Hey guys! It's Emily, Alloy's Beauty Editor. Don't you love Rian P.'s highlights?! If I were more daring, I'd totally steal her 'do. As a dark brunette, I've always craved that blonde-highlighted, naturally sun-kissed look. Now, I finally have something sort of close to that, but it's taken me years to get it right! Mostly because communicating with hairstylists is harder than I thought.

I had an especially bad experience my sophomore year of high school: I decided to get "light brown/dark blonde" highlights on a whim, and went in for a walk-in appointment at a trendy hair place in my local mall. This pushy dude with a spiky gelled 'do was my stylist, and was rude to me from the start, which should've been a red flag! But it was my very first time getting highlights, and I was waay too trusting and naïve. The butthead stylist refused to let me see a color swatch book ahead of time, saying he was a "professional" and color swatches were for "amateurs". Long story short, I walked out of the salon with chunky white-blonde streaks that started an inch away from my roots, and auburn lowlights in between. So basically, I had dark roots, and tri-color hair when all I really wanted was natural, sun-kissed color!

To save you the same post-traumatic stress I went through, here is what I recommend when getting your hair professionally highlighted or colored:

1. Bring a color photo in of a celebrity 'do you like, or scan those hair books they always have lying around in the waiting room (that's what they're there for!).

2. If you don't have a regular stylist that you trust, consider making a consultation appointment with your chosen professional before the real deal, just to make sure you're both on the same page.

3. Insist on seeing a swatch book so that you can get an idea of what it is your stylist is gonna do; their idea of "dark blonde" could be totally different than what you're thinking.

4. Be specific. If it's your first time getting highlights, a partial (instead of a full head) is probably the way to go. Also, be clear about whether you want a natural look with thin highlights, or whether you want highlights that are more bold and chunky.

5. Lastly, if -- after following all these steps -- you're still unhappy with the end result? Ask your stylist to apply more toner. This will help tone-down your highlights, and blend them in more with your natural color.