It’s not often that celebrities premiere a genuinely new look – fashion does work in cycles, after all. But Drew Barrymore seems to have managed it, dip-dyeing the ends of her hair to make a bold black-on-blonde style statement. But it’s not a style change that’s easy to reverse, says Clare Hodge, artistic director at Paul Edmonds London. Firstly, the new colour has to be permanent for such a bold colour change to ‘take’ on the hair. This means the only way to change the dip-dyed effect is to cut off the ends.
To blend the new colour back into the old when the contrast is so great would most likely require more than one colouring process, all of which would cause considerable damage to hair anyway. “Dip-dye can work really well, but most colourists would recommend a more subtle combination,” says Clare. “Golden blondes with soft apricot through the tips or brunettes opting for aubergine tones would look great,” she adds.
Even then, be aware that using semi-permanents means some pigment is left behind as the colour fades so it’s doubtful the ends will ever again look exactly the same as the rest of the hair. The best way to explore such an adventurous look is before having your hair cut or undergoing a major colour change. It’ll be much easier for Drew to retain her dip-dyed ends if she dyes the rest of her hair a similar colour, rather than trying to go back to blonde all over. We look forward to seeing her new look over the coming months.
