Actress Jayley Woo has had a tough year.

We hurt when we saw her grieving in the wake of a personal tragedy, and our hearts ached with each gut-wrenching recall of what could have been.

But what we also saw was a tenacious soul, one with a fierce determination to soldier on and overcome what life has dealt her.

At the time of this interview, she had just wrapped up not one, not two, but three productions.

And if you're wondering what the 27-year-old actress gets up to in between projects, the answer is this: getting her hair coloured at Vintage Studio, of which she's the muse and ambassador for five years and counting.

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"How my hair looks like is determined by which character I'm playing," explains Jayley. "So when I get a break like this, I'll feel like doing something for myself."

"It was a random thought, but recently I've been wondering about what I'd look like with platinum blonde hair. So here I am!" she adds with a laugh.

It's easy to see why this affable personality was chosen as the salon's muse. Says Vincent Ang, owner of Vintage Studio: "There's something about her that's a little bit different. She has an edge, and she dares to be bold."

Earlier this year, the salon, together with MAJIFASHION by L'Oreal Professionnel, even created a signature shade for her. Dubbed 'Jayley Pink', the colour is a gorgeous medley of sunset pink hues blended for a gradient effect, with a slight peek of hair roots for an effortlessly chic vibe.

Read CLEO's full interview with her below.

Tell us more about this Jayley Pink shade - how did that even come about?

Initially, I was quite hesitant. I've never done a full head of pink before. It felt like it would be too loud, too attention-grabbing. And it was during a period in my life where I didn't want to attract any more attention; I wanted to blend in.

I don't know where I got the courage from, but I eventually did it. And you know what the surprising thing was? I didn't care how people looked at me afterwards. I know it's just a change of hair colour, but I was surprised by how different I felt afterwards. It's like I became bolder, I dared to push the boundaries and now there's no limits.

Speaking of caring about what other people think, the nature of your work and having this public persona opens you up to a lot of criticism.

(laughs) So much, from everywhere!

How do you deal with that?

For a while, I wasn't able to deal with it. But the support of my fans, friends, and family really helped. I've reached a point in my life where I just want to be happy. And that's what I wish for everyone around me as well.

Life is so short, and to be able to spend it with the people you love, that is a huge blessing. So I no longer spend time and energy to deal with things that I can't control.

How I see it is like this: other people's opinions may be right, or they may be wrong. But either way, they're not you. Only you can decide which opinions are useful to you, and which are not.

So for the times when you're not feeling so confident in yourself, what do you do?

My motto is: I can, I will, and I must. It sounds like I'm "psycho-ing" myself, but it works for me! (laughs) I think the brain is a powerful tool, so I'll keep telling myself to focus on the positives and that's worked out pretty well for me so far.

I'd say I have mild signs of depression… so when I find myself in that mood, I'd remind myself of how much I have to look forward to. Sometimes it's just ten minutes of sadness, you know? So I'll tell myself, "Why allow that ten minutes to ruin the other 23 hours and 50 minutes of your day?"

But don't get me wrong - I still allow myself to fell those emotions. I allow myself those ten minutes to feel everything, that anger, and sadness. It's not healthy to suppress those feelings, just keep in mind that it's not going to last.

Over the years, we've seen you with a wide range of bold hairstyles, from crazy-coloured hair to head-turning snips. What's your favourite hairstyle so far?

The Jayley Pink, of course! I felt like that hair really captured who I was that moment. It was during a period of time where I felt really proud of myself, because I learnt how to block out things that don't serve me anymore

I didn't expect to feel so comfortable in that shade - I'd go out with just my pink hair and no makeup on, and when it came to my outfit, I didn't even have to accessorise because, well, I have pink hair. (laughs) Those two months were good. I also felt like I became bolder because of it. I dared to try out more things, like dyeing my hair blue myself! I apologised to Vincent first, haha!

This article was first published in CLEO Singapore.