Hairspiration.

I'm b.o.r.e.d with my hair and itching for a colour change. Here are my favourite 'dos of the moment, one or more of which will likely end up being shown to my colourist as "the sort of thing I'm after." 

Just as soon as I find one to whom I care to entrust my locks in London, that is. 

Dip-dye: Not just for Gwen Stefani's wedding dress 

If you haven't been living under a big rock of late, you'll know that extreme dip-dyed hair is, like, so hot right now. Looking at some of these gorgeous examples, it's not difficult to see why... 

{Abbey Lee Kershaw photographed by Max Doyle for Vogue Australia}

{via here, original source unknown}

{source: Bleach}

There are loads of guides for DIYing tipped/bleachenders/dip-dyed/tie-dyed hair doing the rounds both in traditional media and online, but even I and my ah-sure-have-a-go attitude to beauty would strongly advise going to a professional for this one. All but the very lightest blonde hair will need to be lifted with heavy-duty bleach before your colour(s) of choice will take, and you're just asking for your ends to turn to straw and snap off by going the at home route. 

If you're in or planning a trip to London and looking for a proper hair dying mecca to get your dip-dye done, Bleach now have a concession in the basement in Topshop Oxford Circus that's easier to get to than their permanent home in Dalston.

In terms of colours, I'd steer clear of green (looks like you blew your nose in your hair), yellow (regardless of what Lady Gaga thinks), and dying the ends much darker than the rest of your hair (gives an attractive, just fell head first into a coal bucket effec- oh hai, Drew!) 

{exhibits a, b, and c - the prosecution rests, y'honour}

Howdy, ombré...

Ombré hair hasn't gone away, you know, and it's a more natural take on the two-tone trend that's subtly fashionable rather than all out festival fab. The ombré look is a graduated effect that gets progressively lighter from mid-lengths to ends but lacks any harsh demarcation between layers of colour. It may be tamer than the Rainbow Brite dye jobs featured above, but it's still capable of looking striking when done right...

{Mel C by Big Pictures via Glamour}

{Olivia Palermo via Look}

{Rachel Bilson via Pinterest, original source unknown}

{Drew gets it right, looks gorgeous via Look}

If you're already some class of blonde and fancy trying to get your ombré on at home, you could try spritzing John Frieda's new Go Blonder Lightening Spray through damp ends to achieve the effect. The fact that it's a progressive lightener makes it perfect for the job: with each subsequent use, simply shift your attention a little further along the hair shaft towards the tips.

Now before you rush off to buy barrels of the stuff, a small caveat. I tried this on my light brown hair since the label - and the John Frieda website - implies that it's suitable for hair up to and including light brown. The phrasing they actually use is "NOT SUITABLE FOR USE ON MEDIUM BROWN OR DARKER SHADES OF HAIR", which suggested to me that those with light brown hair could happily fire away. While it did lighten the hair that I treated in a subtle, non-brassy way, it also left me with candyfloss textured ends.

Brown-haired buyers beware.

Are you a fan of either of these styles, or do you reckon any class of dip-dye or ombré is a hair don't?