My first time dying my hair aka that day my hair turned yellow

12:17 PM

My poor, unsuspecting hair, pre-dye

Last weekend I was kept inside by the yucky Sydney weather. With the boyf busy doing up his resume, I very quickly got bored off my tits and decided to dye my super blonde virgin hair in order to bring out some highlights. Obviously I had no idea what the shit I was thinking, as after a half hour dalliance with a box of the lightest colour (I won't name the brand, but I also won't buy it again) I could find at the city Priceline, my previously totally fine hair was a Gaga-esque yellow. I looked like corn. There were also dark patches around my hairline where I'd not applied enough dye. To make it worse, I re-read the instructions, and in the teeniest print at the bottom of the leaflet it said NOT FOR USE ON VERY LIGHT HAIR. Shut.The.Frick.Up! I then spent the rest of the afternoon sobbing into a mixing bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough.

Post dye - black and gold awfulness

Getting ready for work the next day, I worked out very quickly that hats and headbands are my new besties. Time to beret it up!

Bonjour, girl

The Vogue forums recommended washing with a violet toner to cut down on the brassy hues. Luckily I had a new bottle of Celique's Blonde Shampoo that I snagged at a office beauty sale that I could test out.

After shampooing twice with it, followed up with a treatment conditioner, I could def notice the bright yellow patches had been toned down to a more natural shade. But I was still worried about the leopard patches near my ears.

Better,but still not happy

I wanted to lighten the dark patches, but was wary of trying a permanent dye again. Vogue forums and Make Up Alley users recommended Goldwell's Colorance as a good semi option. I picked up 10-P, a pastel pearl blonde to try out. In the meantime, I worked a headband at the office.

Fighting leopard hair with a leopard band

The instructions (which I read about twenty times) said to leave on for 5-20 minutes. I kept it on for about 7, not wanting to get too light.

My hero!

End result? The foam washed out and left my hair a softer, almost shimmery blonde, it was still darker along the hairline, but looked natural rather than jarring. Another plus? The Goldwell colour left my long hair feeling really soft and healthy, unlike the fried mess it previously was. I've always liked Goldwell shampoos and conditioner, and will def use the rest of the foam up for my roots. Discovering this fantastic foam is almost worth the massive distress the dye disaster caused in the first place. Almost.