Brad Johns, the influential celebrity colorist whose eye for rich, dimensional blondes and signature “chunking” technique helped shape 90s beauty trends, has died at his home in West Hollywood, CA at age 70.
Friends report that Johns had been battling prostate cancer.
Over more than four decades behind the chair, Johns built a reputation as one of hair color’s great artists, particularly with blonding. He was best known for “chunking,” placing larger, strategic pieces of light through the hair to create movement, brightness, and face-framing dimension.
At a time when traditional frosting-cap highlights still dominated many salons, Johns helped make color services more customized, expressive, glamorous, and believable.
He gave colorists a blueprint for using placement, contrast, and tone to create depth, dimension, and individuality.
His transformation of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s light brown hair into the golden blonde that became part of her enduring image remains one of Johns' most public achievements, though his prolific artistry carried through several mediums during his lifetime.
Born in 1955 and raised in Pennsylvania, Johns moved to New York in the 1970s to study acting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. But hair quickly became a passion. After experimenting on classmates, he left acting to attend cosmetology school and began a career that would place him at the center of fashion, celebrity, and beauty culture.
His high-profile clients included Christy Turlington, Kate Moss, Johnny Depp, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Lucille Ball, Matthew Modine, and many others.
Working with celebrity hairstylist Oribe Canales at the legendary Elizabeth Arden Salon, Johns grew his reputation as a master of blonde as well as a true innovator with hair color.
Both Johns and Canales hated the frosting trend in hair color at the time. “When he told me that he thought hair color should look artistic, I knew we had the same aesthetic,” Johns recalled in his memoir.
“For me, hair color is an art form, and I was working on a technique for highlighting hair with more precision. Oribe came up with the name chunking to describe my technique for placing lighter pieces in big chunks around the face so it resembled the way a child’s hair looked after a summer at the beach.”
Turlington was among the clients who helped bring his approach to prominence, after Johns created subtle caramel highlights around her face. His work with Bessette-Kennedy became another highly visible example of his artistry.
Years later, Johns remained opinionated about attempts to modernize that look, saying the color used for Bessette-Kennedy in a television dramatization was “too 2024” and missed the warmth and nuance of the original.
Johns wrote several articles for American Salon in the early 2000s offering his wisdom and advice to hair colorists.
Johns retired from the beauty industry in 2019 and moved to Los Angeles, where he devoted more time to visual art including painting, jewelry, and metalsmithing. He eventually turned to fused glass, creating work under the name Brad Johns Glass.
In his 2023 memoir, Dye: A Memoir of Art, Music, Faith, Family and Hair Color, written with former American Salon publisher Marianne Dougherty, Johns reflected on a career defined by curiosity, artistry, and an instinct for making beauty feel personal.
“Brad lived a life defined by beauty, creativity, humor, generosity, and an unmistakable point of view,” his family said in a statement announcing his passing.
“Whether through his work, his art, or simply the way he moved through the world, he left an impression on everyone fortunate enough to know him. He was deeply loved, and he will be missed beyond words.”
Donations in his name can be made to the Pasadena Humane Society.