I want to stop dyeing my hair. How do I do that?

Dear The Glow team, 

I’m hoping you can help a sister out. My hair has become damaged from dyeing it blonde for the last decade or so. Problem is I keep dyeing it to avoid dark regrowth. How can I stop dyeing my hair without looking like a skunk?

Yours in (too much) bleach,

Karen.

Thanks for writing in Karen (FYI if you want your own beauty dilemma answered, email nicky@mamamia.com.au).  I am going through a similar dilemma myself, which began because I fell pregnant and didn’t want to dump a bucket of bleach on my head every six weeks. I spoke to Marc Armstrong, hair director at RAW salon for the best advice on what to do and this also applies to brunettes and red heads too.

Marc writes:

“So you have made the decision to stop colouring your hair, but the decision is not as easy as it sounds.

A major issue when you stop colouring your hair is the stark difference between your natural hair colour and the artificial one. Growing out highlights is easier than a block colour because it is softer. Ask your hairdresser for just a few fine highlights along your part to help disguise regrowth initially.

The Chop: “I suddenly decided to cut my hair. I blame Taylor Swift.”

If you know you want to stop colouring your hair but are not quite ready for it, make sure your last few appointments for colour are highlights to help the process easier.

If you naturally have dark hair and want to grow your lighter colour out, there is no better time than right now. Ombre/balayage is at the height of its popularity so walking around with dark roots and light ends has never been so fashionable.

If it is the ombre look that you’re after but don’t want to wait for nature to take its course you can always just colour the top section of your hair in a triangle section darker, which will fall on either side of your parting and give the illusion of balayage when the lighter ends protrude.

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Blonde hair tends to be the hardest to cope with. The secret is to colour your hair back to its natural colour or as close to, which can be a little pricy when done properly and can take a long time. This is definitely a job for the professionals… do not try this at home, most of the hair disasters I have seen have been from home colouring kits. Make sure you have a full consultation with your colourist to find out the full in’s and outs so you don’t find any hidden cost when you leave.”