Jennifer Aniston’s colourist on ‘The Rachel’ and hair colour dos and don’ts

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30th May 2019

If there’s one famous head of hair that has launched a million “make mine exactly like hers” requests, it’s Hollywood sweetheart, Jennifer Aniston. When she debuted her highlighted, layered look — or ‘The Rachel’ as it became known — during the first season of ‘90s sitcom Friends a hair icon was born.

Since then, the Just Go With It actress has kept her colour pretty close to that first iconic hue, making subtle tonal adjustments — warmer, lighter, slightly richer — that still stay within the same sun-kissed, California-style highlights colour wheel and continue to be the go-to colour to copy the world over.

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‘The Rachel’ cut was created by Aniston’s long-term stylist Chris McMillan, who still tends the actress’s tresses today (her current style is far less layered), and the colour was created by celebrity colourist, Michael Canalé. The self-confessed “perfectionist” is known as Hollywood’s colour guru and continues to colour the actress’s hair 25-years later, along with a roster of big names including model Carolyn Murphy, actress Kyra Sedgwick and Denise Richards.

Canale’s expertise in colour is vast and here, he shares his pro-tips for maintaining colour between appointments, why matching your skin tone to your hair colour is key and the exact method he uses to colour Jennifer Aniston’s coveted locks.

How did ‘The Rachel’ come about?
“Jennifer Aniston was just starting in her career and was filming the pilot for this new show called Friends (heard of it?). At that time, I was considered one of the top colourists in the country, especially in Beverly Hills. This was her big debut and Jimmy Burrows brought her to us. She had medium brown hair at the time, a little past shoulder length. I gave her a sun-kissed blonde look with feather-thin highlights, and Chris McMillan shortened it all around.”

“That was in 1994, and all these years later, her cut and colour is quite close to what we did back then. We went with that great feather-thin highlighting around her face and a centre part — and it still works today because it’s really quite timeless.”

Jennifer Aniston in character as Rachel Green sporting 'The Rachel' on Friends. Image credit: supplied

What’s your advice for maintaining colour between salon appointments?
“Nice of you to ask! I have a full line of hair care products [and] I devised each one to ensure that colour not only lasts, but hair looks incredibly healthy, shiny, and strong in-between visits. I have also just released a gloss that lasts for up to 20 washes, I created these coloured glosses to counterbalance the colour over time, and help it to last longer!”

Are there certain hair hues that look ageing, or on the flipside, more youthful?
“I think over bleaching can be ageing, particularly when the look starts getting brassy or yellow. Dark roots can also be a bit jarring, so maintenance is key. When I’m doing colour, I start with the undertone of the skin: if you have a cool undertone and are using warm colours on your hair, you might end up looking like you’ve got more of a ruddy complexion; if you have a warm undertone and are using cool colours, a woman can end up looking washed out.”

“I think colour looks great and lasts longer — and doesn’t age a woman — if the undertone of the skin is considered versus just pulling colour out of [a] magazine and matching to that. Finally, use great products! Your hair will look better, the colour will last longer, and working with your natural colours, your hair will look more natural as it grows out!”

What are your tips for blondes to avoid breakage?
“It’s all about the products, baby. It kind of boggles my mind that women will spend time and money to get really beautiful colour and then put inferior products on their hair. That’s what causes damage and breakage — because the combination of bleach products and poor-quality hair care products make for a combination that really damages hair. Good sunscreen, shampoo, and conditioners with key vitamins, nutrients, and the right PH balance are critical.”

What is your favourite colouring technique and why?
“My trademark as a colourist — which has been my trademark since I started in this business 30 years ago — are paper-thin highlights to achieve the most natural look out there. Paper-thin highlights take longer to do, but they make the whole look and final effect less obvious and a lot more subtle, I blend blonde with the natural base colour of each woman. I’m known for not just producing looks that are formulaic — but producing natural looks that are really what we all started with when we were younger.”