It's All About the Cut and Color

This week I'm going to color my hair. I've been coloring my own hair for about 20 years now. I first did it when I was in my early 20s because I wanted to lighten my dark brown hair. I color my hair now because it's going gray and it sucks. I totally expected to start going gray at some point but not as early as my mid-30s. I have also noticed over the last few years that my eyebrows are going gray as well. WTF?

Women are very attached to their hair. A great haircut can make you feel beautiful (that is until you try to replicate the salon style the next day). A bad one can make you feel like a troll that needs to hide under a bridge until it grows out. And we've all had our share of bad ones and they can go back, way back, to pre-teen times (or earlier) and scar you for life.

I hardly had any hair until I was almost five years old. Woman in the 70s who had the fashionable pixie cut had more hair that I did at the time. My friend's 14 month old daughter has more hair than I did at five. Eventually it did grown to be dark brown and straight. And, of course, when a woman has straight hair she wants it curly and vice verse.

When I was 11 or 12 I got my first perm to make my straight hair curly. My mother took me to the hair salon in JCPennys and I came home looking like Bozo the Clown (except it wasn't bright red and I still had hair on the top). I wanted to wash my hair immediately but my mother wouldn't let me (she paid good money for that perm - even if she admitted it was a bad perm) so I wore a hat to bed at night in an attempt to flatten it down (it didn't work). I was mortified.

I have always had bangs. And on occasion I have cut them myself. I have gotten much better at it but I have proof in the form of school photos that it's taken me a long time to get better at this skill and I'm still not great at it. And I usually just fess up to it every time I get my hair cut (I figure the person cutting my hair can tell so I might as well be honest). I don't recomment cutting your own hair (like giving yourself layers). Chances are you'll end up looking like your 7 year old niece snuck up on you while you were taking nap.

Over the years the length of my hair has also changed. It usually is at a medium length (rest at or slightly above my shoulders) but every so often I get the urge to cut it pretty short (but never pixie short - that look really on works on tall, thin woman like on America's Next Top Model). In college I didn't have a lot of money so I never got my hair cut. By the time I graduated it was the longest it had every been, halfway down my back. It was perfectly straight and, as it was the early 90s, I decided to get a spiral perm to give me lots and lots of curls. It was quite an ordeal and cost over $100 but it was worth it. I looked good. Of course about 9 mouths later it grew out and wasn't as curly so I cut it off to above my shoulder.

The last perm I had was a home perm done 6 or 7 years ago. It didn't really take. I probably won't ever get a perm again.

But I have learned some things over the years about coloring my hair and now I will share my wisdom.

1. If you have brown or black hair and you want to go blond, go to a professional. None of the boxes will do it for you so don't even try. Also, if you want to look like a natural redhead, do the same.
2. Stay away from weird color names. Stick with dark, medium or a light. Don't be tempted by colors that have the words golden, auburn, ash, reddish or chestnut in them. I know from personal experience that these will give your hair an unnatural color highlights to them (like mauve and purple).
3. The box usually suggests you test the color on a hair sample. I recommend you do this.
4. Follow the instructions. Don't keep the color on longer than recommended.
5. Wear a t-shirt that you don't mind destroying. This is a messy job and it's going to drip.
6. Pay close attention to the distribution of the dye (have a friend help you if neccessary). If you have thinning hair you might want to use more on top than at the bottom.
7. You might want to color your hair right before you get a haircut. Depending on the product, it might dry out the ends of your hair. Dye your hair, then get a hair cut to get ride of dry, split ends.
8. Finally be aware that the color will eventually go away and fade. If you make a drastic change in your color you will have roots showing eveutally. If you like your new color, stick with it. If you didn't, try another color or choose a color that is as similar to your natural color and then you won't have to worry about roots.

May all you ladies out there find the cut and color that makes you feel beautiful!