A few weeks back, Bella reader lotuslight wanted to go back to her roots — literally. She asked what it would take to completely grow out her artificial color and go natural instead, all while keeping it budget-friendly. So, I’ve done a little sleuthing and here’s what was uncovered.
To get the facts straight, I consulted with Meredith Venesile-Spiros, master stylist at Salon V in Chicago and former contestant on the latest season of Shear Genius.
Ironically enough, to get rid of color, you're going to have to add some color. When going back to the tones that nature intended, it's best to stay out of the drugstore aisles to avoid a DIY color disaster, regardless of how tempting (and cheap) it might be.
"At least for the first time, go see a professional to properly make that change," Meredith advises. Let the experts guide you on what it's going to take keep the integrity of your hair intact. In the long run, you'll "save yourself some drama, money, and multiple trips to the drugstore."
To avoid having the embarrassment of heavy roots while your hair grows out, your stylist will talk about gradually blending your previously colored hair into your natural (virgin, if you will) color. Stay tuned to learn more about what Meredith says it takes to make this change a reality.
Photo courtesy of Bravo.
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OMG Bella thanks! I am totally trying to do this right now, I am literally about to call the salon to get some help . . .glad to know that's the right choice. I will look forward to any updates, I'll let you know how it goes for me. I've been dying my hair about 3 or 4 shades of darker brown for about 3 years, but my hair bleaches out so easily from the sun during the summer so I've got about neck up (I have hair half way down my back) in a lighter brown and the ends are very dark brown bc they don't get as much sun. It doesn't look very bad, no one notices but it annoys me . . I'll keep you updated!
1Seriously go to a stylist. I tried to dye my own hair back to my natural color once and my hair looked green-ish! It was terrible and totally humiliating while I waited for my stylist's calendar to open up. Don't do it yourself!!
2I'm seriously considering growing out my hair, but my hair is pretty long so it would take forever. Luckily, the color I have in right now is very close to my natural color so if I grow it out it won't look too ridiculous.
3Besides the article being totally great advice... I LOVE the dress she is wearing the picture... info on where we can get somethign similar? haha
4When I went from having some serious highlights back to my natural color, the colorist put in a really intricate combination of highlights and lowlights. It was so perfect, my hair grew out very easily without any major demarcation lines.
5Chubstaaa,
I can ask where she got the dress — not sure if it's hers or Bravo's.
6hehe awesome, thanks Bella!
7It turns out the dress is Bravo's. Meredith says that they actually used a dress a model wore from a previous challenge and cut off the sleeves. I think it might be the "Jem" dress from Nicole's style. http://www.bravotv.com/Shear_Genius/season/2/photos/gallery.php?e=episod...
8Wow, Bella, this is awesome! I can't thank you enough for sleuthing out this precious info! Virgin hair, here I come:)
9I suggest going with demi permanent color if you're trying to go back to a darker color than you currently have. It acts as a filler color and then in a couple weeks you can use permanent color to get your natural color.
10Thank you, bella! I seriously want to go back to my natural color, even if it includes a few grays because it is difficult to find a good colorist in my area. Hair coloring tends to go very brassy/orange and then my hair looks pretty wretched.
It's good to know I won't have to chop
all of my hair off to "get back to natural". 
Thank you again!
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