Photo 7/7
Step 6: The Final Look
After a tumultuous year of both DIY and salon color disasters, Emily was ready for a professional to take on her over-dyed hair.
"I used to get really natural-looking highlights, but then took matters into my own hands about a year ago. I decided I wanted a strawberry blonde color like Rachel McAdams in The Notebook," said Emily. "I was born a ginger, and although I grew out of it, I've always felt like I should have red-ish hair. What I got (out of a dye box) was way too brassy and looked unnatural in most lights, and it definitely didn't match my eyebrows."
As most red-tinted colors do, Emily's new shade faded quickly. After trying another box job, she finally decided she wanted her original dirty blonde back.
"I found a Groupon for a salon in Beverly Hills -- I should have known not to use coupons on my hair. The woman dyed my hair bright orange. Even her supervisor told her she should have used something else," she said.
She went back the next day so they could fix it, but about a month later decided to get rid of the bright color altogether. "I was tired of the roots and looking like my hair was dyed," she says. So Emily went to a colorist and showed him pictures of her hair from the year prior. The results:
"He dyed my hair dark brown. I don't know how that got lost in translation, but it was a dingy dark brown that looked awful with my fair Irish skin. I tried to wash it out as soon as I got home because I hated it. That left me with slightly green-tinged brown hair. I was devastated. I convinced myself it was a lesson in vanity and vowed to never dye my hair again."
Emily says she didn't trust the stylist who gave her the dark brown hair enough to go back and have him fix it, but things seemed to work themselves out. "Somehow, I think my hair has faded to my original color. Being out in the sun so much has given me some lighter natural highlights," she aid.
While Emily was open to change and eager to speak to a professional about her hair, it was clear she didn't want anything crazy.
"I want something that looks like it grew out of my own head," she says. And one thing is certain: "No orange hair! I don't want to look like a highlighter."
"I used to get really natural-looking highlights, but then took matters into my own hands about a year ago. I decided I wanted a strawberry blonde color like Rachel McAdams in The Notebook," said Emily. "I was born a ginger, and although I grew out of it, I've always felt like I should have red-ish hair. What I got (out of a dye box) was way too brassy and looked unnatural in most lights, and it definitely didn't match my eyebrows."
As most red-tinted colors do, Emily's new shade faded quickly. After trying another box job, she finally decided she wanted her original dirty blonde back.
"I found a Groupon for a salon in Beverly Hills -- I should have known not to use coupons on my hair. The woman dyed my hair bright orange. Even her supervisor told her she should have used something else," she said.
She went back the next day so they could fix it, but about a month later decided to get rid of the bright color altogether. "I was tired of the roots and looking like my hair was dyed," she says. So Emily went to a colorist and showed him pictures of her hair from the year prior. The results:
"He dyed my hair dark brown. I don't know how that got lost in translation, but it was a dingy dark brown that looked awful with my fair Irish skin. I tried to wash it out as soon as I got home because I hated it. That left me with slightly green-tinged brown hair. I was devastated. I convinced myself it was a lesson in vanity and vowed to never dye my hair again."
Emily says she didn't trust the stylist who gave her the dark brown hair enough to go back and have him fix it, but things seemed to work themselves out. "Somehow, I think my hair has faded to my original color. Being out in the sun so much has given me some lighter natural highlights," she aid.
While Emily was open to change and eager to speak to a professional about her hair, it was clear she didn't want anything crazy.
"I want something that looks like it grew out of my own head," she says. And one thing is certain: "No orange hair! I don't want to look like a highlighter."
