The Chop: After a lifetime of blonde hair, Abby decided it was time to get colourful.

Image: Supplied.

Pink hair has been my goal for about the last two and a bit years. I’ve been dying my hair blonde since I was eleven (hello, Sun In) but seven years on and it just wasn’t making the cut. Blonde was old. Blonde was boring.

So I tagged my stylists, Janelle and Dean, in an Instagram photo of the pink that I wanted in my hair, saying; “Let’s do this.” Their response? “Full head bleach.”

I’ve never been more terrified in my life.

Watch: Mia Freedman gets the ‘Sliding Doors’ chop. (Post continues after video.) 

I went into Temple Hair and Beauty in Torquay to meet with Janelle and Dean to talk about the process, and the little beauty “Elumen”  was mentioned. Basically, Elumen is a product that works to FIX your damaged hair while also colouring it.

We decided on a shade and got down to business.

Step one: Bleach and Tone.

The first part of the process was to ensure that Janelle had a ‘clean canvas’ to work with when applying the Elumen. We used a powder bleach and mixed it with Olaplex. The Olaplex was essential, as it ‘helps to reform the bonds during the lightening process,’ which means that my hair can stay happy. Yay!

They applied the bleach with foils so that there would be some ‘depth and variance’ in the colour, then followed with a purple bleach on the ends of my hair. After letting it process, my hair was washed and dried before a toner was added to ensure the right amount of variance in the base colour before continuing.

Check the step-by-step process to get my pink goin’ on. (Post continues after gallery.)

Step two: Enter Elumen.

Once we had our base spot on, Janelle and I had a really in-depth chat about the kind of look I was hoping to achieve. Janelle mixed up the colour for me using the Elumen products and then it was back to the basin to prepare my hair for the application. Once my hair had all the necessary products we towel dried it and went back to the chair, where Janelle started to apply the pink.

When I asked her about the Elumen, she told me that it has 76 per cent more intensity compared to an ‘oxidative permanent colour’ which is basically a tint that will open the pores of your hair and do significant damage. With Elumen, the colour lasts a lot longer because it won’t ‘oxidate with the sun and the oxygen in the air’ meaning that it’s ‘not going to fade.’

I must admit, I started freaking out a bit at this stage. The Elumen was BRIGHT pink, not the pastel I had requested. But Janelle assured me that the colour would not wash out at the same intensity because of the prep work we had done before hand.

Once the Elumen had processed for 30 minutes it was back to the basin.

Step 3: Lock.

At the basin, we washed the Elumen off and then applied a product called 'Lock' which will ensure that the colour stays in place for a long time to come. Janelle then applied some more Olaplex and let it sit for 10 minutes so I could enjoy the nourishing benefits after having all the colour bleached out of my hair. I felt like Kim Kardashian and believe me, it was good.

The result: Ashy, pastelly, pinky goodness.

I came out of the salon feeling a million bucks and walked into the office next day STILL feeling a million bucks. Pink hair has turned my life around.

As a bonus, I can now say that I own my own little bottle of Olaplex. I'm totally a celeb, guys.

The nitty gritty:

Down time: Five Hours.

Cost: Approx $300 + depending on the salon

Is it worth it? YES!

Would you ever go for bright pink hair?