DIY strawberry ombré (starting from blonde)

With the crispness of fall comes the urge to be a redhead. I don't know what it is, but it's an annual event for me  - the day I wake up and decide that blonde hair is for suckers. Me? I'm no sucker. This year was a little different though... I'm kind of still digging the lighter locks. Maybe it's because I know I have both an Anaheim and Florida trip booked for mid-winter. Maybe it's because I'm afraid my child won't recognize me if I color my locks a deep auburn. Whatever the case, I decided to shade myself a strawberry blonde with ombré ends.

I grabbed my cup of coffee and headed into my blue and black and white bathroom with the giant mirror and double sinks.

Step one: Find a box color that doesn't suck. Check. Nice 'n Easy is just that: it's nice AND easy. It's relatively gentle on my hair and the color (when used traditionally) turns out pretty accurate. 

Step two: Add conditioner to the ends of your hair. I ALLLLLWAYS do this to a) protect my ends and 2) protect my ends. This is especially important (I feel) when going for an ombré effect. It will prevent color from saturating the ends and help avoid any further damage. Me so smart.

Step three: Divide your hair into four sections and clip it up. Note the Myspace-esque duck face/flipping of peace-hand with squinty eyes. This is also vitally important.

Step four: From here, I applied the color to my roots and down about three inches. I set a timer for 15 minutes and grabbed a book.

Step five: After the timer went off, I applied more color down to about two inches from the bottom of my hair. Once again, timer - 8 minutes this time. When the timer went off, I added color to the rest of my hair and finger-combed it through for approximately 1-2 minutes, and then hopped into the shower to rinse. 

BEFORE (check out the pajama shorts. You know you're jealous.):

AFTER (disclaimer - please ignore all hair frizzes. My hair tools are still in my suitcase from this weekend's wedding extravaganza and I've been too lazy/distracted to unpack):

Personally, I love it. It's fun without being too funky, and it's subtle enough that my grandmother wouldn't roll over in her grave (bless her soul). You can't tell from the picture but the ends of my hair are actually a few shades lighter than they appear. I think I may opt for a more dramatic base next time, but this reddish dark blonde is relatively close to my natural shade. Maybe I can get away with not coloring it for a few months!!