Almost blonde…
Anyone who’s ever wanted to go blonde knows it’s a challenge.
Whether you’re mousy and trying to go platinum at home, or a chocolate brunette who wants white blonde hair like, NOW, it comes with its pitfalls. But as a mixed race girl with curly hair, the challenge is just that little more, well, challenging…
My hair can go blonde, but it takes time, and patience, and a lot of worrisome orange-ness along the way. Which is why I thought it was time to try out the almost-legendary colouring talents of the Four London team. I’d already visited the colour expert salon to try out the #KebeloSystem smoothing treatment but I wanted to find out if the colour hype was well deserved.
When I first spoke to Charlie Double, one of the founders of Four, I was surprised at her willingness to say ‘no’ to my insistence at wanting to go ‘Beyonce’ blonde. Instead of nodding her head and throwing on the bleach – which is what often happens when a colourist is too scared to be ‘real’ with a client’s demands – she explained what she could do for me, that the whole process would be ‘gradual’. So, on my first visit, my base colour was taken from a boring ‘almost black’ to a warm dark brown, before highlights were added. And that was no speedy process!
A couple of hours later, when perfectionist Charlie finally decided I could be allowed out from under the dryers – meant to speed up the lightening process – my hair was washed, then dried, so that the true colour could be seen. Thinking I was almost free to go, I then found out that the colour needed toning, to take it from brassy blonde to smokey, cool blonde.
First a toner was applied and then some Crazy Colour for an almost grey, but very cool, result. I LOVED the results, but as always, it wasn’t enough. Around six weeks later it was time for stage two.
My ‘new’ base colour was topped up at the roots and I pointed out that I really wanted a lot more highlights on top, as I love playing with updos and I like the contrast between light and dark. So Charlie rewarded me with double the amount of colour and left the underneath alone. I also mentioned that the toner only lasted around a week the first time. So this time round it was left on for longer, and I left with a violet toned blonde on the sides! Which I loved.
It’s already been said on this blog that we think Four London is the ultimate destination when it comes to on-trend, beautiful colour, combined with a lovely, chilled out vibe, and this visit was no exception. I’ll be back soon, for stage three!
(Oh and I will post a pic, when I manage to take a decent one!)
Charisse
Four London, 62 Conduit St, London W1S 2GB 020 7297 9600
