New year, new hair colour?

Could there be a better way to kick off the New Year than to dye your hair a new, fabulous colour?

Not convinced? That’s fair enough. Hair dyeing isn’t exactly for everyone. It’s something that I only started to do regularly after coming to university. I’d been having blonde highlights put in since I was 16 but had never really done anything crazy.

Then I dyed my hair purple early on in my first year on a whim with my flatmates and it was genuinely so much fun. It felt liberating to not worry and just see what the effects would be. It would wash out after all and, if it was terrible, I could always dye it back. The purple was fun for a few weeks, but I’d got a bit fed up of it by Christmas and recognised that yes, it probably had been a bit of an impulse decision but anyway, it was a learning curve.

You must absolutely make sure that you make use of the conditioner or treatment included in the box

Nonetheless, dyeing your hair can be a lot of fun. My philosophy is based around the fact that while I’m young and a student with limited responsibility- why not? I often dye my hair with one of my flatmates and it’s a great activity for a chilled night in.

If you’re not brave enough to go a bright purple like me or a red or anything that’s really out there, a pastel blue or lilac might be more your thing. If you have really light hair, pastel colours are a great choice as they’ll show up well but with darker hair, often bright colours don’t look as bright anyway. The only way to know is to give it a go.

Make sure you get a good box dye if you’re going to dye your hair at home. You can get good quality box dyes at Superdrug and Boots for fairly inexpensive prices. You must absolutely make sure that you make use of the conditioner or treatment included in the box and use a bit of your own conditioner if you want (I don’t think you can use too much) so that your hair stays in good condition.

It might sometimes take a few attempts before any colour shows up at all, as we found when dying my flatmate’s hair pastel pink

My mum always told me when I was younger that dyeing your hair would damage its quality in the long-run but I think as long as you take care of it, use a shampoo that nourishes it and a decent conditioner to make sure you don’t have too many breakages, you’ll be fine.

It might sound basic, but don’t expect to get the exact colour on the box, it will always vary a little depending on the colour you’re starting with. It might sometimes take a few attempts before any colour shows up at all, as we found when dying my flatmate’s hair pastel pink.

We’re only young once and I think dying your hair is something simple you can do to completely change your look

Get someone to help you if you’re worried about missing bits as it can be tricky to get the back of your head. Make sure you wear an old t-shirt that you don’t care about too much and a towel that you don’t mind getting stained as you will most likely get dye everywhere.

The most important thing to remember is just to have fun. We’re only young once and I think dyeing your hair is something simple you can do to completely change your look. I find it fun and exciting (and a little less permanent than a tattoo or piercing). It’s still a way to do something different to your appearance.

I wish you the best of luck in your hair-dyeing endeavours. If it all goes wrong, try to take comfort in the fact that you can dye it back and it’s not permanent. If, like me, you do an impulse hair dye after a bad week, make sure it’s a colour you genuinely like.