What If My Hair Is Brown?

You can still get the ombre look at home, but you will need to do some bleaching. It's not as scary as you'd think, though - don't worry!

L'Oreal sells a home ombre kit, suitable for light, medium and dark hair, that you can use to lighten the tips of hair. It's basically a bleaching kit that comes with a special brush for you to evenly distribute the bleach, blending it from the tips of hair to the mid-lengths so that there isn't a definite line between dark and light.

Divide the hair evenly behind the ears and pull forward - this is so you get an even distribution of color on both sides of the head. Mix up the bleach according to packet instructions and paint it onto the tips of hair. Usually, ombre starts at the ears, but you can bring the blond up from the tips to anywhere you like, really. It's often most flattering if you have at least a little bit of blond around your face as this will give you a sun-kissed look.

Next, using the hair brush, blend the bleach into the rest of the hair so that there isn't a definite line of color. Leave to sit on the hair until you reach the desired color. To see whether the bleach has lightened the hair enough, simply use a tissue to wipe a strand of hair so that it's free of bleach. The color underneath will show you what the rest of the hair looks like. If it's ready, wash the bleach out and if not, smooth bleach back onto that strand of hair and leave to sit until it reaches the desired color.

Looking After Ombre Locks

It's really important that you take lots of care of your ombre locks, and even more so if you've used bleach to lighten the hair.

Use a special moisture-lock shampoo and conditioner to nourish your locks, as well as a leave-in color protect or moisture-lock conditioner. Another tip is to use a hair mask at least once a week to really pamper your hair, and you should also steer clear of straighteners and other heated appliances for a little while as they'll cause more damage. If you do use heated appliances, always, always, always use heat protect products with them!

You also need to get a trim regularly, even if you don't get your hair colored, to get rid of dead, split ends and to encourage new, healthy hair growth. 

Ombre Nails and Clothes

Don't fancy taking the plunge with ombre for your hair? Get the look with ombre nails and ombre clothes instead. You'll find clothes in ombre, dip-dye huesall over the high street and getting the look for your nails is much, much easier than you might think. 

Viola! Ombre made easy.