Schwarzkopf Professional’s Signature Series landed in Los Angeles this past Monday, August 31st, bringing master hairstylist and global educator Ashlee Norman — a member of the Schwarzkopf Professional Digital Artistic Team with more than 15 years of experience in blonding, balayage, precision cutting and color theory — to Sholé Beverly Hills Salon for a full-day masterclass on her “AirTouched ColorMelt: Advanced Reverse Balayage” technique.
The session went well beyond a standard AirTouch demo, with Norman walking salon professionals through how she layers AirTouch, reverse balayage, open-air lowlighting, strategic tip-outs and ColorMelt to build depth back into the hair while keeping brightness exactly where she wants it.
Norman’s core message: stop applying one technique across the whole head. Instead, she encouraged attendees to start with the finished result in mind, then choose techniques based on each client’s existing color, density, haircut and desired placement.
Norman’s Exact Steps
- Flip the approach. Instead of pulling out the pieces meant to go blonde, Norman identifies the hair that should stay blonde and builds depth into the areas around it — going finer as she works toward the face and top of the head to protect brightness at the hairline.
- Start with what stays blonde. Rather than sectioning out the pieces destined for lightener, Norman works backward — identifying what should stay blonde first, then adding depth into the surrounding hair, getting finer as she moves toward the face and top of the head.
- It’s balayage in reverse — literally. Norman doesn’t pull out the blonde pieces; she brings depth in around them. Her sections get finer as she works toward the face and top of the head, protecting brightness right at the hairline.
- Think depth first, not blonde first. Norman identifies the hair that stays blonde, then builds the depth in around it — getting finer toward the face and crown to keep brightness intact at the hairline.
For the dimensional blonde result, Norman used IGORA VIBRANCE 7-4 Beige at the base and IGORA VIBRANCE 8-46 Beige Chocolate through the lowlights, both mixed with the lotion activator for extra control. The finished look kept brightness through the longest lengths while adding strategic depth through the shorter interior layers.
No formula fits every head, and that’s the point. Norman’s masterclass gave LA stylists a new way to think about depth, brightness and placement — one client, one section, one decision at a time. Visit ashleenormanhair.com for more info on her in-person and online education classes shop Schwarzkopf Professional products online and in store at Cosmo Prof.
