7 lessons I learned trying to take my hair from black to blonde

Having spent my teenage years thoroughly immersed in 'emo culture', it's hardly surprising that I'm no stranger to a black box dye (or 50!). As far as I can remember (I've been dying my hair for 14 years, give me a break), my natural shade is a quite nice medium brown. But, since I was 15, I've been dying it pretty much non-stop, from blonde, to leopard print, to black, to red, and back to black again.

For the past three years, I've used black, permanent box dye (hear that? It's the sound of every hairdresser in the world screaming) once a month, to top up my roots. I kept dyeing it because I thought there was nothing I could do to get rid of the black. So I just kind of accepted my lot - I'd have to carry on looking like a walking corpse for the rest of my life.

The ’before’ aka the walking corpse

Then, I discovered Not Another Salon. Head over to their Instagram and you'll see they're a pretty big deal in the hairdressing world. The salon, on London's Brick Lane, is known for its colour skills. And, it's all about helping clients get the colour they want, without compromising on the condition of their hair.

After a consultation with founder Sophia Hilton, I learned I probably wasn't going to end up with Sia-style white blonde locks. After years (and layers upon layers) of box dye, platinum would never be a possibility for someone with my checkered hair history. Well, unless I was up for damaging it to the point of no return - something Sophia told me was NOT what NAS were about, at all.

Instead, she promised to lighten my hair over a period of time - and to take is as light as humanly possible without having to give me a buzz cut. Little did I know, the process would involve many hours of sitting (and eating their biscuits), and a butt load of treatments to keep my hair in check.

Here's what I learned...

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1. You can't (always) believe what you see on Instagram

If, like me, you're obsessed with transformation pics on Insta, you might think a dramatic colour change is easy. When you see a 'before' and 'after' lined up next to each other, it almost looks like the transformation happened in an instant.

I learned this is not the case. Like, at all. The process (if your hairdresser is legit and cares about the condition of your hair) takes a very long time. We're talking months, sometimes. "Though you sometimes see people doing dark to light online, the reality is the hair begins to deteriorate over time, and after the picture has been taken," Sophia says. "Be prepared to not get the end result you are looking for, as once the hair says 'no more' there is very little we can do about it."

After bleach numero uno (I kinda like it?)

My journey actually spanned seven months (and as you can see from my pics, I certainly didn't make it past the blonde finish line). Here's how my appointments went down:

Appointment 1

Sophia bleached out the black box colour, revealing a red tone that's in the dye. "Often this is patchy, and much harder to lift from the bottom where the hair is old and many layers of old colour," Sophia explains. Next, she coloured over this patchy orange with a medium brown semi. "We can hide the patches only if we choose a colour that is not too light," she says. "We have limited options."

(Cost £320: full head bleach: £160, semi-permanent colour: £60, INNOluxe treatment: £30, cut: £70.)

At the end of appointment one

Appointment 2

Sophia bleached my hair for a second time, but was keeping a watchful eye on the condition. " I was noticing that the hair was starting to struggle," she says, "and the condition was being lost so I washed [the bleach] off and couldn't lighten any further." Next, Sophia coloured my hair with a dark blonde, and gave it a good cut.

(Cost £320: full head bleach: £160, semi-permanent colour: £60, INNOluxe treatment: £30, cut: £70.)

Appointment 3

At this point, Sophia explained we couldn't take my hair any lighter. "The hair would have become too damaged for repair," she explains. "We had reached the end of the road for lightening because the condition always takes priority at Not Another Salon."

(Cost £160: semi-permanent: £60, INNOluxe treatment: £30, cut: £70.)

The emo hair has gone, but I still have a miserable face

2. Bond-building treatments are essential

The INNOluxe treatments Sophia used each time were an absolute godsend. Yeah, it's kind of magic tbh. "With the addition of the amino acid cystine and extra low weight proteins, it penetrates through to the inner structure of the hair to covalently bond with the hair’s natural keratin," the INNOluxe experts say. In short, it creates ‘super strong’ hair bonds, and also reconnects the sulphur bridges, so your hair remains as healthy as possible.

Seriously, do not skimp on these. They're fully worth the £30.

3. As are good quality products

Before this, I always used high street brands. But once my hair had been bleached, it was crying out for lil better quality something. Sophia recommended Pureology Hydrate shampoo, followed by Pureology's Hydra Whip hair mask (yep, every time).

I've also become a devout worshipper of Redken's Diamond Oil. You run it through your damp hair after washing, and before blow-drying. It's pricey but worth every damn penny, as it gives your hair shine and tames the frizz. "Shampoo and treatments are costly when lightening, as you need to be using the very best products to give the hairdresser the best chance of being able to lighten again," Sophia explains.

Honestly, I used to be a bit suspicious of expensive products, but after a particularly frugal month (oddly enough, a writer's salary doesn't always allow me to drop £20 on a hair mask) of using cheaper products, I noticed such a difference. My hair was frizzy, fly-away, dull and lacklustre af. Never doing that again!

4. You're going to need to wash your hair WAY less

Going from a three-times-a-week washer, to once or twice a week, was hard at first. I experienced major grease at the root, and felt a bit... gross? But as my hair adjusted to the new routine, I soon learned I'd actually been over-washing it before.

5. Using less heat can be hard, but totally worth it

Straightening, curling and blow-drying, all have a knock-on effect to your hair's health. I reduced the amount I straighten my hair, and tried to let it dry naturally once a week. Sophia's top tip that absolutely saved me was: braid it before bed. Each morning I woke up with the perfect loose waves, and no damage was done in the process.

6. Be prepared to lose some length

Admittedly, I was pretty attached to my long hair. If someone mentioned cutting it, I freaked out. But as I went through the process, I actually embraced change and ended up longing for it to be cut.

The ends can get super-damaged and frizzy, so cutting them off actually feels really great. Plus, when you're hair's been bleached it can really cling on to any moisture for dear life. Seriously, it takes AGES to dry. After my first trim (of about five inches), my blow-drying time was reduced from 30 minutes to 15. I love me that extra time in bed in the morning.

My current colour and length

7. Your hair routine may become a form of self-care

My life before lightening consisted of washing my hair, letting it air dry and.. that was basically ir. Occasionally I straightened it for special occasions, but really I was lazy.

So, while at first the whole treatments and hair masks thing annoyed me, I learned to love it. Now, once a week on a Sunday, I make sure I dedicate time to really treat my tresses. I pop on a podcast and chill the f out - it's truly become a form of self-care for me.

The moral of the story

It's pretty simple: it's important to manage your own expectations, because sometimes it's just not possible to take your hair as light as you might like. And that's OK - putting the condition of your hair first is super important.

Not getting any lighter than this hasn't bothered me at all, though. All I wanted, really, was to not be stuck with black hair for the rest of my life. Plus, every stage of the journey was fun - I really enjoyed being brown for the first time in 14 years, and I love the dark blonde I'm at now.