When did your interest in hair coloring begin?
When I was about 8 years old, I used to color my troll dolls’ hair with food coloring because I didn’t think they had the right color. I always thought coloring would make people look better and feel better.

What was your biggest break as a professional hair colorist?
When I invented chunking and Oribe believed in it with me and let me do Christy Turlington’s never-colored hair.

What is your main philosophy about hair color?
Hair color should make you look better first and make you feel better second. Your hair color is your favorite accessory that you never take off, so it should always be beautiful.

What is the best part of working as the National Hair Director at the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa?
Having the opportunity to be the Color Director at the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa has been fantastic. I have been so lucky to have a great management team, and a great team of assistants and housekeepers. I love it there because it exerts beauty from head to toe, a one-stop beauty shop. It’s even more special for me, though, because I started my career here in this building when Oribe had his salon in the same place that Red Door is in now. I’ve come full circle, and this building really feels like home.

One of the hair coloring techniques you are known is ‘buttery chunks’. What is it, and what was the inspiration behind it?
I love going to the beach to see what the sun does to beachgoers’ hair. The “buttery chunking” came from seeing what the sun does to children’s hair—bold and not natural, but sunkissed. It’s similar to what surfers have. The sun doesn’t make the hair look natural, it makes it look fabulous!

To what do you attribute your popularity as one of the most sought-after colorists in New York City?
I never really think of myself as the most sought-after, I’m just thinking about who’s in my chair now and how I can make them look their absolute best.

What advice can you give to someone coloring their hair for the first time?
Always start slow! It’s better to go lighter than darker, because you can always go darker later on.

Truth or Myth: anyone can be blond?
Everyone can be some shade of blond. You can always go a little lighter than you are now.

It was a great pleasure to speak with Brad and for more info about him and Red door spa’s or to book an appointment visit: www.reddoorspas.com