Into The Woods

"Manhattan colorist Robert Craig finds his inspiration this fall from the subtle shadings he notices in fine wood furniture. "It's not one solid color," says Craig. "It's made up of many different tones, close together, but varied enough to provide the wood with dimension and richness." Craig gives his specialized color creations names like "Golden Oak," "Pecan" and "Antique Mahogany." He mixes a separate color formulation for each client, many of whom are celebrities, and never applies one client's formula to another's head. To change one client's dark brown hair to "Golden Oak," Craig lightened the entire head with a color creme, then "grained" the hair around the face and top of the head with two colors, one lighter than the rest of the hair, one darker.

Of course, unlike the mannequins shown here, no one wants hair that feels like wood, so Craig insists on products that enhance hair texture. "Even if you go through a major change, you shouldn't end up with dry, straw-like hair after it's colored," maintains Craig. "And other people shouldn't be able to tell the hair is colored."