Lucy Hale's Blonde Hair: The Real Story, According to Her Colorist

If you're not obsessed with Lucy Hale's blonde hair yet, you're about to be. The 27-year-old actress has been light in the past, back in February and March, but it's never been as chic and modern as this new 'do. Hale is best known for playing Aria Montgomery on Pretty Little Liars for the last seven seasons—a long time to play one character. As well as being a favorite on the show, Hale's fans (which include us, of course) are pretty much obsessed with her shiny hair and gorgeous, full eyebrows, which are both literally always on point. Other than a few months here and there with blonde hair, Hale is usually rocking her signature dark brown mane, which matches Aria's badass style. But now that PLL has wrapped for good (tears), she's branching out into her own look. And it's looks like she's having a lot of fun with it.

Lucy Hale's blonde hair comes courtesy of her longtime colorist Kristin Ess. Hale gave Ess a shout-out on Instagram, showing off her lighter locks to her 16 million followers. "Back to the blonde life," she wrote.

As opposed to her blonde hair in the past, this style is a more golden ombré than all-over highlights. It's so face-flattering, we're about to run to the salon to copy her look, STAT. Before we totally screw up our own hair, we caught up with Ess to find out the story behind Hale's. It turns out, it is a goodbye of sorts to PLL. "You're so committed to your character's look when you are filming a show," Ess tells Allure. "There have been so many colors Lucy has wanted over the years I've known her, but she just couldn't do them because of continuity. She's a free bird now! The world is her hair color oyster."

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Hairstory Staff Makeover: Rose Gold Hair Transformation:

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When Ess took Hale blonde in the past, she used more of a platinum shade. Ess says it's an "amber tone" this time around. "[It's] a soft golden blonde with a warm root," she adds. If it looks like Hale's roots are her natural color, it's not exactly the case. "It's not a solid root," she says. "You still want your rooted hair to have some dimension." Dyeing Hale's roots a warmer color than her natural shade helps blend the root into her blonde ends and keeps the ombré from looking too harsh. What you get instead is a natural-looking bright style. But don't expect to go this blonde in one dye job. "It takes a long time to go from brown to blonde so please be patient!" Ess says. If Hale's hair is any indication, it's seriously worth the effort.

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