I ran into my coworker D in the office hallways recently and was immediately struck by her amazing new strawberry blonde locks. D had always been a pale blonde, and the color was pretty on her, but this new strawberry shade was a knockout. I asked her where she had it done, and the look her on face, combined with a heavy sigh, told me I was in for a story.

We sat in her office and the tale began. It all started with a visit to her longtime stylist (who's also a friend), where D asked for her regular color along with some strawberry blonde highlights/lowlights. Something went awry in the process, because she ended up leaving the salon with PINK HAIR.

You've seen this happen to pale blondes, right? It's truly heinous. D went back to get it fixed, only to end up with tresses bordering on fuchsia. She showed me a picture; it looked like Britney Spears' pink wig! Now I knew why I hadn't seen her around the office lately.

So how'd she get to the glorious color she was sporting that day? "I was desperate. I had to call in the best. I went to the colorist who does Jennifer Lopez..."

"RITAHAZAN!?!?!" I gasped.

Indeed, D had paid a visit to Rita Hazan herself, who transformed her fried, pink locks into shining, strawberry blonde tresses with incredible depth and dimension. The cut, the color, everything was absolutely perfect. D said it cost an arm and a leg (corrective color is "priced upon consultation," ha ha), but it was totally worth it. "I wear my hair every day," she said. And now your hair is beyond fierce, girl!

The worst part, though, was breaking up with her longtime stylist who had allowed her to leave his salon, TWICE, with unnaturally-hued hair. Ouch.

Lesson learned here? If your stylist messes up your hair such that the only term that accurately describes it is "FUBAR," don't scrimp on the recovery efforts. If your wallet can take it, Go Rita!