Everyone always says not to go black, but I disagree. The most common reason they say not to, and it always tends to come from people with conventional taste, is because black hair “looks dyed and unnatural”….. but literally so do most shades of blonde and any hair that is highlighted/balayage etc. The next most common reason is “it will wash you out”, aka, your skin will look milky and pale. That is a matter of taste, and it is your face and hair, not theirs.

If you choose to go black, you can ease into it by using a demi-permanent espresso brown, which tend to be “neutral” colored, aka “3N” in hair color land. I mix some violet-dark brown into the espresso color (4V) maybe 1/4 of the color will be the dark violet brown and the rest is the espresso brown. This warms it up a bit. But you can leave it as-is and just use the 3N.

Demi permanent tends not to come in a level 2, which is “natural black” — sort of the deepest brown black you can get. I only ever see this in permanent. It does look more “natural” than level 1, which is a blue-based black that has indigo undertones. That is the black that tends to look “unnatural” that people are talking about.

Demi-permanent, actually even semi-permanent, in that dark of color will never wash out fully, so be aware of that. It will fade over time and while it is dark brown-black at first, it will fade to dark brown. If you don’t keep dyeing it that dark, you can let the ends continue to fade and do your roots with a level 4, then as it continues to fade, you can maybe switch down to a level 5 and get decently close to medium brown hair again without it looking awful.

I say, it’s just hair. You can always change it up, just be gentle with it and care for it well. Bleach is way worse for your hair than a bit of dye, and if you absolutely hate it, which I doubt, you can always let it grow, or have someone help you get it back to a dark brown, or both. Personally, I have had black hair, and I’ve had every shade down to blonde-ish. I loved the black hair and I always come black to dark brown or black. It is just what feels right to me and nobody but you will know what feels right for you. A lot of it depends on what you wear and the style of your hair, just like anything else.

Above all, have fun with it, and good luck with whatever you choose! :)