DIY Ombre | L'Oreal Wild Ombre Results

Excuse the awkward thumb-in-pocket action happening above, but today I wanted to share with you guys my experience using the new L'Oreal Wild Ombre kit. As you can see, I have been growing my hair out for quite some time and my long brown hair had started to feel a little boring. I had always liked the ombre trend and decided I ought to give it a go since the L'Oreal kit offers an inexpensive way to try it out. An ombre done at a salon runs $100 or more whereas this at home kit runs around $13 depending on where you buy it (got mine at CVS!).

I will admit I was fairly skeptical about this kit before I tried it (my hairdresser friend even advised me not to), but I figured that because it doesn't require bleaching all of the hair I could just cut it off or dye over it if I didn't like it. I actually like how it turned out! It isn't 100% what I had hoped for but it is definitely something that I'm going to keep for a little while.

This product comes in three shades - 060, 070, and 080. I used 060 for dark brown hair. The process was very easy and directions easy to follow, though I did make a couple modifications to L'Oreal's suggestions. The process basically just involves mixing the solution together then applying it on the hair. The directions say to start at shoulders or chin (depending on hair length) then work down toward tips and let sit for desired time - this is the part that I did differently. If you do it this way then the result is going to be more like a dip-dye with no gradient effect. Instead, I applied it the tips of my hair first and let it sit for 20 minutes before applying more higher up then leaving it all on for the remaining time (no more than 45min). In retrospect, I wish I would have done this in three parts instead of two to get an even better fading effect and blonder tips.

It comes with a mini shampoo packet that you're supposed to use when you wash out the bleach. I did use it but I also picked up the Jhirmack Silver Plus Ageless Shampoo at RiteAid to use in conjunction. It is a purple shampoo which is intended for use on bleached hair to help prevent brassiness. I apply this just to the ombre part of my hair and leave on for a minute or so before using my regular shampoo and I think it really does help to eliminate any orange tones.