Going Blonde!

I finally took the plunge! And I thought I'd show you how I got my hair to where it is now. I'm naturally a very dark brown, around a year ago I did a bit of an ombre, loved it. And every couple of months I seemed to push the 'ombre' up a little higher! I got to the point where I felt like I simply had to commit one way or the other, either go back to my natural dark tresses or go all out… :)

The Steps I took:
1. Deep Condition
I put a generous amount of coconut oil in my hair and left it for as long as possible. I usually do a few hours but I (accidentally) ended up sleeping in it this time…
2. Section it off
It's almost impossible to do your own hair without putting it into sections, I usually half it, then divide each half into 3 sections. It just makes it more manageable!
3. Highlight!
Just follow the instructions and make half the batch for highlighting. I prefer to take lots of small strands at this point and lighten them to give my hair some dimension. This definitely takes the longest, and I'd suggest you set aside as much time as you can 
4. Rinse
After leaving it for the set amount of time (mine was about 45minutes) I rinsed it off, just using water.
5. Towel Dry
Ideally I think it'd be best to wait for your hair to completely dry before doing the next step, but honestly I'm too impatient and towel dried is good enough for me! I also popped in a few more drops of coconut oil for the hell of it!
6. Bleach Baths
I know a lot of people condemn these as damaging, but this is just what I did. I took the other half of the bleach and mixed it with conditioner (roughly 1:1 ratio)
7. Apply
Then just smother all your hair with the concoction and wait. 
8. And your Done
Keep a close eye on your hair to check the colour, baring in mind that it'll often look lighten with the products on, and once your happy with it, rinse, shampoo and condition!

(I wasn't going to wear make up when I was spending half the day with goop on my head!)

 Things to Bear in Mind

- Things won't suit you the same

This seems obvious, but I wasn't expecting clothes to look so completely different on me! I love cobalt blue on me now, and I seem to be wearing black a lot more as it just compliment my hair so well

- Roots, Roots, Roots
you might not think your hair grows all that fast, but believe me, once you dye it such a significantly different colour it's gonna feel like your hair is growing 6 inches a week. argh

- Going Blonde is High Maintenance
generally if your going from dark brown to blonde your hair is going to want to pull red, and you'll often end up with an awful lot of orange. Toning becomes your best friends. But if you want a very warm blonde, like myself, finding the right balance of toning just enough to stop your hair looking orange, and not toning too much so that it becomes more neutral or ashy is a difficult fine line.

- Damage
There's no way to sugar coat this. If your lifting your hair so many shades your going to get damage. The amount of damage depends on how strong your hair was, as well as how quickly you lifted it. But no matter how careful, you'll insure some damage and you'll have to tackle. 

On the plus side, being blonde is fun! I know I'm not going to keep it forever, and I never thought I would ever go this light so I'm just making the most of it! I also don't have to wash my hair as much since the lighter hair doesn't get greasy as quickly, and when it does it seems to hide it much better! So that kind of makes up for having to use oil everyday to keep the ends looking healthy!