No tags yet.
Every once in a while people ask me about my hair. It is extremely thick, bone straight, and at the moment it is green. The thickness and straightness of my hair are thanks to my Native American heritage, and the green color is thanks to talented hair artists that gently and lovingly lighten and color my strands. Before Charlie was born my hair was much much longer and was black with dark blue woven throughout. Before that, my hair was brown and ombre'd into bright yellow. I have had short punky hair with pink and purple chunks all over the place, and I have had long dark brown hair with white gray accents. Bright or interesting colors are nothing new to me, however, I have never received so many compliments, comments, and concerns as I have now, with green hair.
The first time I went to Starbucks with my green hair the girl at the window recognized me (hey at least we aren't on a first name basis) and said that she loved my new hair. I went to the mall with my baby and while I was unloading the stroller and getting ready to strap her in an elderly woman walked by stopping to tell me that my hair was so pretty and bright, and that if she were younger she would do it too! People have decided that I need to know that they like this particular shade of green, which little do they know is constantly changing with every wash and touch up. People ask me how I wear my hair to work, or if I got in trouble when I dyed it. I wear it however I want, and no I didn't (although I did give everyone an FYI about it happening and waited a beat for any objections). If I have a meeting where I know I will be meeting an outside person for the first time I figure out an updo that draws attention away from my hair and I act like the professional person that I am.
More than a few people have stopped to make sure that I understand how fast the green will fade and how much maintanance it will need. Last week I picked the twins up from Ms. I's and I had eight little kids telling me that I looked like Disgust... luckily I realized that they were talking about the cute pixar character voiced by Mindy Kaling before I crumpled to the floor and cried, because kids' opinions matter more than adults'.
Kid opinions matter so much in fact, that my hair is green because Patience told me that she wished that I had green hair like Ariel's tail. Later, I was discussing this with a friend and it was pointed out that the tail was what Ariel was trying to get rid of the entire time, but I will dwell on that corrilation at another time.
So there is a little "hairstory" for you. Now lets talk about the mechanics of my hair as it is now.
My hair has been lightened from semi-perminant black, as well as my natural brown several times. Each time it was done hand painted and gently to minimize damage. It was a long, and somewhat costly process. Before having kids my hair lifted color like crazy, and now that has truly changed! I also chopped about six inches off after Charlie was born (which was awesome), and then lost my damn mind and had another two taken off. I did not include a photo of the Dora the Explorer look that I was rocking for a while. Word of advice, do not make major hair decisions six weeks post partum.
My hair is dyed using Pravana Chromasilk Vivids green mixed with the neon green since I like a bright vibrant green rather than a darker shade. I did just purchase the Pravana Color Protect shampoo and conditioner to see how it would effect fading. I haven't used it yet though.
I have just been using my trusty OGX Macadamia Oil shampoo and conditioner . I always go back to it no matter what other products I try. It smells nice and I feel like it really hydrates my hair without making it heavy, and lets face it, after so much color treatment my hair is thirsty. When my hair is faded the point that it bothers me I take some of the dye, mix it with my conditioner (wearing rubber gloves) and slather my hair like I normally would. Ok, well maybe not exactly like normal. I have to be very careful not to dye myself green and my shower ends up looking like The Hulk threw up everywhere.
Going back to fading, since that is the topic that I receive the most two cents about... it is usually caused by washing hair and spending a lot of time in the sun. I know that there are other causes as well, but those are the two that come up often. Let me assure everyone, I am a busy bitch and only wash my hair when it is absolutely necessary. Yeah, I am gross. I rock four day hair on the regular. I also do not spend a whole lot of time in the sun. Especially in these gawd awful months where we are hanging out around one hundred fifteen degrees. I am inside my home, inside the car, inside my office, inside a restaurant, inside friend's homes, inside sephora, inside H & M, and inside Old Navy. We have gone swimming once this summer, and I am a pro at keeping my hair dry, even covered sometimes. Fading is not a huge area of concern for me, so I am not really sure why it seems to be an area of concern for anyone else.
One thing I am concerned about though, is what sort of transition period my hair and I will have to go through once I decide I want to move away to green and into some new color scheme. I know that there will be some murkey greenish yellow stuff happening for a while. I keep chasing the unicorn of lavender gray, but my hair betrays me and casts brassy warmth everywhere, so I doubt that it will be different while pulling green out? I don't really know how long I will stay with this color, but I can't imagine that I will be changing it anytime soon. I really love it. I feel like I should have been born with green hair, although I am sure that I said the same about yellow and blue and possibly even pink at some point.
I guess that I would say, "it's pretty easy being green".