Thanks, Bumpers <bows>

Yes, I'm up for it, but I can't find the stuff anywhere. Crappy local Boots hasn't got it, I need to search further afield. Still nervous, but I'll report back.

Oooh a blonde buddy Love the name btw, WW is my fav!

There wasn't much choice in Boots, only 3 of those L'Oreal ones.

I have another question, sorry to bore you all, will I need to put anything on to strip my hair or will the kit do it?

I like it. I'm going to do it too. Think I'm going to go for no 7.1 (Tiramisu). Still a bit worried about whether it'll take on my base colour (ie my natural mouse, and the brassy 'golden blonde' which has never, frankly, gone blonde enough for my liking. In the old days I just chucked a bottle of whatever on it and it went the colour on the box, near enough. I'm confused!

But in for a penny ...

Ok, I've bought this, not sure if you can see it, it's colour 8.0. I picked it because the model had brown eyes!

So in a couple of weeks I am going to my mum's and she is going to do it for me. I will let you know how it goes.

I'd go for very light blonde here its a bit more ashy so less likely to go orange..... maybe

ermmm I don't know about colour

I would say you probably need to expect the first time to go horribly orange

Oh and how do I decide what sort of colour to go for.

I would say I have a medium skin tone, warm, not too pale but not olive, brown eyes and mid brown hair.

Hello again

I have a plan. I'm going to get a home highlighting kit and my mum is going to do it for me. She isn't a professional but she turned 49 today and still has dark brown hair - she is well experienced at home dyeing!

So, what kit would you recommend? The L'oreal one seems to get good reviews.

yes that's me

but thinner and younger

shit

no way dude

there are people on here who have rules about hosiery that I can never hope to understand

I am SURE they have VERY DEFINITE RULES about having canary hair

We demand pics MP so we can laugh admire.

I have just done my second bleaching

man, I look like a canary now

chirpie chirpie

Wow, poshwellies, that's pretty good. I think I will investigate mobile hairdressers who do it cheap. I mean surely they can't do a worse job than I would...

I may investigate the L'oreal stuff, I'm just not sure what colour would suit me.

Colour is £30

thanks oops impatient me

so how much did you pay for your colour today though?

My hairdresser is dirt cheap tbh.She comes to my home and does it.It costed £40 today for restyle,full head of highlights and blow dry.

Oh last time I attempted that 'bleach blonde babe' look was at 16.A friend who was training to be a hairdresser just shoved pure peroxide onto my mousey locks.

NOT A GOOD IDEA.

Top of my hair went white blonde and the back and sides went yellow,it was bloody awful.I then decided to try and rectify it by dyeing it brown,it went fecking GREENY grey and muddy looking and was falling out in handfuls.At 16 I couldn't afford to have it done professionally and had to have most of it cut off and let it grow out-fucking horrendous time of my life.

can i ask how much you pay though, poshwellies?

<flicks hair>

sounds lovely, poshwellies

I have gone blonde (well alot blonder) today as well as having very VERY long hair cut off to just below chin length <gulp>.

I wouldn't do it DIY,shop bought colours are one sheer colour and I feel make you look washed out as you don't have any tones within your hair after dyeing.

My hairdresser uses two highlights,a bleach and a toffee blonde and applies that and leaves some of my natural colour which is mousey and it looks really natural.It also doesn't look a state when it grows out (I can't afford 6-8 wk roots).

I'd go with a pro hairdresser for any blonde dye

I remember using this a couple of times which was quite good. For the very blonde I used some "nordics" or some such.

Ah yes, the MN look: MN haircut, dyed slutty blonde, dress from Wallis, crocs/birkenstocks, knitting their own lentils.

I know - what's putting me off most is if I do it, I'll have to post the fecking results.

hehe this is great

it's like the mumsnet haircut

now it's the mumsnet slutty -ginger blonde look

There are some other weird results: people think you are younger and you do get noticed a bit more (or I did at least). Even now, YEARS into returning to my natural colour, some friends still think of me as a blonde. (very bizarre)-

"Touch of Silver" was recommended to me to get rid of any brassiness in blonde hair

I used to be blonde. Started off with highlights done by a hairdresser, then went the home dying route. I went for EVERY shade under the sun, sometimes looked like a mess, but other times looked surprisingly good. A hairdresser should be able to give you a good idea of what colour you should go for (so might be useful for first time) and then after that you can go DIY.

