When I was born, I had a full head of black hair. As a young child, my hair very quickly lightened and was platinum blonde for most of my childhood. Around middle school, my hair gradually darkened to a dirty blonde and stayed that way until about a year ago when I dyed my hair an orangey ginger color. However, the most drastic change in my hair color occurred about two weeks ago when I dyed my hair a royal blue color. For the people who know me, this was both a drastic decision yet also not a surprising one. I’ve wanted to dye my hair blue since I was around twelve-years-old, so although my parents were not on board with the idea, they weren’t surprised.
Q: Were the people around you supportive of the drastic change?
A: Yes and no. My roommates and best friends were super supportive of my new hair color! My younger siblings were also supportive, but my parents definitely had some mixed feelings. My mom told me that although she didn’t mind it, blue wasn’t her first choice for my hair. My dad tells me constantly that he’s excitedly waiting for me to go back to a more natural hair color, but at the end of the day, both of my parents told me that it was my hair and my decision.
Q: Did you have to bleach your hair? How’d that go?
A: Yes, I did have to bleach my entire head of hair. I was very scared for this process as I’d never done it before, but it truly wasn’t as big of a deal as I thought it would be! Aside from the random itch here and there, I didn’t feel the bleach when it was in my hair. When I rinsed it out, I was really worried that my hair was going to fall out, but I only saw a few strands go down the drain which is normal for me when I wash my hair anyways. After the bleaching, my hair was definitely a little drier than it was before, but it wasn’t super damaged or crunchy.
Q: How much did this process cost? A: I paid $150 for the entire process, and I tipped the person who did my hair $25 because they were fantastic!
Q: Did you do your hair yourself? Or did you get it done somewhere?
A: One of my friends on campus is a licensed hairdresser and works at a salon part-time when she’s not in classes. She was super excited as she loves doing fun hair colors, so she priced the process out for me and bought the supplies. She came to my dorm room because it was the most convenient for the both of us, and she did my hair in the dorm. I washed my hair out after the bleach and dye in the shower that’s in my dorm, and that was that!
Q: How long did the entire process take?
A: Overall, dying my whole head of hair blue was a six-hour process. Long, but worth it!
Q: Do you like the result?
A: I absolutely love my blue hair now! Even after just a few weeks, I feel like I am more confident in myself when I look in the mirror. I’ve wanted to do a fun hair color for so long, and I’m so glad that I finally took the plunge and did it. It’s definitely weird to hear little kids out in public tell their parents “look, mommy, she has blue hair!” but the attention I’ve gotten so far has been massively positive. Random people compliment my hair color in stores and on the street, but at the end of the day, I love my new hair and that’s what matters most to me.