I didn’t want to look like a clown

JO FRANCIS, 43, a marketing assistant, lives in Kent with her children Tyler, six, and Jade, 21.

MY DARK, shiny hair is my pride and joy. A lot of women reach their 40s and want to get it cut, but I’m keeping it long for as long as possible. It’s dyed to cover up the grey — I’ve had the same hairdresser for 14 years, so we experiment a little.

Three years ago I wanted to go blonde but it looked terrible with my skin tone, so I ended up going dark again.

With my pale skin and brown eyes, I was intrigued to know

what I’d look like as a ginger — I was scared I’d come out like a clown.

THE EXPERT SAYS: Dark hair is more of a challenge because colours don’t show up as well. I decided to use a base colour of ginger with overtones of mahogany so it softened her complexion and was firmly on the ginger spectrum without being bright and garish. First we rinsed her hair with a special cleanser to get rid of the existing tint, and then layered the new colours on top.

WHAT DOES JO THINK? I feel much younger and fresher, and my partner loves it. I’ll definitely keep it up.