Hamburg  - The blonde hair tones seen on many heads could not possibly be attributed to nature. And it's clear that a number of Hollywood stars are helped along, so that their hair shines in white or peroxide blonde.

Blonde hair has always been considered especially attractive. Since supermodel Agyness Deyn brought the short platinum blonde haircut to the catwalk, the hair colour that keeps coming back into style is back again in entirely new looks.

Unfortunately, the glamour factor cannot always be achieved. Instead of platinum blonde, the hair comes out bright orange, or instead of sunshine gold, the hair turns the colour of egg yolk.

Eye colour, the natural colour of the hair and complexion have to be considered, of course, when selecting the right hair colour, said hair stylist Sandra Kahl of Hamburg. Generally, blue-eyed women with fair complexions look better with hair that has cool and silver blonde nuances, while women with dark eyes look better in warm tones.

"The best way to test is to put a sample of the hair colour on the forehead and look what happens to the eyes and how the complexion changes," said Manjana Dietrich, a colour expert and member of the creative team at Schwarzkopf, a hair care products maker in Hamburg. The inside of the lower arm is the best place to identify natural skin tone.

"If the skin there shimmers in rose or has a bluish tone, you shouldn't choose cool blonde nuances," said hair stylist Martina Acht of Offenbach, Germany. Experts recommend highlights as a way to ease into going blonde. "They usually look very natural, especially if various colour nuances are chosen," said Acht.

Women whose hair and skin tones are cool may choose a warmer hair dye colour. Various blonde tones usually create a style that looks "sun-kissed - like a natural beach blonde," said Acht. This look will again be hot this year.

Testing the colour is recommended. This shows the effect of the colour on your hair, said Marga Abromeit, a hair stylist in a small town near Dortmund and a member of a German hair dresser association. And it can be done without a mishap.

"If you have highlights over and over again, your hair will gradually get blonder because the stylist can't always pull out the same strands of hair to colour," said Brigitte Sager, an instructor at L'Oreal in Dusseldorf. When colouring all the hair, Sager said the style should "never take on too much," meaning a maximum of three to four nuances lighter.

It's not that easy, however, to get the proportion right, especially when doing it yourself. Women often judge their hair colour incorrectly.

"When you buy hair dye yourself in the drug store, you can't expect to look like the woman on the package after applying the colour. That's not usually what comes out," said Kahl. "The effect of the colour also depends on the shape of the face, and that's usually different than the one on the package. It's also important to understand that when getting the hair coloured, the dye will not work on hair that has been coloured.

"If the hair has previously been dyed, the tone will stay as it is," said Sager.

It can be worthwhile to have a stylist do the job and to get advice. Acht advises finding a stylist who has blonde hair herself. She'll be able to put herself in the customer's shoes. Acht even gives her customers a tube of colour to cover the roots so that she doesn't have to return so soon to the beauty salon. But in her experience, most return. And the ones who try to colour their hair themselves, often go to a stylist after making a mess of their hair.

The job is not finished, however, after finding the right colour. The right cut also must be found.

Acht said in her opinion, platinum hair must be cut in a sporty style. For all other cuts, the ends must be trimmed regularly because they suffer the most from the chemicals in the hair. Aside from that, all women who dye their hair blonde must remember to take good care of it.

There are sprays that provide a softer alternative to highlights and hair dye. Kahl warned, however, that it can look spotty and it will continue working, if it's not washed out fully. Aside from the undesirable colour, it also can damage the hair, she said. (dpa)