My tip is, if you want to go back to brown, don't do it yourself. This is because I tried this twice. The first time, my hair turned green (so I bleached it into oblivion and started all over again) and the second time it went bright (pillar box) red. Neither is a good look. On both occassions, I didn't leave the dye long enough, but I also think I should have left it to the professionals.

I'm starting to be persuaded ... l'Oreal home kit, here I come.

But what do I do about the fact that I've already got a pretty brassy colour on my hair - don't want to go green ...

Bumperlicioso I went down the diy route for the first time earlier this year and have so far been (on the whole) pleased with the results.
I keep away from anything that says golden or honey on it cos I don't want to be a ginger , so I have selected various different ash blonde shades. The last one I chose was "Perfect 10" which takes just 10 (or is it 15?) minutes. I was very happy with the colour.
Like you, have been thinking about going blonde for quite some time (was mousey) and am glad I have done it. I spoke to my hairdresser on Friday about what she honestly thought of the colour and she did mention the "solid block of colour" and how it might be good to break it up a little with some low lights. She said the color was pretty good though.
Go for it - you'll never know otherwise. I'd second the L'Oreal kits with the highlights - I tried them last year.

When I was about 14 and forbidden from any 'official' hair colour experimenting, I once rebelled and put domestos on a bit of my hair (), as an experiment. It lightened it alright, but I can't recommend this route!

I went blonde when dd was little

she cried when she saw me

I just re-do it again, as well. You can actually go lighter doing it that way because you are putting the bleach in the same part of your head.

When the roots come through - you just re-do the whole lot again. I have seen these root touch up kits but I'm not sure how effective they are tbh. The whole colour "fades" over the course of the 6 weeks it takes for the roots to come through, so I think it might look weird to just re-touch the roots.

It is a bit of a faff but its only about an hour once every six weeks which is way less time than it takes at the hair dressers.

Tillyscoutsmum and cocolepew - if you get the l'Oreal highlights kit, and you put a base colour on then highlights (sounds a faff but I'd prefer that to the toilet duck option at the moment - though haven't written it off, MP) - my question is, what do you do when the roots start coming through? Surely you can't reapply in the same way on such a small area?

aye - loreal kits must be better than the shit I bought from home bargains

little cook - arf

I've got dark brown hair but have been blonde before, all DIY and some ginger inbetween. But my hair is short so easier to do and not so drastic. You should try the L'Oreal kits with a base colour and the highlighter that you comb through. Yhey are vv good.

no I can't do pics of my current Little Cook look

no no no

Maybe when it's ... better

i want pics mp. i liked it when you did the what you were wearing every day.

You're bad MP!

I think I need to make my first foray into the blonde world in a more controlled manner. Then I can start experimenting...

there's no control

it's all CRAZINESS

anything could happen

So really MP, you actually just use peroxide on your hair? How do you control what shade it goes?

hoho! Yes everyone says they like it even if they are looking pale and worried for me

I have just come back from Asda with a sack of peroxide for some experimenting later in the week

live dangerously

3 people today told me it looked nice! Maybe they felt a bit uneasy and needed to say something

Might go for 'tint of toyah' next time

<<wishes the hairdressers was as cheap as a bag of chips>>

Ah well, you'll have to be Scottish Ginger for a couple of weeks and then put your head in a bucket of Toilet Duck AGAIN and see what happens then

haha morningpaper. I tried to highlight my hair at home at the weekend. Box said 'scandinavian blonde' but result is more scottish ginger

All non-blondes should try blonde at least once. I am naturally very dark but loved being a blonde - although I did take
the plenty of highlights route rather than all over colour. The only downside of highlights, however, is the expense.

I wouldn't go down the home kit route though - you may end up looking more Denise Welsh than Gwen Stefani.

at MorningPapers advice.

Nooo! Apparently putting brown back on makes it go green. You have to put red in first then brown according to the website I linked to.

