How do I go from black to brown without ruining my hair?

Hi,

I’m only 13, my natural colour was brown but when I was eleven I put blonde highlights through it. They went blonde and a bit ginger, I got my hair highlighted every three months for about two years then I dyed it black!

It’s horrible!! I have light skin so it looks awful, and I look so pale. I want it back to brown but how will I do this without ruining my hair?

Thank you,

Anon, UK

The damage may already been done I am afraid. Blonde highlights are fine to do for years and years, however when we colour over them, especially with the colourist's nightmare (home hair colourant in black shades) it becomes very tricky to get it back to anything gorgeous.

The process that your hair needs to go through is quite big, the black pigment needs to be removed with a colour remover then a suitable brown colour needs to be applied over it to get an even result. However as there is bleach underneath all the black then it may be dry so I suggest a haircut and a few deep conditioning treatments.

This is a job for the professionals and I strongly suggest you go visit a colourist who enjoys performing colour corrections.

John Clark at Brooks+Brooks, London