I began dying my hair during the second semester of my Freshman year of college. Before, I had always had the same hair- it was thick, curly, and a medium brown with natural blonde highlights. I has always wanted to switch up my hair color but in high school my parents wouldn’t let me anywhere near a box of bleach. They were scared that I would ruin my gorgeous curls. But when I entered college, I met a hair stylist who would soon become one of my best friends. And one night in January of 2013, I began my hair journey.
I went over to her house with a box of Splat Crimson Obsession, a vibrant red color that I was only planning to use to tint my brown locks. But I instead decided to go with my friend’s better judgment and I went bold with fire engine red hair. This was the first time I had ever bleached my whole head and looking in the mirror and watching my brown hair turn into a red velvet shade was pretty shocking. Seeing yourself in the mirror with a new color of hair is almost like seeing yourself as a new person. In that moment I felt like I had been made over by Tyra Banks herself and was starting a new chapter in my life as a determined and feisty red head. Having red hair gave me a burst of confidence and over the next few weeks I learned that I was no longer a wall flower. My hair was something that got me noticed and I liked the way that people saw me in a whole new way. I had become this edge Jessica Rabbit over night. Yet as time went on and wash after wash, the red faded and I realized that maybe I wasn’t cut out for such a high maintenance color. At the time, I didn’t realize that with red hair you couldn’t wash your hair every day and my gorgeous red quickly faded to a dusty salmon color. It was time for a change and I was ready for my next alter ego to emerge from my follicles.
Red hair made me feel fiery, it made me feel alive but at the time I was craving something a little bit more sinister. As a natural vampire, I had pale skin and pale eyes and I decided that the next phase of my hair journey would be inspired by one of my favorite movie characters. And after about two hours of color stripping and dying, I had become my own version of Morticia Addams. Having black hair was almost as shocking as having my red hair. Black was an extremely severe color and in that moment I realized that if I decided to go back from it, it was going to be difficult. By this point, I was about four months in to my dying frenzy and as time went on I began to see the affects that all of the dying was having on my hair. I had put a lot of chemicals into my hair and I was using hot tools more than I ever had in my life. When my mom picked me up from school one of the first things that she said was that my ends looked fried. And she was right. Because I did not know how to take care of my hair at that time. I was washing it constantly, straightening it using improper technique, and applying copious amounts of product to give my curls their life back. It scared me that I was hurting my hair and while I loved my length, I was unhappy with my dead ends. So in June of 2014 I made the very bold choice to reverse some of the damage that I had done to my hair by chopping off 10 inches in length.
Chopping off my those inches did wonders for the health of my hair and for a while, I loved my cropped locks. A few weeks after I was able to add some brown highlights and go back to my natural color. I’d never had short hair before and the change was fun. But then the realization that I couldn’t grow back my hair over night hit in and I felt out of place with my short brown hair. I felt like I blended in to the wall and I couldn’t wait to go back to school so that I could mix things up again. I knew that I had just cut off my hair to get it back to health but I wanted that change. I’d become addicted to the act of modifying my hair and I thought that one more dye job couldn’t hurt.
In September of 2014, I decided that I wanted to evolve into a new version of myself yet again. This time I wanted something fun, something bright, and something young. This was my sophomore year of college and I wanted to show the world that I wasn’t the same girl that everyone had known last semester. I opted for an edgier look, going blonde for the first time and being a little adventurous with a hot pink ombre. Looking back on all of my different hair styles, this was one of my favorites. I had always wanted to be a blonde and this shade changed my image entirely. I can remember that during this hair color, I had my routine down pack. I used a purple shampoo and conditioner on my blonde hair to eliminate brassy hues and work towards a platinum shade of blonde. But I also used a color protecting shampoo on my ends and put pink dye into another conditioner to keep my color bold throughout the washes. I was a pro by now and I knew that I didn’t want my pink hair to fade like the red had. But the thing about being a brunette and dying your hair blonde is that you’ll eventually have to touch up those roots. I wasn’t the best at this. My roots were pretty ratchet and as a naturally lazy person, I decided that maybe blonde wasn’t for me. After all, I really just wanted my long mermaid hair back and I could deal with going dark again to get it healthy. So it was back to brown, again.
