Is this the proof EVERY brunette should try being an instant blonde?
HER sleek chestnut mane has barely changed since she first arrived on our screens 25 years ago.
But on the set of her latest film Hollywood star Kate Beckinsale, 46, is sporting a very different look, with her naturally dark locks replaced by a choppy blonde bob.
Imitating her transformation would make most brunettes quail, fearing the quantities of dye needed would leave their hair in a sorry state — not to mention the risk of turning orange.
But stylists say there’s nothing to stop brunettes taking the plunge.
‘Brunettes can turn their hair blonder at any age,’ says celebrity hair colourist Daniel Galvin whose clients have included the Princess Diana, Twiggy and Madonna.
‘Not many women can go the full Marilyn Monroe, but taking even the darkest of hair a few shades lighter will probably make you look younger.’
So, can any brunette go blonde? We sent four women to Daniel’s salon with ALICE
SMELLIE to find out . . .
MY DAUGHTER LOVES ME LOOKING LIKE HER
JULIE HAWKINS, 43, lives with her seven-year-old daughter. She runs her own business and is the founder of the Single Mums’ Business Network.
IN my 20s I coloured my hair regularly with packet dyes. I’ll never forget that acrid stench of peroxide, or the sinking feeling when rinsing off the colour and realising you’ve achieved the shade of straw — with very dry ends. Nonetheless, I persevered, in spite of the damage I undoubtedly did!
Now in my 40s, I’m aware of the importance of grooming, but I haven’t had the time or the disposable income to spend on myself for the past seven years while setting up my business. Hair and make-up? I barely had time to get dressed on the days I worked from home. So I hope going blonde will give me a boost of much-needed confidence!
My daughter is blonde and blue-eyed, and when I told her what I was doing she was torn between excitement that Mummy might look like her and nerves that I wouldn’t look like myself!
DANIEL SAYS: Julie has lovely cheekbones and fair colouring, but her hair was rather dull and flat. Full of home hair tint, it definitely needed a bit of TLC. Condition is absolutely key when you’re thinking about going blonde.
I find it extraordinary that we buy so many creams which alleviate wrinkles, but don’t invest in hair treatments. You should do a treatment every week.
As well as colouring her hair, we sprayed on a protein treatment to make it stronger. The result is a rich golden blonde with a silky smooth texture and shiny appearance.
JULIE’S VERDICT: I love the final look — I have been walking slightly differently for the last 24 hours. I can feel myself standing taller and more confidently, and I keep catching sight of myself in windows and doing a bit of a double-take because I look so different.
Fortunately, my daughter was OK with it, too, and wants me to keep it like this!
PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS ENDED IN DISASTER
JUDITH COOK, 49, is an executive PA with two sons aged 18 and 22. She’s engaged to John, 49, a carpenter.
I WAS born with brown hair, but I make a dramatic change at least once a year. However, this has led to a few disasters. Fifteen years ago I had a set of blonde highlights at a salon that left my hair so damaged that it stuck together in clumps. I couldn’t run my fingers through it without worrying it would break. Then two years ago, I had highlights again. I looked like Cruella de Vil.
In between I’ve been red, black and brown, as well as long and short — including a French crop just 2mm long all over — but never fully blonde. You might think it’s time to settle into middle-aged safety, but my two boys are leaving home, so another change seems appropriate.
A few weeks ago I went into my local salon and asked to go blonde, but the stylists said they wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it because my hair is so dark.
I’ve always admired strong, kind blondes such as Princess Diana, so hopefully I’ll feel similarly empowered by my new look! John, my fiance, was quite excited about it, though I suspect for totally different reasons.
DANIEL SAYS: Judith’s hair is lovely and thick, but over-processed.
She’s been putting a lot of dye on it, so we were nervous about achieving a soft blonde. The more colour you have on, the more risk of developing an unwanted tone when bleach is applied.
