A LITTLE ABOUT NOTHING

I just read my daughter-in-law's blog about her adventure/misadventure with coloring her hair and while I was laughing, I couldn't help but recall all the misadventures I've had over the years.

The first time I colored my hair, I was about 23 and my hair stylist talked me into going darker. My hair was naturally ashy brown...fine and fly-away that could only be tamed by lots of teasing and hair-spray. When she finished, it was a medium brown. Not too different from my own hair in color...but ohhhh, the texture! The dye had tamed my untamable hair! I could put it back in my ususal style, a french twist, and it would stay all day with just a bare whfffff of spray. And nobody noticed. So, the the next time, a few months later, I went darker. This time a beautiful, rich mahogany color. And everybody noticed.

A few months later, my cousin with whom the kids and I shared a house, came home with a bottle of Clairol. She wanted her auburn hair the same shade as mine. So, we did it. And since there was some mixture left over, we put it on my hair. OHHHHHH big mistake! First, I did Avanelle's hair in rollers and put the dryer on her head while I rolled mine. When it was my turn for the dryer, Avanelle sat on the floor in front of me while I combed and styled her hair. It was beautiful! The dark brown brought out the auburn tint even more. I could hardly wait to see mine! When my hair was dry, Avanelle styled it and kept saying things like...you look so good with dark hair...dark hair makes your complexion look so creamy....I was on pins and needles waiting to go to the bathroom mirror to see it for myself. And I'm sure they heard my scream all the way to Ann Arbor! It wasn't the gorgeous dark auburn of Avanelle's...but BLACK!
With my pale skin, I looked like a dead person! The bad thing was, I had to live with it. Back then...I don't know about today...we had to wait several months between colorings because the chemicals could seriously damage your hair. So, what I did for the next three months was use Avanelles make-up. It was much darker and redder than what I had been using...and I had to cover everything with the base...face and throat.

I managed to wait three months...instead of the recommended six..and had my hair stylist redo the color...against her better judgement, I might add. The best I can say about that is it's a good thing it was March. People thought I had dyed my hair green on purpose! At my next hair appointment, Janine, the stylist said she had a gift for me and gave me a gorgeous brown wig! For six months whenever I left the house, that wig was on my head!

When the six months waiting period was up, my girlfriend Carol, offered to do my hair. She had trained as a hair-stylist but after working a few months in a salon, decided she didn't like the job after all. Anyway, she bought a light brown/ash blonde color kit and proceeded to do my hair.
That was how I became a blonde for over 20 years! Evidently, she left it processing too long...and my hair came out a lovely strawberry blonde and I loved it! With my coloring, it was not only looked very natural but enhanced my coloring. Who knew that I was really born a blonde..with light brown hair.