New Short Ombre & Balayage Blonde Hairstyle
So here it is! My new hairstyle! Before last year, I had the same long blonde hair for years. I’m talking since I was about 18 years old, meaning I had middle of my back length, natural hair for 9 years and I need a change. I chopped it quite short in May last year and I loved it, but this time I wanted to go for something different entirely. You may remember this hair inspiration post that I made a few weeks ago with photos and details about what I wanted to do to my hair, and those of you who follow me on Instagram and Snapchat (LornaRaindrops) will know that I had it done! I made the chop about 3 weeks ago (see here) and had it dyed just over a week ago (see here) and this is the finished result! I decided not to have both the dye and cut done together as I have extremely thick, unruly hair and it takes two or three times longer to cut and dye than a regular amount of hair, so I would have spent about 5 hours in the salon doing it together, which just wasn’t what I wanted. So, what did I have done?
I really loved my ombre blonde colour that I had years ago on my long length hair and I wanted to channel that back in, but since my hair is now short, it needed to be blended in a lot more than just a straight line of colour, which I don’t like the look of. I scrolled through Instagram for weeks figuring out how I wanted it done and I decided that I would go for bleach to give it the whiter appearance and have the ombre done all around the bottom, but the top layers would be balayage. For those of you who aren’t familiar with balayage (as I wasn’t), it’s the process of ombre, but with streaks in various places that also go up to the roots of the hair (like this) which finishes up with a beautiful blended appearance (like this) and no straight lines. The colour then ends up looking more natural and sun-kissed than dip dyed.
It’s still hard getting used to being so blonde when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, but I do love it. Since my hairdresser (Laura from North) and I decided on bleach, I did have a yellow hint to it after it had taken and we had to use a purple toner for a lot longer than the average time to give it more of a cream/white appearance. I have some Joico purple shampoo as well which I’m using every week to make sure it carries on going more white and doesn’t step into the yellow territory. It’s a cream coloured blonde at the moment and I really love it! The sun was setting as we took these photos so there is a sunset glow to my hair which might make it look a little orange, but I included an Instagram photo below for you to see a true representation of the blonde colour.
In terms of the cut, it’s just below my collarbone and I decided to not cut a fringe back in as I like the look of when it’s blow dried and becomes quite volumised, I feel it’s much more mature this way. It’s so much easier to manage and wash now too. With the thick, really long hair that I had before, it was such a strain on my arms and back when I had to wash and dry it, the routine used to take over an hour, so that’s one thing I am most grateful for now that I have short hair. I feel like I’ve really grown up a lot this year already. Not just in my clothing tastes like I mentioned a little while ago, but mentally and facially too. I seem to have lost the puppy/chubby and young face that I had not all that long ago and gained some mature structure, which goes hand in hand with how I feel in my mind now too. That’s the reason why I wanted more of a change to my hair than I’ve ever gone for before. I’d love to know what you think of it! And…
Now The Big Change News
…This leads me to the big news I was talking about on social media! I spent a good while last week getting a new website design in order and it just went live this morning! Part of the new hair, new me, new change thing that I have going on. I wanted something sleek, mature, minimal and fancy, which resembles a magazine or fashion website. Life is definitely a journey and my blog is an extension of that journey, so it’s only right that it now reflects how I feel and where I am at this point in my life right now. Plus, since I got a new MacBook with a retina screen, I just wasn’t feeling the old theme anymore as it didn’t come up to scratch on my new laptop. I couldn’t be happier though as it’s absolutely gorgeous! I’m using the Equinox theme from Pipdig and it’s the best my blog has ever looked in my opinion! The sidebar is still here for individual posts, but it’s cleaned up, and the home page is much more structured and easy to navigate. I’d really love for you to have a look around the site and test things out, let me know if you see anything you like or don’t like, and of course, tell me what you think of it in honest opinions!
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Your hair looks amazing Lorna, beautiful cut and colour. And this new layout is just wow, well done, you always amaze me xx
Author
Thank you so much, ali!
I love your new hair color. More blonde. You look fresh and your eyes match perfectly with your hair color. You are more beautiful than ever Lorna.
Author
Thank you, Mario!
