Here's how i look

Red hair runs in my family but, sadly, I didn't get the gene. While my sister's hair was a beautiful Titian red growing up, mine was the same mousy brown as my parents – and the hair envy didn't stop there...

From Ariel’s postbox red mane to Britney’s scarlet shade in the video for "Toxic" and even the fictional Jolene with her "flaming locks of auburn hair," the color has always inspired me.

A quick scroll through Instagram and Pinterest serves up hundreds of thousands of red hair trends, from fire tips (a red meets orange dip-dye) to mulled wine and pumpkin spice hair. So I decided to bite the bullet and get my hair dyed professionally. I chose Shout Hair in London's Streatham, a cool, rustic salon with a price list that won't break the bank.

I wanted to start out slowly to see how I'd feel about the drastic change, so we settled on a vibrant auburn at first. Two subsequent visits to the salon have taken me to a much brighter shade that reminds me of red velvet cake, another autumn/winter hair trend taking over Pinterest.

Contrary to popular belief, the dyeing process was actually quite simple. Because of the existing balayage in my hair, the tips are a much brighter, fiery red than the top two-thirds of my hair, which was virgin quality (hadn’t been dyed at all). As a result, dyeing the entirety of my head was fairly easy and didn’t involve any further bleaching, which can put a lot of people off.

On my first visit, it only took around 45 minutes and one attempt to get my hair to a shade of red that we both loved. This is mainly because my hair was mostly untouched, so chat with your hairdresser beforehand about what to expect.

I was worried that the darker hue would highlight my pink skin but it’s actually incredibly flattering on fairer skin tones. But consultation is so important. My stylist showed me which shades would look best with my complexion, and she was totally right. It pays to trust the pros.