New Hair - Soft Ombré

I've been dying my hair the same golden blonde colour for almost as long as I can remember.  With the exception of dip dying my hair light pink last year & a brief period of time when I was about 15 & decided to go for a chocolate brown with red streaks (yes really) I've never made any drastic changes to my hair colour. 

So I finally decided to bite the bullet & make an appointment at my hair salon to try something a little different... admittedly nothing overly different or crazy, but just enough to wave goodbye to those pesky brassy tones & say hello to the cool blonde tones I've been craving for so long.

Before & After 

As you can see in the before photo my hair was quite golden in colour and full of brassy tones.. but after a few hours in the salon chair.. the brassy/golden colour has gone and my hair now has a soft ombré effect - fading from dark blonde to light.

This look was created with a mixture of dark blonde hair dye, light blonde hair dye and bleach. The darker tones were added to my roots and top few inches of hair & then alternations of bleach and light blonde dyes were used to the mid sections and ends.

For someone that usually follows a routine of home hair colouring, I'll happily admit that hearing the word "bleach" did fill me with a little feeling of dread. Images of frazzled, dry hair sprung to mind & I started to ask myself if the golden blonde was really all that bad.. But after the usual shampoo/condition routine the hairdresser used a deep conditioning treatment which really helped inject extra moisture & all my worries vanished.

For anyone that is considering going for a similar colour change their are some points to consider:

• Price: This was classed as a full colour change & came in at around the £90 mark. Although a lot pricier than a usual box dye, I personally think paying the extra is worth it for a style change like this as it's something I personally think would be difficult to create from home. 
• Time: Make sure you clear your schedule for at least a few hours. Including dying, washing/condition, toners (to ensure the bleach is a cool blonde) & drying/styling.. I'd say this took around 2 and a half hours start to finish. 
• Up-keep: I've been told that at first the light blonde may fade slightly quicker than usual - however besides that (& depending on how fast hair grows) a trip every six weeks to touch up any showing of root/brighten up any faded blonde. 

Besides these points.. if you're thinking of changing your hair colour, but aren't sure whether to finally bite the bullet..I say go for it. Life's too short to be unhappy with hair!

What are your thoughts?

xxx