How Lady Gaga Went From Enigma To Cinderella At The Golden Globes

Lady Gaga might not have walked away with an award for Best Actress at this year's Golden Globes, but she did emerge as one of the night's biggest stars. She was the subject of the best punchline during Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh's monologue ("There could be one hundred people in a room..."); she had an adorably awkward interaction with Freddie Mercury star Rami Malek; and, in spite of her hotly-debated snubs, she still nabbed her second Golden Globe award, for Best Original Song in A Star Is Born (her first came in 2016 for her role as The Countess in American Horror Story: Hotel).

But none of that fully explains why we're still talking about Gaga's night more than 12 hours after the show came to a close. (Well, those snubs might have something to do with it.) We have her hair to thank for that.

Given that Gaga is known for her chameleon-like aesthetic, the star's glam team, consisting of makeup artist Sarah Tanno and hairstylist Frederic Aspiras, is trusted with one very difficult job: to help her navigate her constant evolution in style. Since the press rounds for ASIB officially ended, Gaga's primary focus has been on kicking off her two-year Las Vegas residency, Enigma — and channeling her eponymous anime alter ego. So when the nominee arrived in a Valentino Couture ball gown that paid homage to ASIB predecessor Judy Garland with periwinkle hair to match, the transformation was dramatic.

The difficult transition from on-stage performer with electric-blue hair to elegant red-carpet princess didn't once escape her team's mind. "We were all aware and familiar with the award season chaos," says Aspiras. He adds that planning ahead was key: "We have all been working so hard to get everything done on time."

Okay, but what about that hair color? For several weeks, Gaga has been steering away from her signature platinum blonde in preparation for Enigma. From silver to lilac to blue and now an even mix of the three, Gaga has officially gone through what a lot of us imagine to be hair-color hell (oy, the breakage). Gaga wanted to "feel like herself and bring more of it to [her] look for the Golden Globes," Aspiras says. Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli was actually enlisted by Gaga to custom-dye the gown a purplish hue, which then directly spawned the matching hair color.

Aspiras armed himself with an arsenal of specialized-care products to ensure Gaga's hair didn't literally fall out from the constant change. "I am a firm believer in products that have quality ingredients," he tells us. "My new obsession for maintaining platinum hair is the Joico Blonde Life Brightening line." Additionally, Aspiras used a combination of temporary hair color (Joico's Color Intensity in Sky and Rose, mixed with the Clear Mixer to create the shade he calls "cerulean blue") and a lightening treatment (Joico Blonde Life Powder Lightener) to get Gaga's bowed updo to just the right wash of color. As for the updo, Aspiras says all it took was one masterfully tucked ponytail, a ghd Platinum+ Styler, and ghd Curve Soft Curl Iron to finish before sending Gaga on her way. Aspiras adds that the temperature-controlled tools are crucial when trying to protect Gaga's color-treated hair, especially considering her busy schedule that calls for constant styling.

Truth be told, we're not surprised to see Gaga pull off such an enigmatic look so seamlessly. After all, once you find the true "nectar of your being," everything else must feel like a cakewalk — even the Golden Globes.