There’s probably been some point in your life when you liked to play with your hair . Maybe it was when you were younger and your mom would put it in braids or pigtails. Maybe it was in your teen years, when you’d experiment with the curling iron versus the straightening iron . Maybe it was when you started going gray and you tried different colors of hair dye.
Maybe you’ve always loved dying your hair. You don’t have to be hiding grays to enjoy going from blond to brunette and back…or a color quite more eye-catching.
We have friends who love playing with their hair color, and we’re quite tempted to join them. You have to know what you’re doing to dye your hair on your own though, especially if you’re going for a unicorn look or an eye-catching shade of pink or purple.
We have total hair envy when we look at the Instagram pictures from hair stylist and dye specialist Ursula Goff. She creates looks that are so impressive we can hardly believe our eyes. We might just need to book a flight to her salon in Kansas to see what she can do with our tresses.
Much of Goff’s color inspiration comes from nature and famous works of art. While the hair itself is impressive alone, it’s even more impressive when you see the finished look side by side with her color inspiration. Here are 11 of our favorite looks.
The Northern Lights
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So here’s the hair I shared in my stories yesterday. Tasia said she wanted something with blues and greens, so I figured it was a good opportunity to continue to explore different ways of conveying the northern lights, as I’ve had this particular concept and color scheme in my head for a while but hadn’t had any candidates for it. She already had some faded mint, so I left a little bit of that but also mixed up a darker version with @matrix Cult in neon blue, neon green, and clover green, substantially diluted. And that gorgeous cobalt was created from mixing Admiral Navy, Retro Blue, and Royal Purple with a little bit of dilution for the brightness, and diluted further with water on the top parts to blend. Also, her hair is about 3.5 feet long! I am always excited to color it. #matrix #matrixpartner #socolorcult #northernlights #auroraborealis #northernlightshair #bluehair #balayage #beautylaunchpad #behindthechair #americansalon #modernsalon #fckinghair
A post shared by Ursula Goff (@uggoff) on Jan 5, 2019 at 10:29am PST
She wanted greens and blues. She was the perfect candidate for a style Goff had been wanting to try.
Living Coral
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Unintentional match! My husband used to be a graphic designer, and so he actually understands color really well (maybe better than I do, since he also had to work with subtractive color a lot and I have very little experience with that). So he worked with @pantone colors all the time, and sometimes if we were discussing colors, he’d try to explain a color by using the Pantone numbering system and I had to be like, dude…those numbers don’t mean anything to me. But I can see a color and know what its undertones are and how to mix it, just sort of intuitively. It’s so strange how we both have completely different modalities for understanding color, and of course mine is nebulous and sort of winging it, and his is structured and systematic. So unintentional match doesn’t just refer to the photo, but to my marriage, too. Never would have guessed he was “my type”, despite the fact that being involved with “my type” historically ends VERY BADLY. Sometimes, your “type” isn’t similar to you, so much as a complement to you. Like this teal and coral combo are complementary. See how I tied that all together? I can BS With the best of them; my college professors loved me. 😁 #pantone #coral #teal #livingcoral2019 #colortheory #graphicdesign #marriage
A post shared by Ursula Goff (@uggoff) on Jan 4, 2019 at 7:45am PST
This is actually the pantone color of 2019.
Rainbows
This look is proof that you don’t have to dye all of your hair to have an amazingly impressive style.
Poinsettia
This look was created for a client for the holiday season.
Opals
Goff has actually managed to capture the amazing beauty of opals through hair dye. Simply gorgeous!
Monet’s Water Lilies
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Monet throwback. Does this sound familiar: Don’t post anything too upbeat or cool because you look like you’re showing off. Don’t complain because then you’re a downer. No one wants to see all those photos of your baby. Or your food. But also, don’t be so serious. Don’t take things too lightly. Quit being political! But don’t be apathetic, either. If you share photos of yourself, you’re vain. If you don’t share any, then you must be ugly. If you rarely mention your spouse or family, your home life must be terrible. If you DO mention them, you’re just overcompensating because your home life is terrible. See where this is going? There will always be someone bitching about something, so you might as well be yourself, in person and online. Sure there are assholes, and we can’t change that. So what? They’re not in charge of you! You’re the boss. If you wanna get where you’re going, you’ve gotta start with being real, whatever that entails. Even if you suck, you’ll never be able to find out and get better if you aren’t real with yourself and everyone else. Besides, everyone can tell when you’re faking, anyway.
A post shared by Ursula Goff (@uggoff) on Nov 28, 2018 at 12:06pm PST
Proof that hair really is a canvas.
Painting on Hair
This is another Northern Lights look, but it resembles a painting more than anything. This is a masterpiece. We’d never want to cut our hair.
Stained Glass
Even more impressive than a stained glass window.
Mother of Pearl
Don’t want a bright color? This style is proof that subtle pastels can be stunning too.
Seashells
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PRESENTATION MATTERSSSS! Same hair in both pics. Nothing changed except the style and the lighting. This is important because not only does good presentation maximize the quality of your portfolio, but it also helps your clients see their hair at its best. This is especially important for new vivid clients who might need a little bit of emotional nudging as they adjust to a new look. Do not let them leave with wet or unstyled hair! Make sure they look absolutely as fabulous as possible so they can know what the possibilities are. Include the cost of the style in the service so they don’t need to worry about extra charges; I always tell them, “you’re paying for a style whether you get one or not, so you might as well take it”. Also, you need to make sure that their hair is doing what it needs to do – colors and cuts both look very different wet versus dry, so this is to make sure you’ve hit your target. If there’s something that ends up ultimately bothering them about it once they get home, you’re gonna have to eat that and fix it later, so just don’t even allow for that to happen. Further, show them what products and equipment you’re using to style them, and give them tips to make it easier for themselves so they can make that look happen at home. You wouldn’t believe the number of clients who say, “no one has ever showed me how to style my hair before” !!!! Don’t take for granted that they know what you know – you’re the professional, so help them make your work look good when you can’t be around. #seashells #seashellhair #iridescenthair #opalhair #beautylaunchpad #behindthechair #americansalon #modernsalon
A post shared by Ursula Goff (@uggoff) on Oct 12, 2018 at 5:56pm PDT
We can’t think of a better way to take on summer than with seashell-inspired hair.
Roses
Goff doesn’t just create on hair. She did the painting of the rose on the left too.
Which style is your favorite?