How to tell hair dresser the colour I want? & what is the process of this hair colour

Hi amelia95, that's really a conversation you need to have with the hairdresser regarding the process as each hairdresser has different methods and different brands of colour can have different end results. It's always similar but the in-between stage (If you need one) is important to discuss with them. My experience when I had a drastic hair colour change, was when I went from dark brown (almost black) that previously had purple hair and over four/five sessions I went to a lighter ash brown, my hair is really long so I took breaks in between bleaching to avoid hair damage and I enjoyed the copper stage so I kept that hair colour for 2 months before I decided to proceed with lightening/ashing my hair.

Just be honest about past colours used, and any home jobs done so they can adjust the colour to combat any undertones. Your current colour will impact the process too, for example, if it's dark you will need to go through a warm phase and might need to strip your hair or use clarifying shampoo to help lift the colour if there is a lot of build up (I used Paul Mitchell's clarifying shampoo III).
Again, it depends on your hair colour now and previous colours used, I'd go in expecting a warm phase regardless so it is important to discuss how you can still walk out happy while you work towards that level of ash.

You approach it just how you have done here, take in the pic and ask him/her. Some salons do free/low cost colour consultations maybe call a few and ask. Be prepared to accept their suggestions as they are seeing and feeling your hair for condition and the good ones will tell you honestly if it suits your skin tone. Everyone seems to love the look of ashy hair in pictures but it can wash out warmer complexions and make them look sick. Also if you have naturally warm tones in your hair (shine a torch right though a few strands and see what the base colour is) then ashy tones are hard to maintain as they will keep pulling through red/orange/yellow so maintaining with a good toning shampoo will be a must. I am sure you will get told that though once you are in the chair. Good luck and post us your before and after pics if you are game, the colour you chose it is really pretty!

Please PLEASE go to a good/reputable hair salon - search up reviews on them beforehand.

I went to a salon with an almost identical picture and my hair turned out bright orange/yellow because they didn't know what the heck ombre/balayge was (basically bleached in a straight line and didn't blend it with the black hair), neither did they have ANY purple shampoo/toner in their salon. I don't know how they still run a business. Also, my hair almost caught on fire when they were blow drying it. I left the salon in tears for hours and tied my hair up in a bun right after I left, out of embarrassment because it looked so horrible.

My advice is please choose your salon wisely!

I echo everyone's advice by taking in a picture with you before the consultation. I did that with my own hairdresser when I went down the balayage road & whilst it didn't turn out quite like the photo I had, the colour I got was pretty close (although it took a while for me to get used to it because my ends were so dark beforehand). I haven't had it done again because the bleach fried my ends and I wasn't happy with a few bits that went blonde from over-processing, but even with a darker colour put over it I've got it to a nice shade that I want to have all over now.

I also advise going to a reputable salon, or making sure you can trust your current hairdresser with the task. The last thing you want is for someone to mess up your tresses with a bad dye job!

I don't colour my hair but when it comes to colour choosing I always think of those paint palettes you get from Bunnings ( eg Dulux) in the paint section so maybe look at the colours there and take it with you if it matches well !

It is a colour melt but you need to keep in mind that your very very dark hair will be absolutely razzed if they attempt to do it in one go. It will take hours as in 8 or 9 hours.

Is your hair naturally black? Have you coloured it before?

Have you had your hair done yet amelia95? I am going tomorrow and have some photos on my phone ready to show the hairdresser, a little nervous too tbh! My last couple experiences with a different hairdresser "oh darling you can't achieve that colour" and I walk out with something completely different to what I thought in my head haha! I have dark brown hair and want to go balayage blonde so fingers crossed!