Color

Hair Color

Lived in color, blonding and correction. Built to grow out well, not just to look good on the day.

Written and reviewed by Shauna Bibi Adri, owner of Shade Studio, eighteen years behind the chair, IBE certified, Milbon trained and Bellami certified.

Updated August 2026

Finally found the best colorist!! Shauna is amazing! Professional and talented. Thank you to the entire staff, friendly and so competent.
Emily, via Google

About our hair color work

Shade Studio is a color focused studio in Long Branch, New Jersey, specializing in lived in color, blonding and color correction. Most color work here is built to grow out slowly rather than to peak on day one. Big color changes start with a consultation, and current pricing lives on the service menu.

Color is the busiest thing in this studio and the reason most of our regulars are here. A large share of the book comes in every four to six weeks, and blonding is the single most requested service we do. That volume matters to you for one reason: we have almost certainly seen your starting point before, which is what lets us be honest about what your hair will and will not do.

Nothing here is pulled off a shelf. Placement is mapped to your face shape, your natural level, where you part and how you actually wear your hair. Shauna has been behind the chair for eighteen years and lived in color is the work she built the studio around.

What we offer

Balayage
Hand painted color with no hard regrowth line, built to last three to four months. The gentlest way to grow out old color. Balayage
Blonding and Highlights
Face frame, partial, full and maximum coverage blonde, every one finished with a gloss so the tone is set rather than left raw. Blonding and highlights
Color Correction
Box dye, banding, brass and color that grew out wrong. The most technical thing we do, and almost never a one visit job. Color correction

Button label

What to expect

Every color appointment beyond a straight refresh opens with a consultation. Your stylist looks at your hair in natural light, asks about your color history, and tells you what is reachable safely in one sitting. If the honest answer is two sessions, you hear it before you sit down.

Then the work, with a bond building step running during processing rather than sold to you as an extra. Lightener is hard on hair and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Everything finishes with toning, because lightener sets the level and the gloss decides what that level actually looks like.

Most people add a cut and a blowout. It is worth it: placement that looks incredible wet can disappear entirely in the wrong finish.

Between appointments

Sulfate free shampoo, a toning shampoo about once a week if you are on the lighter end, and a bond treatment every couple of weeks. A gloss between full appointments resets the tone without asking anything more of your hair.

Skip the box dye. We say that with love, and then we say it again on the correction page.

You can see recent color work on our Instagram, which is where the newest work lands first.

Questions we actually get asked

Which color service do I actually need?

If you just need your regrowth blended, that is a root retouch. If you want brightness without a hard line, that is balayage. If you want to be properly lighter, that is blonding. And if something already went wrong, that is correction. Not sure? Book a consultation and we will tell you which one you need, including when it is the cheaper one.

How often will I be back?

Single process roots run every four to six weeks. Balayage stretches to three or four months. Most people land somewhere between, with a gloss in the middle to keep the tone honest.

Do you take color corrections from other salons?

Yes, and we will not say a word about whoever did it. We would rather spend your appointment on your hair than on someone else's reputation.

Should I arrive with clean or dirty hair?

Clean. This is the myth we correct most often. Product buildup makes accurate color placement harder, not easier.

Why does my color go brassy so fast here?

Because you live three blocks from the ocean. Sun and salt water both pull warmth through faster on the shore than they would inland. A toning shampoo weekly and a gloss every couple of months is the fix.

Can I bring a photo?

Please do, and bring your real routine too. There is no point building color that only works if you blow dry it daily and you do not.

Book hair color

Book your appointment, or call the studio at (732) 995-9372. Current pricing lives on the service menu, and your exact price is confirmed at your consultation.