Hair Colour

Colouring your hair while pregnant is generally considered safe, and most midwives will tell you the same. Very little dye is absorbed through the scalp, and what does get in is nowhere near enough to reach your baby. I am a hairdresser and not a medic, so always check with your own midwife. But there are things I do differently when a pregnant client sits in my chair, and this is what they are. The short version • Salon hair colour in pregnancy is widely considered safe by m

New year, new hair is a lovely idea, but a big change works far better when you plan it than when you walk in on a whim. Before you book, get clear on three things: how much upkeep you actually want, what your hair can handle right now, and whether you are changing your hair or changing your life. Here is how I talk it through with my clients. The short version A big change is easier to plan than to reverse. Bleach and bold colour need more upkeep, not less. Book a consultati

A root tint, a root smudge and a root melt all deal with the same few centimetres of hair at your parting, but they do three completely different jobs. A root tint covers regrowth and grey with permanent colour. A root smudge softly blurs the line where your colour meets new growth. A root melt blends that root colour down into your lengths so there is no line at all. Same patch of head, three techniques, three price points. Here is how to tell which one you actually need. Th

A client came into my chair last month with her coat hood still up. She had tried to take box brown to icy blonde at home over one weekend, and what she got was three different shades from root to tip, with a patch at the crown that snapped off in her fingers. Here is the honest bit. A home bleach job that has gone wrong is almost always fixable, but it is a repair rather than a quick redo, and colour correction takes time. The short version A home bleach job is usually fixab

A colour consultation is a short chat, usually 15 to 20 minutes, before any colour goes near your hair. We look at the condition your hair is in, its colour history, the result you are after, and whether we can get there in one visit or over a few. It is free, and I will not let any of the girls colour a new client without one. The short version A colour consultation is a free 15 to 20 minute chat before any colour. We check your hair condition, its colour history and the res

Brassy blonde is what happens when the warm pigments underneath your hair start showing through, usually orange or yellow. It is not a sign your colourist got it wrong, just the toner wearing off and your natural warmth coming back to say hello. It is normal, and it is an easy fix. The short version Brassy means warm orange or yellow tones showing through faded blonde. It is the toner wearing off, not your colour failing. Blonde always has warmth underneath. Toner is what can

Toner is what takes freshly lightened hair from brassy yellow to that clean, expensive looking blonde, and most salons add it to your bill without ever telling you what it is. It is not a luxury extra. It is the step that finishes your colour properly, and once you understand it you will never skip it again. The short version • Toner neutralises unwanted yellow, orange or brassy tones after lightening. • It is a separate colour service, not part of your foils or balayage. • W

Yes, you can make a real change to your hair without regretting it, and the trick is doing it in stages rather than one dramatic leap. Being scared of going too far is the most sensible thing you can bring to my chair, because it means we plan properly instead of guessing. I have lost count of the women who sat down wanting something completely different, then went quiet halfway through when they realised how far we were going. So let me walk you through how we get you the ch

Balayage lasts longer than highlights, but only if you treat it right between appointments. Most clients can stretch a full balayage to four or five months with a toner refresh in the middle. The colour itself fades slowly. What ages it faster is brassiness, dryness, and wash habits that strip the tone. The short version Full balayage holds 4 to 5 months. A toner refresh at 8 to 10 weeks keeps it looking fresh. Hot water and over-washing strip your toner faster than anything

Sun and chlorine are the two fastest ways to wreck salon colour, and summer hands you both. If you want your summer hair to hold its colour, the work starts before you get anywhere near a pool. Colour fades, blonde turns brassy or green, and the gloss you paid for looks dull by August. Most of that is preventable with a few habits that take seconds. Here is what I tell my clients before they head off. The short version • UV breaks down hair colour and protein, the same way it

No, salon colour vs box dye is the question, and the short answer is no, they are not the same product in different boxes. Box dye is one strength of developer with a fixed pigment ratio, made to colour any head of hair the same way. Salon colour is mixed for your starting level, your hair history, and the result you actually want. That difference is what shows up six weeks later when the box dye has gone brassy and the salon work still looks like the photo. The short version

If you are torn between going grey gracefully or carrying on covering it, here is the honest answer: both are completely fine. The right choice comes down to your natural hair, how much salon time you want to commit to, and how you feel when you catch yourself in the mirror. I have clients who love their silver and clients who will be tinting at 80, and neither one is wrong. The short version Going grey means growing out colour, often with a blended transition. Covering grey

Going blonde from dark hair is rarely a one appointment job. If you are anything darker than light brown, you are looking at two or three sessions to do it properly, and the price reflects that work. I get asked about this every week, usually after a client has seen a Pinterest photo and thought it was one trip to the salon. It is not. The good news is the result is gorgeous when it is done right. The bad news is that anyone who promises it in one visit is either going to wre

Going from box black to brunette balayage takes three sessions, not one. Session one is the first lift and a base toner. Session two builds dimension six to eight weeks later. Session three is the polish. Trying to do it in one appointment is how hair ends up snapping. The reason it is a three session plan is that box dye colour molecules are larger than salon colour and bind harder to the hair shaft. Three or four times a month a client sits in my chair and shows me a Pinter

If you have never had your hair coloured before, here is the short answer. Book a consultation first, do a skin test at least 48 hours ahead, expect the appointment to take two to three hours, and budget around fifty to fifty-five pounds for a full tint at our salon. Now the longer version. I see at least one first time colour client every week. The questions are nearly always the same, so here it is written down. The short version Book a free consultation before the colour a

People use these two words like they mean the same thing. They do not. They are different techniques, they look different, they cost different, and they suit different people. I explain this about three times a day in the salon, so here it is written down. Highlights Use Foils. Balayage Does Not. Highlights mean your stylist takes sections of hair, wraps them in foil, and applies colour. The foil keeps the colour contained so you get clean, defined streaks of light through th

Every week someone sits in my chair and asks me this. They have had a look online, seen five different prices, and now they do not know what is reasonable. I get it. Nobody wants to feel like they have been ripped off, and nobody wants to go cheap on their hair and regret it. So here is what I tell everyone. You Are Paying for the Time and the Skill Balayage is not a quick colour slap. Your stylist is painting every section by hand, deciding where the colour goes, how light,