I tried to create the Ombre look myself, but it has gone wrong!

Hello,

I tried to create the Ombre look myself which turned into a fail! I have dark hair and instead of going golden blonde it went orange and ginger, even though I used bleach.

If I use a shop bought light golden brown over the top, will it work?

Thank you,
Anon, Ireland 

Ombre hair is beautiful and is so current, but if it is done badly it can look a little messy. What I do when I am working with this technique in the salon is I lift the lengths of the hair to a yellow colour and then I tone it with my chosen shade. Whether that be golden, ashen, beige or just a little bit softer than raw yellow.

If you apply a golden brown over the top of the orange, you could end up with it going a dark warm tone that might not work with the root colour. If you are wanting it to be a soft brownish tone with not too much warmth I would choose a shade that is probably natural in tone at a level of a medium blonde. This will subdue the orange but not take it too dark that you can't see your Ombre anymore. If you choose a warm shade, this will just make the orange more intense.

John Clark at Brooks+Brooks, London

I would never recommend trying to correct your hair at home; colour correction is a difficult process and can take many applications of products. If done incorrectly, you may cause yourself even more problems.  A good salon would be able to give you an in-depth consultation. HOB salons offer free consultations and Change of Colour appointment starts from £58.

Faye Turner, HOB Salons’ Creative Colour Director