My hair colour doesn't suit my skin tone, what options do I have?

Hi,

My hair is naturally dark blonde but I want to go white blonde like Gwen Stefani, however when I went to a hair salon they didn't have the right colour so I just chose one I thought would be similar...my mistake!

My hair colour is alright, people say it looks nice but it doesn't really suit my skin tone. At the moment it's a very gold blonde. I'm trying to decide what I should do, whether I should wait a month and go to another hair salon that actually has the right colour or to just buy a box dye.

I really want to do as little damage to my hair as possible but I do understand I will need  my roots done in the future.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,

Anon, United Arab Emirates

For a hair salon not to stock the right colour to create the Gwen Stefani type blonde is quite dubious. Gwen Stefani doesn't use just a hair dye to get her hair that platinum shade. She has it professionally bleached and then toned. It is what some salons call double process blonding, or here in the UK we describe it as a bleach and tone.

What happens is the bleach is applied to the entire head, the hair is lightened to a very pale yellow and then a gentle blonde toner is applied to achieve the right shade. If you notice sometimes Gwen is whiter, more golden, platinum and sometimes pinkish blonde. These are all toners applied to the pre-lightened hair.

A hair salon that doesn't stock bleach must mean that it doesn't do much colour work. I would go and have a consultation with a colourist who has extensive knowledge of complex colour at a different salon. As your hair is already coloured I strongly suggest that you don't try to do this at home as it uses a strong chemical that if used incorrectly can have devastating consequences.

Also using home kits will not give you her look but will just cause damage and undesirable results. Remember that bleached hair is more delicate and should be looked after very carefully.

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

Hi,

Making this white blonde colour is one of the hardest colours to not only achieve but to maintain. The condition of the hair is as important as the tone as many times heavy lightened hair can feel parched, tender and have an uneven porosity. 

Not having the right colour should have raised alarm bells at the start. This service has to be done by a very experienced colour technician that not only knows how colour lifts but when not to make hair go through a process - explaining the consequences all the way through as the upkeep can be very engaging.

If you're serious about this colour then pay to see an expert. They will advise you as to what to do, when to do it and why. Go to a reputable salon for a complimentary colour analysis.

Nelson Brown of browns in Dumfries