I wanted to go from dark to blonde but my stylist has made a complete mess of it!

Hello,

I would like to ask John Clark for some advice. I have been dying my hair for years and this will be the second time I have gone from dark to blonde. I left my hair uncoloured for five months and cut it very short cutting out most of the colour and leaving just a few strands. As the dye was the same as my natural hair colour you couldn't see the re-growth.

I went to have a few blonde highlights put in to start the process of going lighter but the first set went orange - like the fruit, and I'm not kidding! I was in a Dessange which has a good reputation so I wasn't worried. The stylist put peroxide or bleach, it had that pungent smell, on top of the orange and it came out yellow - obviously I was now concerned!

She then put a tint on my hair which has now gone brassy. I was furious as she said there was no way of correcting it. I am now using a Kerastase treatment on my hair to put the moisture back in to it. I need advice!! I also bought some blonde shampoo and conditioner from John Frieda hoping it will help.

Please help, what do you suggest?

Anon, France

I spend a lot of time in France and have visited a few Dessange salons. But I think unfortunately the colourist you saw may have been in a little over her head with the colour. She would have needed to use bleach to lift out the remaining colour on the ends of your hair (even though it was close to your natural shade, bleach is the only product to lift this from the hair). But I think she may have panicked when the yellow and orange appeared.

Now that your whole hair is coloured blonde or brassy, you must decide whether you want to stay blonde or try and get to a shade that you are happy to live with. Or go back to your natural dark colour.

Keep using your Kerastase treatments and I would buy the corresponding shampoo to get the most out of the care regime.

I think your best course of action is to have a consultation with a confident colour expert who likes technical work, they will be able to assess the condition of your hair and what the possibilities are in terms of taking you lighter (if that's what you want).

Go armed with pictures of what shades you like and what you don't like.

John Clark, Head of Colour at Brooks+Brooks, London