So what if I did this: went to hairdressers to get consultation on right colour then have it done properly, then when it needs doing again find the nearest colour dye in Boots and give that a go?

What do you think?

I used to home dye and never had a real problem. L'Oreal do one where you put a base colour on then put in lighter highlights (Coleur Expert or something ?). It is a bit of a faff but the results are pretty good, especially if you've got someone to help you put the highlights in the back.

I do get mine done at the hairdressers now and I have three shades, two as highlights and one as an all over colour.

To be honest, both needed doing every 6 weeks or so.

The pics you linked to are definitely all over colours though rather than highlights. I reckon go for something like Nice and Easy (less harsh than most I believe) in shade 98 or 100 (Natural Pale blonde - 98 is slightly lighter but they are more cool/platinum and less likely to give you brassy/orangey tints) and just go for it (after a patch test as advised). The worst that can happen is you hate it and then you can just stick a light brown one on until your natural colour comes back

I can't afford highlights and I found them really aging. I can barely afford hair CUTS. Mine is quite short which makes any cock-ups easier to take.

CJ: Just bloody go for it. Leave it on until you can smell burning. If you are really brassy go for the purple shampoo and conditioner by John Freida - currently 2 for 1 at Sansbos.

If you are going to do the home-route, then brace yourself for a monumental cock-up but accept that you will just put up with it. You will stop shaking after a day or two and start thinking that actually orange is ALL RIGHT. Don't try and go back to brown if it goes tits up.

at morningpaper - I am in exactly the same place!

OK, used to have a job and money, used to get lovely highlights done regularly.

Now have bugger all money, hair has returned to dull brown/mouse.

A couple of months ago I thought 'fuck it, I want to be blonde again' so went and bought a home kit in a slightly timorous shade - 'honey' blonde, or 'copper blonde' or some such nonsense. All it's done is turn my hair a rather brassy, really fake looking lighter brown. I don't like it much, but the fact that it only costs a fiver each time is some consolation.

I'm now dithering over whether to bite the bullet, go back to the hairdresser, take their tutting and ridicule like a man and humbly ask for proper highlights. OR, go for a more daring variety of bottle, ie MP's bleach option?!

Any suggestions?

I've found this website for DIY blonde, it is really good. I'm thinking hairdressers for initial go, especially will give me a colour consultation, but then DIY touch ups?

I used to be blonde, when I had an excellent job and could afford going to the hairdressers every 6 ! weeks. I also got my legs and bikini waxed every 4 weeks, a massage every week and new clothes and shoes, well all the damn time

now I feel guilty if I buy myself a chocolate bar. All my money goes on baby items, household stuff and dull things and i have natural brown boring hair and slightly stubbly legs and my bikini line is offensive.

anyway my point is

blonde hair is fabulous if you can afford it.

Sorry that should be at the very least shouldn't it?? <confused> I can't leave it more than six weeks is what I wanted to say

Thanks for the replies. Anyone else do DIY?

Should I just forget it and go and pick up a bottle of Castings in Praline, again.

I do have to go at the very most every 6 weeks, or it looks ridiculous and cheap, and for roots and trim I pay £80 a go <wince>
It's expensive being blonde!

I am all over blonde, my hairdressers didn't have a problem doing it for me, this could of course be because I have to go in every few weeks to get my roots done and it costs a fortune (poncy hairdressers - but I trust them)

Mine is the same colour as the pics you linked to, very light, but i've done that over about 18 months, gotten lighter with each visit.
My natural colour is mid brown too, but I'm very light skinned and have green eyes. Not sure how it would look with a darker complexion.

I'd say go for it if you can be bothered with the regular pain in the arse and expensive upkeep! I do love my blonde so I bear it, it really is pita though.

My hair is naturally light brown and I have blonde highlights mixed with caramel highlights, which makes the regrowth not as noticable. I am planning to go gradually lighter, which I would recommend to you as it makes it less shocking (I've been blonde before but dyed it back brown, although I'm pretty fair skinned and feel that I look better blonde).

I really like this sort of thing - actually can I just look like her?!

Or this, but no way with dead straight hair.