We applied what we call ‘back to back balayage’. Here, we slice and weave the hair; first painting dye
horizontally along the hairline and then doing a weave — where a comb threads through her hair and adds colour just to the top sections. We alternate this over the whole head.
The colour was almost perfect, but a little orange at first, so we used a violet and blue toner all over to counteract it.
JUDITH’S VERDICT: How you look is your suit of armour, and mine is certainly feeling a lot stronger today! I absolutely love my new colour and feel about a decade younger. I’m pleased to say that the boys really like it and — as suspected — John thinks it’s great.
IT’S TAKEN YEARS TO PLUCK UP THE COURAGE
MELISSA LADYKO, 47, lives with her husband, Stuart, 40, a martial arts instructor. They have a 14-year-old son and a daughter, ten.
I’VE wanted to go blonde for such a long time but never had the courage. I had it cut into a bob last year but haven’t dared take the colour plunge.
It’s such a big change, and my friends and I have all giggled at pictures of celebrities who’ve gone blonde and got it wrong. Perhaps I’m still traumatised by the memory of a haircut gone terribly wrong in my early 20s, when I had a perm.
I wanted to look like a TV star but I ended up with a terrible mullet. I resorted to gelling it down and tying it back for months and resigned myself to having straight brown hair for the rest of my life.
Kate Beckinsale is very beautiful and I admire her new look. There’s something fresh and edgy about it. For myself, I reasoned that if I didn’t like going blonde, well, it’s not permanent.
DANIEL SAYS: Melissa is a beautiful woman, and her hair was in very good condition. Even so, we’d usually prefer to achieve this look in a couple of sessions rather than doing it all in one go! She had a few lighter bits at the end, so we could see her hair would be OK with bleach. As expected, the colour took very well.
We then blended on a toner to ensure there was no yellow left.
After washing we added what we call my Miracle Detox Solution, which uses Vitamin C to brighten the colour.
MELISSA’S VERDICT: Forget my worries about not liking this, I want to keep it for ever! I can’t see me going back to brunette.
I usually have to remind my husband I’ve been to the salon. Thankfully, he noticed this straight away and loves the colour. My ten-year-old daughter, Willow, is less sure as I look so different. But I think she’ll get used to it!
I HADN’T EVEN CHANGED THE LENGTH BEFORE!
EMMA WOOLFENDEN, 48, lives with husband, Hugh, 50, an academic and their two sons, aged 14 and 17.
I’VE been feeling somewhat nervous about going blonde. But over the past two years I’ve made some major life changes, including leaving my job as a researcher to retrain in teaching English as a foreign language. Now, having been a lifelong brunette, I feel ready to change my look.
But my dark hair is part of my identity. Will I feel different as a blonde — and will people treat me differently, too?
Kate Beckinsale’s colour looks almost fluorescent, and it’s too bright for me. But despite my trepidation, I love the idea of going blonde. The blondes I most admire are actresses Elisabeth Moss and Emma Stone, who seem to switch from brunette to blonde with ease. They make changing hair colour look fun.
I have my hair cut every two months at the local salon — and have never had it longer than shoulder-length. Apart from touching up my roots with a kit at home to hide the odd grey I’ve always left the colour alone, so this will be my most dramatic transformation by far.
DANIEL SAYS: You have to be very cautious with such dark hair. Beneath that dark brown are shades of red and orange, so to lift hair to blonde you need to leave bleach on for quite a long time.
Emma’s hair was processed at the top where she had used a home root touch-up, but it was otherwise untouched and in good condition.
With all colour, we aim for it to be low maintenance, so the colour started a couple of inches below the roots, painting on the bleach and following the natural movement of her hair.
We left some of her own colour in between the highlights so it doesn’t look blocky and will grow out naturally. To add additional lightness around the hairline, we added a few extra highlights in foils.
EMMA’S VERDICT: Daniel told me that — even before your hair — you ought to notice a person’s eyes, and I have to admit, my eyes and my skin look completely different with this hair. My husband loves my new colour and thinks it really suits me.