a promise fulfilled

[aryanhwy]

One of my first acts of teenage rebellion when I moved out to college was to dye my hair. I'd wanted to do it in high school, but my mom refused on the grounds it was "unnatural". (NB: My sister was allowed to perm her hair. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.)

I conscripted the help of my friend Phil, and he came over armed with rubber gloves, bleach, and purple. We were unsystematic about the bleaching -- Phil basically dipped his hands into it and then finger combed my hair, leaving random streaks through it.

I wanted a bright purple, but it turned out more of a magenta, which soonish faded to various types of pink. It wasn't what I planned, but it was pretty awesome (and I still love that leleth_faery once told me that this song always made her think of me, because of the line "the color of your hair is the color of love"). But I decided then that some day, when I wasn't a student, when I was grown up, when I had a steady job, and I didn't have to worry about appearances, I was going to do it correctly, a real purple, that didn't fade to pink, that really stayed. (I was ambivalent about whether I would bleach it first in order to ensure that I got a true, bright purple.)

Well, last year, I got that job. And I started thinking about the promise I'd made myself, toying with the idea. Sadly, Joel wasn't entirely keen, especially because if I DID bleach it, the likelihood that I would in the next couple of years then cut my hair would increase quite a bit, and he's not keen when I cut my hair. But...this is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Eventually summer came to a close, and I realized, if I was going to do it, I needed to do it BEFORE classes started, so that when I show up the first day, this is how/who I am. So I made plans with a friend and today Sy came over, and this is the result:



I am very, very happy.

(Joel is not as displeased as he expected to be. He said "In certain lights, your hair just looks like it used to look." I.e., not so grey. :) )

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Gorgeous! And fabulous. Will you maintain it, or let it return to normal? --Bunny

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

I'll decide when I need to. :) It depends a lot on how resigned Joel gets to it. I did promise him that rather than letting it simply grow out and be two-toned, when the time came that the roots were too visible I'd re-dye back to normal color. But if he's OK with the purple, I might continue it. Because I really love it.

[m-nivalis.livejournal.com]

You look great!

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[herveus.livejournal.com]

Sweet!

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

:)

[(Anonymous)]

Oh dear, the conclusion I have to draw is that I am somewhat like your mother!! My hair goes from naturally curly to naturally straight, the ends are a bit lighter brown than the roots but i haven't gone naturally purple...
I tried dying once or twice, ended up with a colourful bathroom and stained hands but no noticeable difference in hair colour. Gave up on that. Now I'm on naturally grey barb wire sprinkled in between fading waves.
Valery

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

This time (unlike the last time I went purple), we managed not to stain the bathroom. :)

I'm really impressed I was able to get such a true purple over my dark hair -- I guess hair dye has come along way since my uni days!

[rfrancis]

Emma dyed both our daughters' hair. We are all the product of our preceding generations, I guess, one way or another. I never got beat with a switch, so I'm sure my parents also did the "well I'm not going to do what THEY did!" themselves...

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Makes me curious to see how my grandkids get raised!

[wanderingpixie.livejournal.com]

I've wanted to do blue since college but am nervous about abusing my hair. My current hair guy says he can't get a color I'd be happy with :( But there's a newish coloring salon with awesome pictures of what they do. Once A gets her "done training / real" job, I'm planning to visit there and finally take the plunge :)

Yours looks great, btw!!!

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

My hair is not that great to start with, so I was willing to abuse it some, but not too much. (In fact, a day later, I'm actually surprised at how soft my hair feels, compared to its normal, and this is taking into account that I didn't remember to use the supplied conditioner after rinsing out the dye). This was Schwarzkopf Live Color XXl color no. 87 "Mystic Violet", with no pre-treatment. I'm really, really happy with it.