Christina Hendricks, best known for her role as Joan Holloway on AMC’s Mad Men, has ditched her fiery red locks and once again embraced her blonde roots. She claims it’s easier to say goodbye to her alter ego this way.

“It’s [the end of Mad Men] sort of the impetus behind my color change,” she explained in an interview with People magazine. “I had been red long before I had played Joan, but they did start to become sort of the same person. I started relating the red to Joan. When everything was coming to an end, and all of sudden I was moving to New York and all these changes were happening I thought why don’t I just embrace the change and change a little bit of everything, and give Joan a nice little send off. It was sort of an emotional thing for me too.”

Since Christina Hendrick’s is the latest hair color ambassador for Clairol, one has to wonder if she did her own hair–or had a Clairol stylist change her color. As it turns out, Clairol was definitely involved. Christina Hendricks actually became a redhead 20 years ago, when she went to work as a Clairol model.

“Clairol took me red, and I was absolutely thrilled,” she explained. “I loved it so much, I still actually have the picture from the shoot. I went back to my agency and said ‘I’m staying red, this it it, I love it.’ And they let me!”

Her redheaded days are long gone: what do you think of Christina Hendricks' freshly blond locks? http://t.co/u3hlsWZFmc

— E! Online (@eonline) March 20, 2015

“The color has this new energy about it,” she added. “It’s fun. It may not seem like a huge deal, but I think every woman knows that when you color your hair it changes your vibe. I’m having a lot of fun with it. It reminds me of when I was a kid–half my life I was blonde. It’s a bit nostalgic and there’s this sort of youthful feeling about it to me.”

Christina Hendricks is still getting used to her drastic color change, but is already embracing it–and thinking about other ways to adjust to the look.

“I’m going to start experimenting with different colors and see what looks best,” she said. “I’m sure some lipsticks will end up in the trash can.”

Are you a Mad Men fan? If so, you’re likely sad about the series coming to an end. Can you picture Christina Hendricks without the red hair that is synonymous with Joan Holloway?

Christina Hendricks has the kind of classic beauty that could adapt to almost any hair color.

Will she find life better as a blonde?

Fans can check out Christina Hendricks in a new film called The Neon Demon. They’ll have to wait a while, however. The film isn’t set to hit theaters until 2016.