Something happens to your brain when you hit 40. Although generally positive (ie, feeling more empowered to say ‘no’ to ludicrous evening plans), it can also trigger feelings of transformation and change.

While we can look back with fondness on our slightly bemused  20s (who am I?) and 30s (what am I?), our 40s give us space to explore the people we have become without feeling the need to explain ourselves. It’s a quiet confidence. A knowing smile. And a sudden insatiable need to start pushing some serious style buttons.

And for me, this manifested itself in the decision to dye my hair pink. Not baby blush pink, but bright, bright pink. Pink enough to turn heads. Pink enough to have my friends DM me a “You OK, hun?” on Insta. I wanted to liberate myself from the mousy blonde everyday of my 30s and explore something completely new. 

Here’s what happened…

Let me start by saying that this isn’t the first time I’ve flirted with bright hair. When I was 19 and working in Tower Records, Toronto (the obligs late-90s gap year), I put pink streaks in my hair. It was around the time of Gwen Stefani’s pink-crimp/braces phase, and I was obsessed. 

After returning to the UK and going straight to university, I took the streaks one step further and dyed all my hair a shade of pillar box red. It became ‘my thing’. You could spot me in any uni social line-up because I stood out like a red sharpie. 

And, despite the red grubby collars and ruined towels (I believe my mother still has PTSD dating back to this phase), I continued this for a few years, the process of fade/re-dye worked into my schedule as regularly as my £1 vodka/mixer Thursdays. 

But in hindsight, I can see that I wasn’t 100% confident about my personal style at that point. I battled with body issues on a daily basis. The 00s tabloids were cruel to celebrities who weren’t stick thin with glowing skin. 

Arguably, I hid behind this red hair. It became a shield rather than a statement. As much as I thought I was brimming with confidence, looking back, I was really struggling to find my identity.

So, given my previous track record, the decision to dye my hair probably wasn’t that outrageous. I’d always had a penchant for the bolder side of fashion (music was always a massive influence and, yes, I’ve been everything from a nu-rave indie kid to a teenage goth), so this style evolution was more about revisiting familiar ground than breaking boundaries.

Plus, it’s also a lot easier these days to colour your hair, especially if, like me, you want to experiment with colour in the comfort of your own home rather than drop cash at a fancy salon. Brands like Schwarzkopf LIVE offer a variety of products in permanent to semi-permanent formulas to help you find the right look, and how long you want to rock it for. 

Realistically, dyeing my regular blonde hair using Schwarzkopf LIVE’s Shocking Pink at 40 felt more like treating myself to a luxurious fashion accessory rather than making some bold style statement.

There’s also a multitude of Schwarzkopf LIVE aftercare products (such as colour boosters) that you can use between dye sessions to maintain your shade – something I certainly didn’t have back in the day when dyeing my hair and every surrounding work surface, a furious bright red.

There’s also the flexibility to try other shades. Who knows? Perhaps Christmas will see me working an caramel-copper hue to complement the sequin catsuit I’ve been eyeing up for party season.

Stepping out with my fresh pink hair, I felt unbelievably confident. In fact, most of my nearest and dearest commented that they’d never seen me look so comfortable in my skin. 

Many remember my earlier Stefani-emulating experiments, and while there’s a certain amount of nostalgia attached to dyeing your hair a bright colour, I knew that this decision had been made purely for myself and no one else. My hair colour is no longer the brightest thing about me, and I feel so much happier now style-wise than ever before.

I’m now shopping for big, stand-out glasses to complete this new look. Rocking an Iris Apfel look isn’t as daunting when you have the witty quips and life anecdotes to back up such a strong style game.

I’m also starting to appreciate quality over quantity when it comes to fashion. Investment pieces and wardrobe staples were winning out over the ‘20% off until midnight’ online hauls. 

Plus, isn’t it great that bright hair is no longer regarded as ‘unprofessional’. Many women I know have taken the plunge and dyed their hair shades of lilac, peach and rose before hitting the boardroom. If anything, it’s now viewed as an expression of style, and I absolutely love that.

My advice is to anyone looking to switch things up: don’t wait. Feel confident in the person you are and you can be any colour you want to be…

Ready to embrace the home hair dye revolution? To discover the right Schwarzkopf LIVE shade for you, simply visit live colour.com