Monday, December 8, 2008

Time for a change

I have decided to stop coloring my hair and go "au natural". This has become an adventure as I am not really sure what color my hair is supposed to be. I have been coloring it since I was about 16. I LOVED me as a strawberry blond so (mostly) I have been blond for about 40 years. I looked closely at my roots, looked at my niece's hair and finally decided on a shade of brown that should closely mimic my own.

Yesterday, I dyed my hair "Acorn" brown. I started with the roots, smooshed it through my hair and waited out my 35 minutes. I jumped into the shower, rinsed and conditioned and then I pulled out my hair dryer. At first I wasn't looking too closely but then I saw patches of a blondish color. By the time I finished drying my hair, I resembled a leopard. Clutching my chest in a panic I remembered that a drug store is close by. I pulled on a hat and zipped across the highway. They didn't have any "Acorn" but they did have "Truffle". Close enough. I decided to wait 18 hours before re-coloring which I did this morning.
As I was exiting the shower, I was offering up supplications that the color was even, that not too much of my hair had fallen out, that I wouldn't look like an old hootchie mama. Then I stopped myself and said out loud "Don't be ridiculous!" I suddenly realized that there were lots more important things in this world than my hair and certainly people who are praying for heat, shelter and restored health. Praying for my hair color? I felt like an idiot!!

Next weekend I am having silver highlights added to my hair so that the "transformation" will be complete. Maybe I really AM an idiot!!

5 comments:

Jeanne said...

It'll take some getting used to, but later you'll be glad you changed. Easier and more "yourself." My mom is 84 and religiously has had her hair colored the same brown for decades. Not such a good thing any more ...
Jeanne :)

The Calico Quilter said...

In the end you'll love it. It is so freeing not to have to keep up with roots! Since your hair was already colored, a new shade may not take evenly and you might need to let a professional colorist have a whack at it. It might be that after years of color, you have to ease into it. Nothing is going to look "right" for a while!

Lighter hair is better as we -- ahem -- age. I'm mostly gray, so I grew out my color painlessly when my colorist used color remover to lift most of the brown, added an ash blond rinse and then streaked with a heavy hand. As it grew, the result was highlighted blond, then blond-ish, then grayish, and now just gray. If there is any gray, the highlights will ease the transition.

The Calico Cat said...

While I completely agree that heat, etc. is more important to pray for... The leopard comment made me giggle!

Kathy said...

Hi Suzan, Just browsing others who have same likes in their profiles...ours was the movie Shawshank Redemption, but anyway, we also have the common bond of hair coloring. I've been coloring mine since about the same age as you...I've been a redhead, mostly a blonde, a few times GREEN! Just lately I told my hairstylist to give me some lowlights. I don't know what happened but now I am even lighter than ever...good luck!!!

Unknown said...

I agree...you will be glad you did it. I was blond in you very young years..then it began to darker..especially with each pregnancy. So I began "frosting" it..as it was called then. Now I believe its called "highlighting". I "frosted" my hair for years. Then I noticed my roots were more white...I decided to let my hair grow out. What a nice surprise to find my new "natural" hair was just what I wanted. I guess it was because I was blonde at a young age. My siblings and my mother all had darker hair and were more "salt'n'pepper' in their later years. I seem to take after my paternal line...i.e. my father, grandmother, g-grandmother, etc. were blondes and white in later years. Good luck with your transition. Love, from (this year) a snowy Washington....stop by my Blog.