Want to go blonde like Olivia Wilde?

DHAKA: Actress Olivia Wilde, who dyed her hair for her upcoming flick, Rush, is inspiring some of us around the office to lighten up.

Before any of us reach for bleach, I though I’d check in with Sharon Dorram of Sharon Dorram Color at Sally Hershberger, who made it clear that going from brunette to beachy blonde requires more than just making an appointment.

Here’s what you need to know:

If you have gold highlights, then lucky you. Unless you want to go blonde. ‘Some brown has so much gold in it, that it will lift through a lot of shades of gold before it goes blonde’, says Dorram.

That makes it really tricky to get the colour right without damaging the hair.

So you’ll need to do a test run first: Bleach a small section of hair underneath, if it lifts easily to blonde, you can go lighter without frying your strands.

If your hair is medium brown, bleaching the entire head will make you look like a beauty queen, in the worst sense.

‘When dark hair is lifted, it can turn canary yellow, otherwise known as pageant blonde’, says Dorram.

‘It’s so unattractive.’

You’re better off taking your base colour to a lighter brown, and adding blonde pieces around the face.

‘It gives your hair the illusion of being lighter than it really is’, she says.

If your hair is really dark, even if your skin is fair, then you may want to reconsider your blonde ambition.

You’ll need to lift your shade in stages.

‘The colour just won’t lift nicely in one go’, says Dorram.

Source: Allure

BDST: 2030 HRS, APR 23, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor