Thursday, November 4, 2010

WTH did I do to my hair...?

I'm hopping into Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop this week since I have a good story for prompt #4 A hair disaster.

Mama's Losin' It


I was probably 18 at the time. I had decided that I would dye my medium blonde hair black for Halloween. I got the temporary black dye - the kind that says "Washes out in 6-8 shampoos!" right on the box. My hair was long enough that it actually took 2 to get it all, but I got it all. And it was pretty cool.

But then, about a week or so later (yeah, about a 6-8 shampoo period), the black was not washing out the way the box claimed it would. My hair was now a sickly blackish-green color. Dammit.

Kept waiting for it to wash out. Just became less black, more green. DAMmit.

So, using color wheel technology, I bought a nice red/brown color to counteract the green. Added this to my hair. Was WAY redder than the box claimed it would be, but ok. At least red is a naturally occurring hair color. I bought semi-permanent this time. I wanted slower-acting color change until the green had plenty of time to realize its defeat!

But as time went on, the brown began washing out of the red/brown color. And my hair was becoming quite orange. Rather carrot-like, in fact. Dammit.

Again, I apply my color wheel technology and I buy a nice ash blonde to counter the orangey red...but not go so far as green. This color did the job. But promptly washed out in 6-8 shampoos. Son of a...

I got another box of ash blonde, hoping that by the time this one washed out, most of the orange would've come with it.

Nope.

Now, I threw in the towel. I went to a salon. $100 later, I had my "root color" which is essentially a light brown. I was told to return later to get the blonde highlights put back.

When I returned, they put a plastic cap on my head (reminiscent of my great grandmother's plastic kerchief thing she used when it rained...) and proceeded to use something resembling a crochet hook to pull out pieces of hair from beneath the plastic cap.

Mind you, my hair was probably mid-back in length. Pulling little strands up through a plastic cap? Is not going to end well.

While I did get my blonde back, it cost me like $200 and resulted in like 2 days of conditioner-laden combing.

Beyond a couple of minor kool-aide bang-dyeing excursions, I have never again messed with my hair color.

5 comments:

  1. Wow, puts a new meaning to Bad Hair Day! LOL I enjoyed your story. So sorry you had to go through that! And I thought I'd had a few bad mishaps... nothing like that, though! Good job on the prompt!

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  2. Yeah, this was not one of my hair crowning achievements...which is why I've never messed with it again. I'm still scarred 14 years later...LoL

    Oh, & wigs make me itch. A lot.

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  3. Yeah, the crochet hook did really bad things to my hair. It really did take a couple of days to comb out the mess. It was such a nightmare.

    I've been tempted by the "dark" side (haha), but I'm afraid I'd look too much like my mother. I already look too much like her as it is, IMO. LoL

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  4. LoL Thanks! I thought I was doing something simple & temporary. Who knew it would be such a disaster?

    ...well, I'm sure any reputable colorist would've known...but I was 18 and dumb...LoL

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  5. If I ever have a daughter, I'm going to strongly warn her against the dangers of using box color to drastically change her hair color. It never ends well. Yet no one will believe their elders about it.

    Hope you've got pictures.

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