We were initially running off of this example where it is more of highlights blended underneath. So, after a few hours at the salon I walked out with blonde highlights towards the bottom of my hair which just were not what I was going for. Feeling sorry for myself, I started researching various DIY techniques and came across this tutorial by LLYMLRS, which I found to be the most helpful. Armed with confidence I ran off to the store to pick up a high lighting kit to play with when I got home, but, I totally chickened out and opted not. I woke up the next morning with a "whats the worst that can happen?" attitude and figured why not?! So, into the bathroom I went kit in hand, tutorial on phone, ready for action.
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| [[ hair trials at the salon. ]] |
Because I was so nervous of the end result I snipped a small chunk of my hair to test out in the mixture first which turned out a nice color, but did not really give me a proper indication of time, so I decided to start small with only 10 minutes on the undermost layers of my hair. It soon became pretty apparent to me that I needed to leave the bleach mixture on for a lot longer, more like twenty minutes. I am sure foil, or using more of the mixture at once would have increased the result in less time but I was too nervous to try. After I finally got the undermost layers done, I let more of my hair down and repeated the technique before finally placing a smaller amount of bleach on just the very ends of my hair for some added lightness.
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| [[ experimenting with the highlighting kit. ]] |
It turned out better then I thought it would considering I had never dyed my hair before, and it helped blend in my "highlights" so that they look much less random! The only thing I don't like about it is that since my natural hair contains so many different colors, the transition is not always as noticeable as I would have liked it to be, but for a $12 box of highlighter I can certainly add in some more. I would definitely recommend doing this yourself rather then through a salon unless they specialize in an ombre. I will most likely give it another run sometime in the near future for added effect.
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| [[ an example of my diyd ombre hair. ]] |
It is seriously as easy as the tutorial makes it seem, but if you are nervous then just start on the under layers like I did and work your up to more time and the rest of your hair. I wasted a lot of the solution rinsing it off every ten minutes, but trial and error is key. Just make sure you buy a highlighting kit (not a dye), and follow the kits instructions.
Ultimately I am really happy with the way it turned out (for now) and proud of myself for finally doing it! Like I said I will most likely give it another try in the future, that is how easy it is.
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