Pastel pink at a fraction of the cost. Pic: Lucy Henrys

As we step into 2016, it seems the rainbow spectrum is replacing those classic chocolate browns, bleach blonde and brutal black shades. Essentially, pink is the new blonde when it comes to dying your hair.

Whether you’re suffering from a break-up and need a drastic image overhaul or whether you reckon you’re the next Rita Ora, changing your hair is the first port of call. From Tangerine Dream to Washed Up Mermaid, which shade will you choose and exactly where will you have it done?

Ask the A-Listers and they will say one thing: Bleach London. This is where stars such as Lily Allen spend up to £200 to change their hair colour. But does it really have to cost so much?

I decided to find out – with a DIY hair job.

Getting your colour fix at the exclusive Bleach London in Dalston is every east London girl’s dream. It’s the Willy Wonka candy shop of the hair world but it comes at a price. So, I ask, why spend hundreds of pounds to have someone throw chemicals all over your hair in a salon when you can put them on in your own bathroom for a fraction of the cost?

After spending £17.61 on the products and tools needed to turn me into a professional hair stylist – a mixing bowl, a tinting brush, some latex rubber gloves and Bleach London’s Super Cool Colour in Rose and Crazy Colour in the shade Candyfloss – I walk out of the store clutching my bag of goodies and feeling very smug with myself. Who needs Toni & Guy anyway?

I prep my bathroom floor with some old magazines and newspapers. The instructions on the bottles make it sound so easy: Wear rubber gloves. Apply the dye to clean, towel-dried hair. Leave for 15-30 minutes. Rinse.

Piece of cake, I think, as I step out the shower.

With no guidance on the quantity of hair dye that should be used, I guess and start mixing my hair potion. I tip half the bottle of each colour into the bowl and add a few drops of water to tone it down a little.

Gloves on. I’m ready. I dip my brush into the bowl and begin dragging streaks of pink through my hair. “Damn,” I whisper to myself. I’m looking in the mirror and suddenly I realise I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m not qualified for this.

There is more neon pink on one of my legs than there is in my hair. The colour looks hideously bright and I start to panic. I sit tight as the colour develops, wondering if the results will be masterful or monstrous.

I decide to err on the side of caution, leaving the hair dye in for the minimal recommended time before hopping back into the shower to rinse it out. I’d rather the shade be too light than too dark.

But, to my surprise, the water isn’t even coloured when I wash out the dye. Is my £5 budget hair dye really going to create the same long-lasting colour you get from a salon? Or had a simply just done something wrong?

I take a deep breath and dry my hair…and when I look back in the mirror, I can’t believe it: My hair is actually pink. Not even that, it’s a good shade of pink. I LOVE IT.

My inner princess is squealing with delight. I almost want to go back and dye the entire length of my hair. It looks great. I feel like I can conquer the world with just one sassy hair flip.

So there you have it – proof that any idiot can splash some colour onto their hair for a fiver when they want to mix it up a bit. At the end of the day it’s temporary, what the heck if you mess it up? It’s only hair, and it’ll wash out.

There’s only one question left to ask myself: which colour should I try next?