Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Hair Secrets

My hair, as you've probably noticed, is brown. It's always been brown. It's not black, as so many deluded people seem to believe, and it's made up of a single shade (no natural highlights.) In fact, the closest I've ever come to dying it was the unfortunate year or so when my nine-year-old self found excitement in dragging several goopy hair mascara wands over my poor locks. (Remember that stuff? Ughh!)

Anyway, I've been harboring a semi-secret. You see, I've always had a bit of a desire to dye my hair some unnatural color. I'm terrified of bleaching it, which is probably why I've never done it. I know that my hair wouldn't stay bleached, since I would dye it afterward, but the idea of being blond for even a moment freaks me out. Not to mention it's supposed to be pretty damaging to your hair. So yes, I'm a hair-dying wimp. I have no problem letting a hair stylist hack off all my hair into a pixie, but the instant the bleach bottle comes out, I'm shaking in my boots. Call me crazy.

The result of this irrational fear is a resolution to dye my hair "some day." When I announced my intention to a classmate recently, I believe the response was something along the lines of, "You want to dye your hair? Like a punk?" accompanied by a grimace.

Which made me think about how lately I've been noticing unnatural hair colors becoming more mainstream.

Photo credits (starting at top from left to right): Numero via R.O.F.Y., Style Scout, ElleGirl's The New It Girls, Anna Sui Spring 2008, source no longer available, Samantha from Sex & the City (okay, it's a wig, not dye...but doesn't she look amazing?), Miss Gala, Teen Vogue's Love Song, Anna Sui Spring 2008, Facehunter, The Sartorialist

I don't mean that I expect it to be showing up everywhere sometime soon, but I do mean that it seems to be a bit more popular with the fashion crowd. It's no longer just for "punks" - as my classmate put it - but for the kind of people who appear in teen fashion glossies and get snapped by the Sartorialist. And let's face it- that's a pretty elite crowd. The Sart definitely has a taste for impeccable, well-tailored, why-yes-I-am-a-fashion-editor styles.

So will I be dying my hair anytime soon? Probably not. But it's something to think about.

Oh, and you wanna hear another hair secret? I absolutely adore dreadlocks. . .

12 comments:

K. Inez said...

It sounds to me like your classmate is just woefully naive on the subject. Do it, lady! If you hate it you can always dye it back.

Seriously. Don't be scared. :) There will be *plenty* of time for that when you're old.

Anonymous said...

Katie Shillingford, the blue haired girl snapped by the Sart changes her hair colour practically every week, doing both natural and unnatural colours... she looks amazing and I think you will too! Go for it!

bloggirl said...

I think your hair would look pretty darn cool with an "unnatural" color! Although, your hair is pretty as is. I am a natural blonde, but my hair had gotten kinda dark, so i got highlights. I wait AGES before I get it redone cuz it's kind of expensive. lol.PLEASE JUST DON'T BLEACH YOUR HAIR. YOU'D REGRET IT, I PROMISE! EEK!

Retrodiva said...

Do it and have fun! I have streaks of an unnatural red in my otherwise very, very, very dark brown hair, and I get TONS of compliments on it from women my own age! I should mention I' 35, and the mother of two who owns a children's shop. :) Have fun with your hair! If you absolutely hate it, you can always put it back, but I'm betting that you won't.

WendyB said...

It annoys me too when people call my dark brown hair black. That's inaccurate!

Brigitte Plouffe said...

i think you should just do whatever you want! as long as you keep your hair well conditionned, your hair should be fine. so go for it!,

Anonymous said...

Coincidentally, I just dyed my hair over the weekend for the first time. My hair was a mousy brown and it's a dark brown now. I'm quite happy with it--You should bit the bullet and dye it. It'd be lovelyy. . .

Unknown said...

DARE YOU TO BE DIFFERENT! AWESOME POST.

;)

Anonymous said...

Dreadlocks are awesome, I really want it!

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

I have the strongest urge to dye my hair blue lately. I have been really seriously debating over it..

Ariel said...

I would suggest you bleaching your hair a lighter shade of brown and then dying some unnatural color over it, just to sorta transition.

This site: www.amphigory.com/special_effects_hairdye.html has tons of pictures and how they got to that color.

joshly said...

It sounds to me like your classmate is just woefully naive on the subject.