Fom “tow-headed” kid to “dirty blonde” teen, it took this now quintessential hi-lift blonde many trips to a salon before she learned, SHE needed to take her blonde strands into her own hands if she wanted it done right. Joico Guest Artist, Zoë Carpenter is a blonding pro, but she didn’t get there on her own. Initially trained at the Rizzieri Aveda School for Beauty and Wellness in Cherry Hill, NJ her first salon job was for the Rizzieri Salon itself but her first apprenticeship came when the gutsy blonde took matters into her own hands (much like her hair) and emailed renowned master colorist Beth Minardi.

She was seeking adventure and a challenge and she certainly got it at the high-end, upper east side of Manhattan. She would come to repeat this adventure-seeking when she decided to pack up and move across the country to sunny southern California and challenge herself yet again working at Kim Vo Salon in Beverly Hills where she’s been since 2015. Whether in the chair, on stage or behind the camera, Carpenter is known for her expertise in blonding!

As she well knows, it’s a difficult shade to get just right, and though, blonding and lightening hair can go wrong “lightning-fast” she’s picked up plenty of know-how along the way and is an expert at color-correction, which she has to contend with a lot in the salon. The number one concept in coloring that Carpenter tries to impart when she teaches, and one that has become sacred to her, is lifting hair to the desired tone, and she says,

“colorists confuse the lift of level and lift of tone. It’s crucial to know you should lift to, and through, tones and stop focusing on lifting to level.”

When not working Carpenter loves being on a beach like her favorite place, Hawaii, or in the kitchen! Just like she literally “mixes it up” as a colorist, she has a passion for mixing ingredients and pairing wines to her culinary creations too. Of this other creative outlet, Carpenter says,

“you’re always thinking of the next step when you’re cooking, so you let go and forget life’s stresses. It’s very therapeutic for me.”

Zoë Carpenter’s Go-To Joico Product: Not so surprisingly, Carpenter’s go-to product has become the Blonde Life Lightening and Brightening line. She loves the detoxifying and amazing brightening and vibrancy the products add to blonde-colored hair. She also never goes anywhere without her K-PAK Color Therapy Restorative Styling Oil to maintain supple ends and nourish and protect her blonde strands. Carpenter takes her craft seriously, but there is no greater satisfaction than making women feel sexy and confident.

As a professional hair colorist, it is in those moments she feels the greatest and most satisfaction in her work. For her this is hands-down the best part of her chosen profession, that and seeing the next generation of young professionals come up the ranks just as she has and sharing and teaching what she’s learned along the way.