AFTER starting college in 2017, student Shannon Standage couldn’t wait to start dying her long brown locks different shades like the rest of her friends.
But a year of chameleon colours, aided by lots of chemicals, took a heavy toll on hair that she has already straightened daily for four years.
One drastic colour change turned out to be a step too far, resulting in clumps of hair falling out.
Shannon, 23, a student from Upminster, Essex, who is married to record store worker George, 22, says: “I loved experimenting with my hair – it was out of boredom really.
“I tried so many different colours, and it made me feel like a new person, and exciting.
“Then in December 2018, I attempted to dye my hair at home, taking my already damaged hair from black to blonde to lilac.
“When I came to rinse off the bleach, fistfuls of hair started to fall out. I started to panic.
“I convinced myself the conditioner from the purple dye would help. But as soon as I’d applied it, I knew I’d made a wrong move.”
Shannon was left with bright purple hair that was like straw.
“I was devastated and cried for six hours non-stop. I had no idea this could happen,” she says.
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“It looked how Kim Kardashian’s hair looks now – so dry and brittle.
“I was so embarrassed to leave the house over the next few weeks. Even going to work made me miserable, there was nothing I could do except tie up my hair, in the hopes the damage wouldn’t be too noticeable.
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“My self-confidence hit rock bottom, and I would make myself small in social situations so no one would notice.”
In January 2019, Shannon visited a hairdresser and told them to dye it her natural light brown colour and crop it to a pixie cut.
She had regular trims to snip off the still damaged ends and swore off straighteners and dyes too.
“I’ve embraced the curls I last saw when I was a child,” she says.
“To my younger self, I’d say definitely go to a proper stylist and never overdo or over bleach, no matter how bored you are of your hair.”
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