Hi Lorna, your new site design is fabulous, congratulations! Love your new hair cut and color too, beautiful. ❤️
Author
Thank you so much! Really glad! <3
Love your new hair! and the new blog design looks amazing!!!
Lee – leethrifts.com
Author
Thank you!!
My first impressions of your new layout are entirely positive. It’s clear, clean, confident, attractive, inviting, logical and user friendly. I’ve not seen many different iterations of your site (this is probably only the 3rd for me) but I think it’s the best I’ve seen so far. So congratulations, it’s looking great. 😀 I’ve played with a few bits – such as the keyword search… that’s very useful (though it might’ve been on the previous version with me noticing).
Your hair is looking delightful. Some of the technical stuff regarding the processes goes a bit over my head (no pun intended) but the result is certainly beautiful. 🙂
Author
I’m really glad you like it, Steven! I was waiting to see what your thoughts were on it!
Well, it’s always nice to feel valued. Thanks. 🙂 I don’t think it’s imagination – but I think the pages are loading noticeably quicker too. So that’s another positive. 😀
Author
Oh good! There shouldn’t be any reason they should, but it’s probably because there’s much less to load on the home page, meaning it loads super quick, then you only have the one individual post to load, but the posts as they are clicked should essentially load the same, but if they are faster, that’s a bonus!
Yes, I mostly mean the home page. 🙂
Author
That’s amazing news 😀
Your hair looks amazing.
http://www.amysfashionblog.com/blog-home/
Author
Thank you, Amy! What about the layout?
Lorna first I like your new layout… I find it easier… I had a little trouble one time… and your hair looks amazing… so pretty… When I got my hair colored.. it took 6 and half hours as my hair is really thick too and that was without a cut… I agree this is a lovely look for you and you are right a shoulder length cut is so much easier to deal with over long hair… I am going a little shorter this week myself xox
Author
Oh wow! You know the struggle then, ha ha! I think if I dyed my whole hair, it would take the same amount of time as you! When you say you had a little trouble one time, did you mean before on the older layout or some trouble on the new one? Can’t wait to see your shorter hairstyle too!
Your hair cut and colour looks awesome! That is a really nice natural looking blonde on you 🙂
I like the new blog layout too! Lots of changes for you this year 🙂
Away From The Blue Blog
Author
Thank you so much, really glad you like it all!
The new hair looks great and I am loving the new layout! I love how it has been simplified! Less is more!
Author
Thank you so much!
Your hair looks gorgeous –Hanna Lei
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Thank you!
You look fab, I love your hair!!!
Kisses, Paola.
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Thank you!
Wow! Amazing! xoxo
Kisses, Paola
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Thanks!
Oh wow. You look great! So beautiful hair and I love your blogs layout. Thank you for your kind comment in my blog. Without it I wouldnt find my way here 😉
Author
Thank you so much 🙂
Love the new do’! I actually just cut my recently as well. I want mine to be more like yours instead of layered. Inspiration for next time. Love the new streamlined look!
http://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Author
Thank you! Yeah I wasn’t sure about layers but as mine is so thick and puffy, it’s best to keep it long lengths so it doesn’t spring up!
This all sounds so exciting, Lorna, and Im loving the new hair! I got my hair choppd of after about 4 years of having long hair and it was such a delightful experience. I’m loving the layout of the blog, too!
May | http://WWW.THEMAYDEN.COM
Author
Thank you so much!
Lorna I love your dramatic new haircut and colour! It’s very flattering, and you look ultra-chic and sophisticated. I’m also loving the blog re-design. It looked great before as well, but is really clean and stylised now, and everything is clearly visible and click-able! Well done for making these changes and being adventurous!
Saba xx
http://www.trulymadlydeeplyfashion.blogspot.com
Author
Thank you so much, Saba! That means a lot to me as I always appreciate your comments on my blog! So glad you like my hair and the layout!
You’re so welcome Lorna! Keep up the good work!
xx
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Thanks!
You look amazing with your new haircut and color, it’s so classy and chic! 😀
xxx
S
http://s-fashion-avenue.blogspot.it
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Thank you so much! 🙂
Love the new change and you look so beautiful.
http://missymayification.blogspot.co.uk
Author
Thank you so much!