Youthful. Progressive. Sophisticated. Unique.

Praises were heaped on actress Joanne Peh when she sauntered confidently onto the fashion runway on Thursday night sporting a trendy asymmetrical short bob that was partly dyed ash-blue with yellow streaks.

At the media cocktail event held at Sculpture Square, the 30-year-old star was unveiled as international hair salon chain Vidal Sassoon's first Singapore brand ambassador.

While there was no doubt that Peh carried her makeover with oomph, she admitted to overcoming mental hurdles when she had to cut her hair for this endorsement two months ago. She had kept shoulder-length locks for nearly four years.

"I'm quite conservative at heart and afraid of trying new things..." she said.

APPREHENSIVE

"So I was both excited and apprehensive before my (Vidal Sassoon) hair cut. The idea of having blue hair scared me too. I was like, 'Blue? Huh?'.

"I was definitely more comfortable with the colour red, as I had the impression that it goes better with Asian skin."

Her tresses were chopped off before the filming of Channel 8 police drama C.L.I.F 3, in which Peh plays a traffic cop. The show will air in April.

As for the dye job, it was done just a night before the Vidal Sassoon event.

"I sported this hairstyle throughout the filming of C.L.I.F 3. Of course, I had to hide my 'tails' when I was in character," she said, referring to the wispy strands that stick out at the side.

"I'm going to keep this (cut) for a while... Short hair makes me look younger..."

Peh's worries were not unfounded. She told The New Paper that she once had a follicular disaster.

"The Korean voluminous look was the rage and I decided to get a perm," she recalled. "Coincidentally, I had curls for a drama and someone suggested that with a perm, my curls would hold longer."

Alas, it went all wrong. "Instead of looking Korean and beautiful, my hair became frizzled and wiry... I quickly went for hair treatment to get it fixed," she said.

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