What should I ask the hairdressers for (with pics)?

[Mamamadecookies]

I am rubbish with colours and I just can't explain why my hair isn't what I want so would really appreciate some advice on what I need to say to get somewhere near where I want to be. I do take in the pic but can't express why I like that and not my hair. Thank you.

Pic 1 is what I'm after I think. I had my colours done and apparently I should be cool.

The other pics are where I am now. The dark bits are a bit darker irl and the contrast isn't so much.
It feels too dark abut also that the colour just isn't right but as I say I can't explain why.

IMO your own hair colour is far more beautiful than the ashy shade you have posted. Certainly, get the style. The lovely waves. Keep the colour you have.

Can you try an ash toner to see if that helps before you colour it?

A lot of those photos have a filter on them, so it’s not always possible to match that colour. You look like you have a fair amount of golden/red tones naturally so your hair will need constant toning to keep it ashy.

So you think if I ask him to make it lighter brown and less blonde and put a toner on it might be more like the sort of colour I'm after?

My natural colour is this so the current colour is all dye.

I'm not expecting to look like the models in the pictures (well OK part of me always is) but I do want to try something like the pic.

What you're wanting is balayage. Your hair will need to be bleached and then toned.

My hair is currently balayaged. :)

It sounds like toner is the issue.

You can get a decent at home toner from boots etc ....

Your hair doesn't look light enough to tone it to that ash colour that you want. Hair needs to be quite light to then tone down with an ash toner.

I'd agree that it needs to be lighter to get the ash tones you want, also have a look at root drag/ stretch as it seems your natural/ root colour needs to go to the ends more!

I don’t think your hair looks blonde or balayage as you describe, at all. Your tone is quite warm and almost gingery, I wouldn’t call it blonde. You won’t get an ashy colour at all by using an ash toner - your hair isn’t at the right level of colour, it’s too dark.

You basically need to get a good balayage at a great salon to achieve that. You have more of an ombré than balayage, so all of your lighter warm sections will have to be bleached blonde, with a possible further combination of freehanded highlights through your roots and lowlights through your lengths for dimension.