This summer! If it hasn’t been weekly trips to the vet with sick dogs (who still aren’t completely better) is been me inside admiring how soft my hair is but wearing a hat when I go out because the dye just didn’t work, again.
I rarely dye my hair, like almost never. I had highlights a few times in my teens at my Nana’s hair salon and once in my thirties. Jann Arden’s line, “I like the colour of my hair” from her iconic “Good Mother” song always hits home. I do love the colour of my hair, especially with the bits of grey coming in. Or a least I did.
Back in May, on a whim, I bought a box in the grocery store. It was in a sort of bucket (like ice cream! fun!), free of all the bad stuff it said with a cute coffee name for the brown colour. Why not, it’s summer! I went home, did it, so easy! But huh, it went a little red.
I forgot about it, no one noticed. Brown was growing back which I like more, so I chose a darker brown. Nope, shouldn’t have done that. The red/orange sucked it right up and my hair was black. I’ll be brave and share with you now. 🙂
It looks better here than it did. It was soooo black. So I thought, I’ll suck it up and go the hairdressers to have it fixed. But then, after much obsessing (while feeling so guilty because there are WAY, WAY worse problems you selfish person) I realized the only way to fix it was to bleach it. Gulp. No way, too dangerous and too expensive.
So I spent $24 on Color Oops which I’d researched online. Up until then, I’d only spent $12.99 per box. See result below while imagining the stench of rotten eggs.
Ok, not awful but still didn’t feel right. I tried to ignore it for two weeks until we went to Port Dover and in the public washroom, while washing my hands, I looked up and saw Carrot Top in the mirror. How had my family let me out like this!? But also, there are WAY worse things to worry about. At least my hair hadn’t fallen out, and it was, like I said, very soft.
So skip to yesterday. I gave in to my vain perimenopausal craziness and went to the salon. It was half as expensive as I thought it would be and it was lovely. There was a dog and they gave me chips to eat while I read! Bliss!
Who is the shiny person? Snow White? Olive Oyl? Like I said, it’s very soft.
So, whatever. I have great hats. The orange, once again soaked it all up even though the dye was brown, not black. The hairdresser, who is lovely, said it’s definitely going to fade with a few washes. And it’s awful but also fine.
What a silly few weeks. The worries we have about the silly things that distract us from awful things in the world? It’s easier to worry and hair and how awful Belly is in The Summer I Turned Pretty for a few days for a break from it all? Is that how our brains work and it is even ok? My brain isn’t great at the best times these days. The other day I was trying to tell my friend about the headache I’d had the night before but I couldn’t think of the word. “I had a hamburger” I said. Nope, I shook my head. “A hotdog.” Nope, now tears were coming because trying for the word was almost painful. “A headache.” Whew. Thank God for Catherine Newman books at this time to let us know we are not alone with our perimenopause days. And for books in general, to read while running our fingers through our soft hair, excited to see the first strands of beautiful gray return.
Pink Fish Reads 