Dying your blonde hair red

If you’re ginger, you end up pretty quick-witted’ – Ed Sheeran

For almost the last year or so my hair has gone through quite a transformation. For as long as I care to remember it’s been pretty much a straight blonde shoulder length bob and every time I tried to grow it past my shoulders it would break at the ends on the left side and look limp and lifeless.

Funnily enough a few years ago I decided to try rocking the more natural look on holiday because I can’t bear trying to use heat products in warm weather and it dawned on me that if I was prepared to go au natural on holiday, why wouldn’t I do it at home too? Because I don’t like change that’s why. Still, I had it pointed out to me that most people don’t actually give a crap what my hair looks like, and after a couple of days of ‘have you done something different with your hair?’ I would just fade back into the background of office life being overlooked for the coffee run.

So I bought some salt spray and took the plunge. Since then my hair has been in much better condition and I’ve managed to grow it longer than it’s been in over 20 years. Champion. Fast forward 9 months and I’m starting to get bored again. The braiding it while it’s wet and rocking the beachy wave look was starting to get on my nerves. Don’t get me wrong I loved the length and the extra 45 minutes in bed my new do was giving me, but the highlights I’d had put in a year ago were all grown out now and I was left with this weird ombre effect that wasn’t rocking my socks anymore.

My hair the week before I decided I wanted a change. The bottom, from about my ears down is year old highlights. The top is all natural

So I decided to do something so bold it kind of scared me a little. I decided to go full on ginger. I’d seen a picture on my hairdressers instagram page of a rose gold affect which looked so pretty it rendered me momentarily speechless (very momentarily) and I knew I’d found the colour for me. I had tried dying my hair darker in the past and I loved how shiny it made my hair but hated that I needed a gallon of fake tan to look healthy and when my roots came in they came in looking grey.

Before and after in the salon on d-day

This rose gold affect was semi-permanent (only lasting about 6 weeks) and fit with my natural complexion way better. I’ll admit I was very nervous (Linda and Steph will confirm – they came with me for moral support!) as i sat watching the colour develop and my lovely blonde locks going darker and darker. But once it was all washed out, dried and styled I fell absolutely in love. It got a great reaction too, in fact most people assumed it was my natural colour and i’d been dying it blonde all these years.

So as it turns out making the transition was easy, it was maintaining it that became a little more difficult. Because the rose gold was semi permanent, it faded pretty quickly and I didn’t really want to pay £60 for something that only lasted 4 weeks, I invested in an arsenal of ginger weaponry to help keep the colour alive a bit longer.

These Colourvibes wash in/wash out shampoos were a life saver. Only £2.99 from boots and used 3 times a week it keep the red vibrant. I switched between the auburn and the copper for a bit of variation at to accentuate the different tones in my hair. I also topped the colour up every 6 weeks or so with a home box dye.

The colour just after i’d dyed it at home

So much as I loving and embracing my new life as a ginger, I knew it wouldn’t or couldn’t last forever. I figured that our two week holiday at the end of June was going to be enough to lighten it back to blonde. I’d clearly forgotten how porous my hair is though and the ginger didn’t shift all that much. Problem was my roots were starting to grow through is a weird grey/blonde way. I didn’t want to be a slave to box dyes forever more so at my next hair appointment I decided to go back to blonde.

As short lived as it was I really loved being a redhead for a while and it’s definitely something I would go back to when I inevitably get bored again and fancy a change. It was just a little too much upkeep for this lazy lady to deal with. And I think Dave was stick of the bath being constantly stained orange!

Have you ever drastically changed your hair colour? Let m hear your story!