Blonde to Brunette Era: 4 reasons to go back to Brunette

Cartia Mallan and Ashton Wood posing

In 2019 I began getting blonde/caramel highlights in my brown hair. Fast-forward 4 years later, I now have overly-highlighted hair where you could safely classify my hair colour as blonde.

At first, I embraced this new change. Going blonde from brunette was exciting, and every summer I would look forward to going slightly lighter to switch things up.

Perhaps it is also important to note that a large part of my decision to continue going more blonde was that I was developing a few grey hairs; blonde highlights nicely camouflage grey hairs without being too high maintenance. Is it a blonde highlight, is it a grey hair? I often couldn't even work it out myself. So to me it was an easy fix to a problem I was quite self-conscious about.

You might be wondering, once you start going grey it only gets more grey from then on, so why turn away from the easy fix? Well, you are right. And as much as I wish I could embrace my grey hairs more, for me personally I have not yet quite reached that stage.

So, even though greys are more noticeable with brunette hair, here are 4 reasons why I'm so tired of being blonde and am going back to my natural brunette hair:

1. The damage caused by bleach.

Of course, it's always too good to be true. I remember the first time I had blonde highlights put in my hair, I was shocked at the immediate difference in health between the strands that had been highlighted and those that had not. Once the damage became too noticeable, I started using Olaplex products to try and reverse the damage. Specifically, this included Olaplex number 3 which is a pre-shampoo treatment. On first use, this product definitely left my hair feeling softer and less brittle. However, upon repeated use I felt as though there was a film of product constantly around my hair and I didn't see any further improvements. Importantly, not enough improvements were seen to reverse the damage of bleach, but perhaps that is not a surprise.

2. The lack of shine.

Before going blonde, my brunette hair would always be nice and shiny in the light. However, when going blonde I did not anticipate my hair would lose all its shine. I think this is down to 2 main reasons, the first being that blonde hair absorbs light whereas dark colours reflect light, and the second being that the bleach damage was also removing natural shine and health.

3. It feels as though everyone else is going blonde.

Perhaps it is the hair salons I go to, but it always feels as though the main direction to be pushed to is towards going lighter in hair colour. This is not a phenomenon specific to hair salons of course, and is merely a product of what we see online and in the media. Just because a decision works for other people, doesn't mean it has to work for you too. Of course, the statement in reason 3 is also just a perception. When I go back to brunette, I am quite sure I will have a perception that lots of others are going in that direction too.

4. Blonde doesn't suit me.

My natural hair colour is actually quite dark brown, despite the bleach delusion I was under that I used to have quite golden brown hair. Having quite pale skin and light coloured eyes, blonde hair washes me out. Particularly when there is a lot of light in photographs, I notice how I seem to lack structure in my face shape and features.

So, if you've made it this far in reading and you are recognising thoughts you have been having too, I encourage you to explore these thoughts further. For me, I will be going back to brunette. I am not opposed to getting a few baby caramel lights in my hair, particularly to make covering greys easier. However, I am tired of overbleached and unhealthy blonde hair. I am very intrigued to hear your thoughts.

FEMME VOYAGE x

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