour.
The total processing time was 50 minutes, with the colour stretched through the mid-lengths every 20 minutes to create a graduated base.
The next stage introduced further dimension through a combination of highlights and lowlights.
For the highlights, Rez used Paul Mitchell Pro Dual Purpose Lightener, mixed with 20-volume developer and three pumps of EPRES Professional Bond Repair Treatment. The hair was lifted to a soft level eight.
Before applying the highlights, he saturated each weave with EPRES Professional Bond Repair Treatment to provide additional protection against breakage.
For the lowlights, he used 10g of Paul Mitchell Pro The Color in 7NA, 10g of conditioner and 10g of five-volume developer.
The contrasting tones helped build depth and dimension throughout the finished colour.
Rez then applied a root gloss using Paul Mitchell Pro The Color.
The formula consisted of 30g of 8A, 10g of 7AB, 40g of conditioner and 40g of five-volume developer.
As with the base formula, conditioner was incorporated to lower the alkalinity of the permanent colour.
The final stage involved Paul Mitchell Pro The Demi Liquid Gloss to refine the overall tone.
Rez combined 1.5oz of Neutral Beige, half an ounce of Brass Free Blue and 4oz of Clear, mixed with an equal amount of seven-volume processing liquid.
The gloss was left on for 10 minutes to complete the colour.
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Rez’s breakdown demonstrates how a combination of controlled lifting, permanent colour, strategically placed highlights and lowlights, and a final gloss can be used to build a multidimensional red-carpet colour.
Rather than relying on a single all-over formula, the process involved several stages to establish the base, create tonal variation and refine the final result.
For colourists, the look provides an insight into Rez’s approach to creating a carefully graduated colour with contrasting tones and a polished finish.
*All formulas and processing details are reproduced from Matt Rez’s social media breakdown. Colourists should assess the hair’s condition, existing colour history and suitability for the proposed service before undertaking a similar process.
For more info follow on Instagram @colorbymattrez
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