A month ago I went blonde. Not exactly bleach blonde, but much blonder than my natural mousey-brown. To be honest with you, I probably didn’t give it as much thought as I should have, it was a slightly impulsive decision but I’ve learnt a few things since then that might come in useful if you’re thinking of taking a dip too.
Find what suits you!
Whilst I sat in the hairdresser’s chair, at the mercy of her hands, the first thing I noticed about my new lighter hair was the effect it had on my eye and skin colour; my skin looked warmer and my eyes looked increasingly bluer by the second. As a girl who has tried the dark, brooding, brunette look before, this was a welcome change. Though I refused to admit it at the time, brunette hair washed me out, only serving to increase my Casper-like qualities. On the other hand, lighter and blonder hair has given me a slightly pinker, sunnier aspect. Something I am thoroughly enjoying!
Damage Control
To achieve that effortlessly sun-kissed look, a little bleach is required. However, if you’ve ever seen what bleach can do to a kitchen sink, just imagine what it is doing to your hair. My hairdresser pre-warned me about this but, until I washed it myself, I didn’t quite appreciate her advice.
For, hot out of the shower, I attempted to untangle the bird’s nest that had formed atop my head, only to find it wasn’t quite as easy to comb as it once was. In fact, it took an incredible amount of effort and, though it has improved slightly since then, the overall condition of my hair is much dryer than before. To counteract the damage, I’m relying on heat protection and deep conditioning products once a week in the hope I might retain some sort of moisture.
Wardrobe Malfunction
Growing up, we learn quickly that some colours suit us and some don’t, and we learn to live with that. What we aren’t taught though is that a lot of what ‘suits’ us is wrapped up in our hair and skin colour. For instance, you won’t catch me in a pastel colour dress because I am simply too pale for it; that’s a fact I accepted a long time ago.
So last month when I changed my hair colour I was surprised to find myself struggling to put an outfit together. Something just didn’t sit right, didn’t look ‘right’ to me and turns out it was my hair. All of a sudden white (one of my staple colours) washed me out. Blue suddenly looked brilliant and black, well never mind about black, whether it suits me or not that isn’t going anywhere. My advice then; forget about the initial cost of a colour change and ask yourself if you can really afford the commitment to a new wardrobe too?
…make that a Make-up Malfunction too!
What with my hair increasing the warm tones of my skin, my pink blusher has quickly replaced my golden bronzer and, likewise, my lipstick choices have altered too; whilst deep red is verging on trashy now, fuchsia pink and even orange aren’t a problem. With a little experimenting, this shouldn’t be worry!
All importantly, do blondes have more fun?
Speaking from the point of view of someone whom has spent the past month revising in the same seat, of the same room, in the study zone, I would undoubtedly say no. However, as of today I am free of exams so I’ll report back in a month’s time!
