New hair! Dip-dye at home: L'Oreal Preference Wild Ombres in No 1 Light Brown to Dark Brown

Hey ladies,

I hope you're well and enjoying the spring weather!

So as you may or may not know, I'm something of a hair chameleon. From sunny blonde locks in the summer to the deepest burgundy come winter, I can't last a few months without changing my hair colour.

Most recently, I took inspiration from these celebs and ventured into the world of ombré...

I absolutely love dip-dyed ends on celebrities but for some reason I always thought the look wouldn't transcend into real life - on normal, non-famous people in other words!

Jessica, Lily, Caroline and Drew all have beautiful dip-dyed locks but of course they've all had their colour applied professionally and no doubt an expert hairdresser tended to their ends before these pictures were taken.

Nevertheless, the moment an at-home dip-dye kit landed on my desk, I immediately knew I had to give it a go and my younger sister agreed to help me out as it was my first time going ombré!

The dye in question was L'Oreal Preference Wild Ombres No 1 Dip Dye Hair Kit Light Brown to Dark Brown, RRP £6.00.

The dye was actually really easy to apply, but I didn't use the brush that was included after I heard a couple of horror stories about how it left an obvious line in your hair.

I simply mixed up the dye as per the instructions and applied it to the lengths of my hair (below my ear level) with my hands with gloves on. I used all of the dye that was included until the bottle ran out.

I left it on my hair for about 40 minutes and then washed it out with the intensive conditioner included.

The first thing I noticed was the condition of my ends. They were literally so knotty when I tried to wash it out, I couldn't even comb it through.

To combat this, I applied a lot of hair oil to the parts of my hair that the dye had coloured and blow-dried it - but it was still pretty dry.

Here's how it looked on the first day:

When I first dyed it (in the evening), I didn't notice much difference, but I could definitely see the colour the morning after. It wasn't exactly the colour I was looking for - nor was it the colour on the box - but it had dyed it lighter.

The ends were a reddish brown that certainly looked ombré but it was very subtle and my ends were still SO dry!

I've had my hair like this for about a week now and the main thing I'd say is that it requires A LOT of after-care!

My hair is generally in good condition but the dip-dye kit made it really dry and knotty. It's meant I've needed to apply a lot more intensive conditioner and hair oil than before.

Now, I'm happy with the colour of the ends but there's no doubt my hair is in a worse condition than before I used the dye.

I guess it's no more damaged that it would be if I had bleach highlights added professionally - but I suppose for some reason I just wasn't expecting it.

If you're looking to change-up your look for spring and you're on a bit of a tight budget until your next payday, I would definitely recommend giving this at-home ombré kit a go.

But be warned, it does make your ends very dry and an intensive conditioner is needed to repair the damage caused. I think I'll be taking a visit to the hairdresser to chop off my ends in the next couple of months!

Have you used an at-home ombré kit? Tempted?

Let me know over on Twitter now or in the comments.

Love,

Sophia

xo