Was Katy Perry's Pink Hair An Accident??

We've been tracking the popstar's color journey from herinitial jet dark shade through red and blonde, and wow'edwhen we saw her step out in California with a pastel look. Rita Hazan, the celeb stylist who took Katy from raven-headed to pinky purple (and mixed the dye herself!), chatted with us about how she made it happen.

Real Beauty: We were so used to seeing Katy with dark hair! Was the plan always to go through red and blonde before getting to the lavender color?

Rita Hazan: When you go from dark to light, there's a process you have to go through. It usually takes three to four months to do, and somehow we accelerated the process over three to four weeks—it was extraordinary that her hair stayed in such good shape! Color-wise, it was a little more red at first and then it went blonde and then it went lavender. You get to where you're going and you see what happens and you make the best it can for what it is. The plan wasn't to be red or blonde , the plan was to be lavender.

RB: How do you keep hair healthy when going through so much coloring?

RH: You have to know your limits, and that's why Katy and I hooked up together. She knew my thing was that hair has to be healthy and look good—she wanted to keep the health of her hair. Between [dyeing], you make sure you're using the right products, and do at-home conditioning treatments.

RB: Do you think Katy will keep this color for awhile?

RH: This is not the last you'll see of her changing her hair color. Now that she sees it's fun and can be healthy if you do it right and use the right color I think you'll see her change it a lot. It is a lot of upkeep, though; I custom made that color. It's not like I just bought it and dumped it on her head.

There you have it, beauties. Go ahead and mimic Miss Perry's color, but don't expect to buy it off the shelf any time soon.