My Ombre Hair | Salon Edition.....

So I have had A LOT of questions about how I ombre my hair & what products I use to keep my hair in the condition that it is in.

 So I made a whole video about it!!!

As you may remember, back in April/May time I did a post (HERE) about whether I should or shouldn't ombre my hair. I had been toying with the idea for months, trailing pinterest & various websites for inspiration & finally in June I thought.... yes, I will do it!!

DIY or Hairdresser?

Now I wasn't sure whether to go & get it done professional in a salon or DIY it at home. For months, I wanted to do it myself at home- 

number one. because it's cheaper, 

but two. because I wanted to experience the whole process myself (as I had never dyed my hair before!) But that sensible voice in my hair said, "I bet it will end up looking green if you do it yourself!" So because of that I booked an appointment at my local hairdressers.

I must admit, I did have two trips to the salon. First trip was good, it was the colour I wanted & not streaky at all, however after just two washes I found the colour to have seriously faded. Not faded as in it had slightly turned darker, I'm talking it had pretty much gone back to my old colour- if not a slight light brown! I was very disappointed to begin with, because I had spent a lot of money to get it done & I wanted it done well. But my hairdresser (Sonia) explained that it may have been because I had 'Virgin Hair', as it had never been dyed before (which could mean the dye would not fully stick to the hair). So naturally because of this fiasco I returned to my hairdresser & this time she added more peroxide to the mixture & it all turned out a hell of a lot better, if not a better colour then the first trip!

What did I want?

 I wanted something slightly more natural looking & inkeeping with the tones I have naturally in my hair (reds, coppers & rusty tones). So we ended up putting three different colours into my hair to make a perfect gradient effect, going from darkest to lightest as you reach the ends. Starting off with a shade lighter then my natural colour, followed by a lighter brown/blond, ending with a coppery/blond colour at the ends. The way it was applied was from the top of my ear downwards, so my natural hair colour was still visible from the roots & also the whole of my shortest layer in my hair was left un-touch too. This was so it hid the line of colour you could see around my head- from where the first colour started, but also so that it blended in better & looked very natural. As I wanted it to look as natural as possible, my hairdresser 'wove' the dye into my hair. For this method you basically do a 'weaving', zig-zag motion through your hair, picking up strands that you want to place the dye to and leaving others with your natural colour still coming through. So like a cross over between old colour & new colour (this prevents your from looking like a zebra!). Many people call ombre hair may different things: Ombre, Dip-Dye, Smudging- my advice is just take a picture in & they will know instantly what you want!  

What products do I use to maintain the colour?

• John Frieda Sheer Blond Colour Re-new Tone Correcting Shampoo & the conditioner too
• L'Oreal Elvive Smooth Intense Anti-Fizz Serum
• VO5 Miracle Concentrate Elixir
• CHI 44 Iron Guard Thermal Protection Spray
• Percy & Reed Quite Frankly Flawless Finishing Polish

Altogether I was extremely, extremely happy with the way my hair turned out, especially curled I feel my hair has more dimension to it! For anyone who is considering having it done- go for it!

Any questions just let me know & I hope you found this interesting :)

Much Love,

Elle

xoxoxo

♥