wednesday's child: Red Hair!

May 29, 2004

Red Hair!

Well, I finally got around to going back to get my hair cut and the color redone (it only took me 4 1/2 months, that's actually pretty good for me, last time it was like five years). I knew I wanted some red in it and I knew I wanted it shorter for the summer. I haven't had it cut above shoulder level since I was in elementary school (first grade?) and got sort of a pixie cut, which was actually one of my favorite haircuts of all time.

I've made it all sorts of different colors before, usually on my own (except for my purple cellophane phase, a pro had to do that). I showed my stylist a picture of a girl who (to me at least) looked like she had really dark auburn hair, and he went and mixed the color and then let it set, but I could see in the mirror it was looking really red. Which wouldn't be a problem, but I wanted a dark red because the bottom half of my head is still pretty much black. So he rinsed it off, and I ran to the bathroom before returning to the station, and saw in the mirror it was REALLY red, my natural color had just soaked it up (gulp).

When I sat back down, I told him I was afraid it was a little too punky (which is not necessarily a bad thing) but the dark bottoms and lighter roots made my fine hair look too thin. He cut it some, dried it, we went and walked around with a mirror outside, and yep, it was too bright and too light.

So he trots out more color, semi-perm this time, a dark brown with a bit of red, and I sit under the dryer while it penetrates and second try, much darker. Then I let him go to town on trimming, my hair grows fast so by August I know it will be back where I started again, and he trimmed it almost into a long shag. I wasn't allowed to look while he styled it, he sprayed a styling aid on it to straighten it first and then he went to work with the straightening iron (I actually happen to own one myself, yea me!) and when he finished it was super straight and shiny.

I was naughty and made him trim it back from my face some, even though it looked really pretty all feathered, I wish I could have taken a photo before he trimmed it back but I knew it would have bugged me. It's so hot here in the summer I really wanted to get as much hair away from my face as possible.

Then I spent more money shopping in their candy store full of hair products, got the spray he used, and another bottle of my favorite MOP conditioner (really good for fine hair), and a heavy duty weekly-type conditioner just because I think I need one. I've been using their MOP products since my last haircut in January and he said my hair looked like it was in really good condition today, last time the stylist told me it was very dry, so apparently organic really is better than my normal Pantene stuff ;-) I have a basket full of hair care products under my sink, probably because I'm never happy with it. I really like the last two cuts I've gotten from Pope Hair, though, which is amazing because I've spent up to $75 for a cut at some of the trendy salons here in town (with pictures of the local new people up on the wall even, ooh...) and been disappointed (especially after I washed all the gunk they put in it out). If you can't get a decent cut for that much money it's kind of depressing. I'm not big on styling products, I don't like hairspray and gel (and I wash my hair at night), all I want in life is a decent cut to tame my poor fine, frizzy hair. I am trying to make myself use something to keep the frizz down on a regular basis because I live in windy humid town.

So here are the new pics, for some reason Sparky can't take a picture of me that doesn't look like a police lineup shot, which is partly my fault for having no makeup on, but I really do like the all red pic of me and Phoebe (he had his thumb over the flash).

Posted by Morticia at May 29, 2004 04:17 AM | TrackBack

Comments

Try Avalon Organics Lavender Shampoo and the matching Conditioner. Great stuff. You can feel your hair turning soft as your washing with it! Afterwards, squeeze out the excess moisture and put a dollop of Sebastian Laminates Grip in your palm and spread it between both your palms as if you were putting on hand lotion. Smooth it through your hair and style as wanted (let it air dry!)

Works for me, anyway!

Posted by: CP on May 29, 2004 09:06 PM

Sounds good! I like Avalon Organics stuff, and anything Lavender is a big bonus. If I let my hair air dry I'd end up with a Sally Struthers do, though ;-) I really like the Modern Organic Products stuff I'm using now, it's a little pricey, but the Lemongrass line for fine hair makes my hair feel really soft and thicker at the same time. Now if I could just make the humidity go away (them my skin would be too dry, though, always a trade-off!).

