Does anyone else find it weirdly therapeutic to change their hair, or is it just me?
July was an overwhelming month. I came out of a two-year relationship, then had my 29th birthday – which means next year I’ll be 30?! Sorry, but where did my twenties go? Maybe I felt like changing my hair because it would give me a feeling of control. Anyway, whatever the reason, I really wanted to refresh my cut and colour. I was scrolling through Pinterest looking for inspiration when I discovered the rose gold hair trend. Not only did it look amazing, but I thought it would be fairly straightforward to get from my previous colour to this new shade.
My hair before:
At the time, my hair was a mix of various colours. I hadn’t used a permanent dye for years, but I still had quite a bit of staining from a previous “semi-permanent” henna dye. If you look at the photo below, you might be able to see what I mean. I had a few inches of light ginger roots at the top (my natural colour), then dark orange staining for a few inches below that (from the henna), then a mix of my natural colour and henna staining through the mid-lengths and ends.
I knew I’d have to lighten up the mid-lengths and ends of my hair to even everything out. The good news was that my hair was in great condition after following the Curly Girl Method for nearly a year, so I knew I could get away with using a bit of bleach.
The process:
I did the entire cut and dye job myself. Before we get started, I’d just like to remind everyone that I’m definitely not a professional. In fact, I haven’t been to a salon since 1997… but I’ve been doing my own hair for years, and honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. So now that we’ve established that I don’t know what I’m doing and the fact that my hair turned out so well was probably just dumb luck… let’s get to the steps.
1. I used two boxes of the Garnier Nutrisse D+++ Bleach Lightener*, and followed this Balyage tutorial by Guy Tang to create dramatic highlights in my hair. I’d advise picking up a tinting brush and mixing bowl* for this, just to make your life a bit easier.
2. Once I had some scary bright yellow highlights, I figured it was time for the hair dye. I used two boxes of Schwarzkopf LIVE Lightener + Twist 101 Cool Rosé Hair Dye*, though I could have probably done with three or four as my hair was a bit fried from the bleach. Be warned: this dye left my hair feeling very dry afterwards because it’s designed to lift colour, so maybe if I was doing this again I’d get this one* from L’Oreal instead.
3. My colour was almost there at this point, but I still wanted to tone it a bit. I got the L’Oreal Casting Creme Gloss in 801 Satin Blonde* to tone down the brassy orange hues where the previous henna colour had been, and applied it mostly to the top of my head.
4. I also used a mix of I Heart Revolution Rainbow Shots in Pink Universe*, the Superdrug Pick & Mix Colour Pastel Chalk Hair Lightener*, and the blue conditioner that came with the Garnier Bleach towards the ends of my hair to emphasise the subtle pink tones.
5. My ends were feeling pretty dry at this point, so I gave myself a haircut. After a few deep conditions my hair is feeling much better – but my hair is strong stuff, and can really take a beating.
…and that’s how I got rose gold hair!
It took a good few days, and so many boxes of hair dye that I might as well have gone to a professional – but I really love the results. I like that it’s pink but not too pink if that makes sense? And it’s lighter than my natural colour, so it should be much easier to maintain as my roots grow out. Well, I hope so, anyway.
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