my Dye-ing story

There’s something I’ve been dye-ing to tell you…

I’m not a natural red-head. I’m like…The Doctor. “Still not ginger.”

Okay, let’s start with a few facts about my hair…I am a natural blond, my hair is pretty fine but I have a lot of it, I have a bald spot about the size of a dime on my right side about 2-3 inches above my ear, ever since I can remember my hair has been a bother to style, to maintain, and in general keep clean. (That sounds gross…but whatever.) Anyways, growing up my hair was always fairly long, Barbie blonde, and straight as a board.

Just before my first semester at university I decided I was gonna dye my hair. I always wanted to…so why not? And so began my color craze. I was told many times that I looked like Zooey Deschanel in Elf. (You know…when she had blond hair) So I figured that if she also looked good with dark hair I could pass of the look too. I got a box dye from the grocery store and my best friend from high school dyed my hair. The chemically smell actually made me very sick. Being the first time I had dyed my hair…I didn’t think much of it, but the smell still leaves my stomach in nasty turny knots. (I promise there’s a reason I told you that.)

Anyways, since then my hair has been highlighted to soften the transition back to natural blond (due to the fact that keeping up a good dye job is expensive for a broke college student), temp dyed blue for a Halloween costume of Coraline (that was awesome) pixie cut to get rid of the nasty black-brown box dye ends for good, grown out to have happy healthy hair, and dyed deep red by my hairstylist. I really wanted a more bright orange “natural ginger” looking red…but apparently that is nearly impossible to recreate. *Curse you natural gingers and your hair!*

Through this time period, I did a little research because my boyfriend, I found out, was actually allergic to most preservatives, sulfates, and perfumes in most generic soaps. He had homemade his own soaps, shampoos, and body washes since his mid-teen years. I found out what kind of things are put into most shampoos etc. and haven’t used those since. (at least not if I could help it) This was when I discovered…*<Lush>* not just the concept and the online store…but there was one on 6^th Street in Austin. I was so excited. (Stores like Bath and Body Works and the perfume area of Victoria Secret always hit me with a mass headache and in the end…frequenting these shops were never worth the pain in the end.) Not Lush…oh my goodness…if I’m ever downtown I’ll stop into the store just to escape the heat and smell ALL THE THINGS! Not only did the store smell HEAVENLY, but they had a more natural option for dye! About 25$ for a brick which with hair at that length lasted about 3 rounds. I sampled a few things, got a few “treatments” which were fun, and bought a couple small things that I liked. Once it was confirmed that I trusted the brand I was confident in buying the dye. (Story about THAT adventure later I think) However, in the end my hair was the EXACT shade I had been looking for, tons cheaper, and when I went back to my stylist for a simple trim she LOVED the color. It was better for my hair, for my budget, and was the right color. I’d say *that’s* a win.

So there you go…there’s my dying story.