Posted by: Morticia on June 3, 2004 03:12 AM

I'm a sucker for anything lavender myself, lol! I'm not one for fragrances, ordinarily, but I love Caswell Massey's English Lavender spray cologne. Also Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder with Lavender and Chamomile. Mmmm!

I usually wash my hair in the morning, which makes air drying for me a snap. I do sometimes shower at night, and go to bed with wet hair...and wake up looking like Gumby.

Posted by: CP on June 3, 2004 06:26 PM

I've never been big on fragrances in general and now my allergies are so bad I can't tolerate most perfumes, etc.

Growing up, though, I always had a bar of Old English Lavender soap around. I still get lavender scented bath gels and soaps when I can, real lavender oil products actually help you to sleep better also. I love the J&J Baby Powder, I mix it with the regular powder and my husband's sense of smell is so weak he doesn't know he's using lavender powder ;-)

I've never been alert enough (or able to get up early enough) to be a morning shower person, for some reason our family always washed up at bedtime, usually right after Johnny Carson's monologue. I have to at least blow dry my hair, though. RIght after we got our cat I was so exhausted one night I took a shower and went to bed with wet hair, it was pretty frightening!

Posted by: Tish on June 4, 2004 12:01 AM

I have a bar of Yardley's English Lavender in my shower right now; my husband only uses Neutrogena in his shower (as if that's somehow macho, lol!) My kids use whatever I use; my daughter now loves anything lavender scented.

I have a bottle of lavender oil that I purchased at Whole Foods; I use it to refresh a buckwheat and dried lavender filled eye pillow that you heat in the microwave. Yes, it is a wonderful sleep aid.

My family also showered at night, and I was way into adulthood when I finally began showering in the morning. That was when I gave up on my hair and decided to go au natural (albeit with a hell of a lot of gel). It was long and wavy. Two years ago I took the plunge and cut it all off...and I can't imagine ever going back again. My husband, however, thinks I look like a lesbian. Why do men (straight men, anyway) have issues with lesbians? About nine or 10 years ago, we were on a cruise to Canada and the upper Atlantic Coast, and stopped in Provincetown, MA -- not just a very gay town, but primarily lesbian. To this day, he is still convinced that all the women in the various shops we stepped into looked at him "with daggers in their eyes," but were oh-so-solicitous to me. Yes, they were SURELY threatened by his manliness, lol!

Now how did I digress like this? Well, must be running along. Got to hop in the shower and get the kiddies up and ready for school!

Posted by: CP on June 4, 2004 05:44 AM

My husband will only use Safeguard, bleecch, and he uses it on his face too. I've bought him nice stuff to use, but it just gathers dust. He's lucky he has really thick, oily skin that's hard to damage. I'm just the opposite, I have Rosacea and have tons of skin care stuff. But I do use Neutrogena in the shower, too, I buy it by the gallon at Sam's Club.

I wore my hair long forever, the last few years I even gave up on my bangs and decided I'd just do the hippie center-part thing and pull it back. But it still never looked good. It's very fine, and naturally very wavy. And it's very windy and humid here. When I was a kid my dad would take turns cutting knots out of my hair and on our Cocker Spaniel. I was always afraid if I cut it short it would just make my hair look even thinner but this guy did such a good job it's just the opposite. I may not go back to long either.

When I told my husband I was going to get it cut a little shorter this time, he gave me the "not too short, I don't want you looking like a lesbian" thing too. A lot of his male friends are gay, I'm not sure why he has an issue with lesbians either. I had several really close friends in my 20's that were lesbians, and they never made a pass at me ;-) Because I'm a tomboy and don't dress at all girly (dresses are a Halloween costume only to me) he kids me about being a lesbian sometimes, so I kid him right back because he never played sports and sings showtunes.

And why should I dress up for him when he wears the same pair of worn out jeans and even worse shorts every day. He has the smallest wardrobe I've ever seen. I wear a lot of black, and all casual wear, but I feel like a fashion plate compared to him. The boy doesn't even know how to tie a tie, I think he only owns one. Thank goodness we both work at home ;-)

Posted by: Tish on June 5, 2004 04:58 AM