I stayed brunette for seven months and it was actually a good decision. You see, I had just started my first internship and dark brown hair fit in well with the aesthetic of my new job. I was still edgy, I had my fair share of tattoos and piercings but this hair made it easy for me to transition from hardcore to fashion forward. Having brown hair was simple and by keeping up the routine of washing my hair twice a week, that I had started when I first dyed my hair black, my hair was actually pretty damn healthy. It was growing quickly and I could see a mermaid on the horizon. But it wasn’t the same hair as I had had before I dyed my hair. That’s something that they don’t tell you when you dye your hair. I’ll be honest, my hair thinned. My curls were less crazy and more subtle than they had before. It was nice on one hand, because it was manageable but I became more conscious. I got scared. What if my hair kept thinning even if I didn’t dye it again? I decided that I was going to keep my hair natural and be safe for once. But as you might have gathered about me already, I never stay safe for long and by the summer I decided that I wanted to try my chances again. And this time around I left my security at the door.
I’d been browsing through Instagram and suddenly I stopped and realized that I had found my inspiration. I wanted something a little crazy, a little zany, and super punk rock. If you had told me two years before that I would one day dye my hair this color, I would have told you that you were insane. But hey, I am a little insane when it comes to body modifications. So I went green. Yes, green. Green like grass, like the joker, and I didn’t care what anyone said about my hair. I loved it! It was so freaking cool. Everyone noticed this hair. I would get stopped on the street, people would ask to take pictures with me and it was pretty awesome. I liked being different but not everyone loved it. My parents were pissed. They hated the green hair. They made me put my hair up for my sister’s graduation because they thought my hair would take away from her having her own moment. My job was ok with it but I realized that I wasn’t crazy about my job anymore. So I decided that I wanted a new summer job. Unfortunately, having green hair made it very hard to find a job. Before even giving me an interview or looking at my resume, employers would turn me down. My hair was not up to most dress codes and I was desperate to get out of my fast food job. So even though I didn’t want to make the change, I had to. I had to suck it up and blend in with crowd to get the job that I wanted. It sucks that employers have these restrictions but that’s the way that life works sometimes. Being modified has it’s perks but not everyone is going to love your differences. So I submitted to being normal again. Unfortunately I had done so much damage to my hair that I almost lost it all.
It took three hours to get my hair to an acceptable color. I had to go through three rounds of color stripper to get this fucking green color out of my hair. My hairdresser from home said that if the bleach was in any longer, all of my hair would have fallen out. This scared the shit out of me and was a huge wakeup up call. Having colorful hair was fun but the price isn’t worth it if you get carried away. And boy did I let this get carried away. I realized that while I love having different personalities with each color of hair, I need to give my poor hair a break to breath. I don’t want my hair to thin anymore than it already has and I miss not having to worry about my hair. I want my hair to be strong again and I am slowly starting to get it back to normal. Here’s how I’ve done it.
1. I Stopped Dying/Bleaching My Hair
Cutting the chemicals out has done wonders and I actually enjoy being a brunette (and I mean that seriously!) Brunette me is healthy me.
2. I Wash My Hair Once a Week
Ok before you judge, I do shower regularly. But your hair doesn’t need to be washed every day or even every other day. Washing your hair dries it out and strips your hair of the oils that make it healthy. When my hair is feeling a little greasy, I use an organic powdered dry shampoo and I can instantly notice an improvement.
3. I Avoid Heat Tools
I haven’t straightened my hair in almost six months and this has helped my hair to get healthy again. Heat tools are so damaging and quitting them has saved my locks.
4. I Have Hair Spa Days
Hair masks are life and giving my hair a spa treatment every few weeks is such a luxury. Whether your mask is high end, drug store, or you use coconut oil like me, your hair will thank you.
5. I Trim My Ends Every Other Week
Giving myself trims actually helps my hair grown because it stops those split ends in their tracks. Trimming my hair is like a therapeutic process. With every trim I know that I’m one step closer to having a full head of natural and healthy hair again.
For more tips of body modifications, stay tuned in for next weeks Body Mod Blog.