Ombre Hair

Okay, so maybe it's not the most drastic of differences. But as most first time bleachers/dip dyers are, I was a little nervous. But I really like how it turned out! And now that I've been brave enough to do it for the first time, I may go over it again in the near future and go a little higher!

I used a high lighting kit I picked up in Wilkinsons by L'Oreal called Prefect Blonde Creme Maximum Bleaching Kit. I went for 'maximum' as it claimed that it can get your hair up to 6 tones lighter, which I thought was best for such dark hair like mine. I also picked up this tinting brush from Wilkos, which was only £1. I thought using this would help me create that dip dye effect.

Confession time! I didn't actually do this to my own hair! I did it to extensions! I would seriously recommend this if you're not keen on the idea of bleaching the tips of your own hair as this is a highly damaging process that will take a lot of after care to keep healthy. My ends are no good, and I knew if I bleached them it wouldn't be too long before I was getting 3 inches cut off and I just can't stand that thought! So, enter ebay!! I purchased these 20 inch 100g hair extensions for £29.99, which is a really good price. They delivered next day as well, which I was really impressed by!

Now here's a lovely photo of my bathroom floor, during attempt one at bleaching the tips! I organised my hair extensions into bundles and smothered on both sides with the bleach. I then wrapped them up in the tin foil (to keep in the heat) for half an hour, giving the tin foil a blast with my hair dryer after 15 mins. I unwrapped after 30 mins, and couldn't really see a considerable change, so I re-covered them, gave the tin foil another blast with my hair dryer and left for another 15 mins. I then went back to check again and decided I'd give them one finally going over with the hair dryer and another 10 mins. 

After this I unwrapped them and rinsed out the bleach in the sink. I then blow dryer to see how the colour had come out. I was happy that the colour had actually changed, because I couldn't believe how long I had to leave them for (considering the leaflet said to leave no longer than 30 mins. opps!) I'd ended up with a more chestnut brown, which I quite liked, but I wanted more gradient to the colour, so went back over the very tips and wrapped back in tin foil. I gave the foil a once over with my hair dryer and left for another 30 mins. I then rinsed and dried the hair again, and clipped them in to see how I liked it so far. I was pleased, but I'd created a bit of a straight line where I had applied the bleach initially. Damn. 

Back to the bathroom! I put about an inch and a half worth of bleach above where I had previously bleached the first time. I tried to make the edge softer by dabbing away with my tinting brush. I wrapped in tin foil once again, and got the old hair dryer out on them, and left for a final 30 mins.

Excuse the dodgy photo quality, but this was taken on my phone to send to my boyfriend after I'd finished! I think it shows the gradient I was trying to achieve quite well.

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me through my long winded explanation of my ombre experience! I hope you like it!