Hair History: Big Change Time!

A long long time ago, I had ginger hair; curly and crazy bright orange hair! Cue photo of a manic looking 3 year old me on Christmas day...

I had a mixed time with ginger hair. Little old ladies loved it, my family all loved it, but it is safe to say my fellow primary schoolers were not so keen on it. I had many a ginger joke thrust in my direction over the years, most of the time not bothering me in the slightest but it is true that over time these things can niggle away at you. So when I turned 14 and my mum said I could get highlights (after years of me nagging her!) I was so excited! Along we went to the hairdressers and my life as a blonde began!

Since then I have been varying shades of blonde, from peroxide to warm honey blonde, with a few forays in to the land of brunette (never lasted long, 6 weeks at most!)... Cue embarrassing photos from my teenage years!

Only joking, they are going nowhere near the internet!!

Anyway, until yesterday my hair looked like this.

Being blonde also has its advantages and disadvantages! Roots, split ends, brassy tones, over processed hair, the list could go on and on. The products needed to nourish and maintain it are also expensive, particularly if you style your hair a lot, which I certainly do!

So a few weeks ago I made the decision to go back to my natural colour, I started looking for pictures of ginger hair that I liked. Gemma Arterton and Karen Gillan were the two that stuck out the most!

Dyed                                                                                                                      Natural

After weeks of research into various colours, salon or home choices, prices etc. I decided to take the plunge and do a home dye, I figured it was too expensive to try and decide I didn't like it, so I worked out what level and warmth to go for and took a trip to boots. I came home with 2 boxes of L'oreal Excellence Creme in shade 6.46. On offer 2 for £10 in boots (bargain!)

The colour is deliberately not as vibrant as the ginger inspiration photos of Karen and Gemma because I knew putting that colour on top of blonde highlights ran the risk of highlighter orange hair! So I've ended up with a more auburn tone, I will work my way back to the more copper toned ginger over the next few months!

I would really recommend the L'oreal Excellence Creme, it is super easy to apply and provides a deep glossy colour. My hair does not feel too damaged from the process however I did do a deep conditioning treatment the night before. The conditioner with the dye is lovely but is in one of those annoying small plastic containers, the only downside I would say!

What do you think? Let me know about your home dye experiences and if you have any brands you recommend!