Hmm, I don't know. No way I could afford the hairdressers once a month. I don't think I take myself that seriously MP, and I am prepared for the whole hog. I don't want a particular look just would like a change, I'm fed up with being mid brown.

So, if I had highlights vs whole head how often would I have to get it redone?

MP do you do yours yourself? I think I'd probably get it done properly first time, but happy to try at home subsequently.

I have brown eyes and medium skin tone. Warm, I think. I flirted with a bit of Sun-In when I was a teen, which wasn't great I must admit, but it was the devil's work!

Oh I dunno...

Or they can lighten up your face and give your hair a sun-kissed look.

Depends on the color. Go for honey colors for the latter effect.

Highlights can be terribly ageing...

I would definitely recommend your getting your hair cut into a shorter style, with layers around your face.

If you have pale skin, blue eyes and want to go blonde, find a hairdresser who will give you an all-over tint (it is tricky, as mentioned... as they go on and on about regrowth problems, and highlights being more natural etc etc) - but I think you may as well go the 'whole hog' - it's worth it for dramatic effect - and it can be very flattering on some skin tones (cool) and very youth-enhancing (IMHO). Ask for platinum. Think the baby blonde you were as a child. (And if you were v. blonde as a child, I've heard it will suit you later in life.)

Yes, there are regrowth issues, and you have to have the colour touched up every 4 weeks or so, which can be a pain, and if you dither it does look a bit trashy.... but still worth it IMO.

LOL at MP.

I had highlights and everyone said they made me look OLD

I am going down the home-made bung head into bucket of Domestos approach

So far I am slightly lighter than Little Cook

In a week or so once I have some skin on my scalp again I will go lighter

You can never find hairdressers willing to make you blonde-all-over

But if you don't take yourself too seriously then just go for it - after all, you'll only wonder whether you should do it NEXT year and you'll be older and uglier then...

Another vote for highlights - had them done recently - reslly pleased.
BUT
Get a skin patch test done - I nearly didnt bother but Im glad I did as I had a reaction - so they made sure not to get it on my scalp.

Well the thing is 'block blonde' can be a little bit trashy, and can be a shock to the skin tone.

My highlights are the palest vanilla blondes, and because there is variation of colours (the 2 highlught colours plus my natural hair colour) is gives a shimmering natural look. You may not want to go that light on your first 'go', but ask for very fine highlights and you will be very happy (I am not a fan of the stripey look, or 'slices' that were a big thing in the 90s)

I think for a whole head of tint/bleach a good hairdresser will charge only a little bit less than 1/2 head highlights. It is true that a full head is more, but I have my hair up alot so I go for a full head one time, then a half next time. Also with a block colour you will find the roots creeping in very very quickly, whereas with highlights you can leave longer between colourings, giving better condition hair and also you won't get yourself down about roots.

Really, highlights? Is that much more expenive to have done? Will I look like an extra from Hollyoaks?

Agree totally get highlights - you will love it and highlights look the best on your colour hair, because you can have any colour including the palest blondes.

You will also find you have more volume because of your hair shaft being thickened by the dye, so you will probobley enjoy that aspect too

Yeah defo have highlights, looks more natural and you wont get roots quite so bad. Only prob is you will need to get it done at hairdressers, can't just do your roots yourself, you don't get the same results from home kits.

Have highlights done, then a 'varnish' called Diacolor (sp?) which is basically a translucent layer that blends the highlight and the base.

I'd go for highlights first, the re-growth is easier to deal with. If you like them you could get other shades put in later. The hairdresser should be able to advise on what shade to put in.

I'm getting very bored with my poker straight long light brown hair and am thinking of going blonde. I've never been blonde before and have no idea what the process is. Obviously I would go to the hairdressers to start off with, but could I do the roots myself?

I have light brown hair. Is it as simple as dying it or while they have to do it in stages?

What shade should I go? I up for anything that looks good. Will the hairdresser be able to advise me?

How regularly am I going to have to get it redone and what are the long term effects? If I get bored can I just dye it back to my natural colour? My hair is about chest length and I am not adverse to getting it all cut short if necessary.

Should I do this? I've never been blonde before and never wanted to but I am starting to habour yearnings and feel like it will make me look younger and hipper (I'm 28).