I am blonde. Through and through. Well, actually at the moment I'm not. But that's what set me thinking about hair colour and stereotypes and my decision that I really was born to be blonde.
I WAS born blonde. A lovely white blonde which stayed with me for many years then darkened slightly but stayed light blonde.
I am slightly obsessed with my hair and for many years went through a grow it, chop it, grow it chop it, cycle. During the 80s and early 90s it was permed. Yes, I know, but that was then and certainly in my neck of the woods it was de rigour to have a nice big bubbly perm. Whether you were male or female. There may have been a bit of mullet going on too.
My locks stayed natural blonde apart from one memorable term during sixth form when I dyed it bright pink. I have no photos of this sadly (but would love to see one if anyone has any?).
The perm stayed bubbly until I got married and moved to this little village just outside London in 1992. Within days of getting married I had all the curls cut off and over time my hair evolved into a Home Counties bob (minus the velvet hooray Henrietta hair band I'm glad to say) and although it darkened a bit without the help of perm solution bleaching it, it remained largely blonde.
And it has stayed blonde for years. Although I did have a few months of being orange. I'll explain. My sister has darker hair than me and for a while used henna on it which left her hair a gorgeous rich glossy colour. It always looked beautiful and in great condition. During a visit to her home we decided to try out henna on my hair. Wine may have been consumed before we made this decision.
It turns out that henna plus blonde hair equals orange. I was due to start a new job the day after. I called at a chemist on the way home to buy a dye to cover it. Luckily I asked the chemists opinion instead of just picking up a box. The chemists opinion was; "aaaargh!!!! Do NOT try and dye over henna!!!!!" Together we called a hair dye company helpline. Their useful advice was to apply dry anti-dandruff shampoo as a hair mask then wash over and over again with same shampoo. This worked to an extent- it calmed the shade from "eek! tangerine traffic cone orange " to "OMG what have you done? jaffa cake interior orange"
Lesson learned.
As the years passed and the greys emerged I turned into a suicide blonde- y'know "dyed by my own hand". I tried highlights then full head dye to fool myself that I was still young and blonde. And to match my houseful of blonde children. As anyone who dyes knows this is an endless task but I amuse myself regularly trying varying shades from Debbie Harry downwards.
Recently I won a competition. I enjoyed facials, nail pampering, eyelash curling and a hair makeover. The salon convinced me to change colour. It went darker, with red tones. I wasn't sure but got a really good response from friends who told me it took years off me.
Inevitably though the greys reappeared so I spent time in the chemists trying to find a similar, albeit slightly less red shade. My slightly disinterested (naturally blonde) dh helped. I suspect he said " yeah that one" in a bid to move out of the chemist and off to our lunch venue.
Whatever. I hate it. I hate it so much that within 4 days I ignored warnings from friends and the internet about green hair or baldness and had been out and bought a light blonde dye to re-do.
With some trepidation I applied. And rinsed. Checked the plug. Good- hair still appeared to be attached to my head. Checked mirror. Not green but help! Seemed even more red than before!
Since then I have washed and washed with anti-dandruff and it has calmed down. But I cannot wait to be proper blonde again. I suspect the salon dye somehow affects the shop dye and that's why the bleach won't take. So I'm just going to have to sit it out.
But it's odd that the fake colour on my head affects my mood. I hate being mousy. It makes me feel mousy. I want to be blonde. They say blondes have more fun and I believe it. So bring on summer when I can take the roof off my cute little cabriolet and let my beautiful bleached blonde hair fly around in the wind as I whiz of for some fun! Woohoo! I the meantime, thanks to the snow I can wear a hat every time I go out. Phew!
I WAS born blonde. A lovely white blonde which stayed with me for many years then darkened slightly but stayed light blonde.
I am slightly obsessed with my hair and for many years went through a grow it, chop it, grow it chop it, cycle. During the 80s and early 90s it was permed. Yes, I know, but that was then and certainly in my neck of the woods it was de rigour to have a nice big bubbly perm. Whether you were male or female. There may have been a bit of mullet going on too. My locks stayed natural blonde apart from one memorable term during sixth form when I dyed it bright pink. I have no photos of this sadly (but would love to see one if anyone has any?).
The perm stayed bubbly until I got married and moved to this little village just outside London in 1992. Within days of getting married I had all the curls cut off and over time my hair evolved into a Home Counties bob (minus the velvet hooray Henrietta hair band I'm glad to say) and although it darkened a bit without the help of perm solution bleaching it, it remained largely blonde.
And it has stayed blonde for years. Although I did have a few months of being orange. I'll explain. My sister has darker hair than me and for a while used henna on it which left her hair a gorgeous rich glossy colour. It always looked beautiful and in great condition. During a visit to her home we decided to try out henna on my hair. Wine may have been consumed before we made this decision.
It turns out that henna plus blonde hair equals orange. I was due to start a new job the day after. I called at a chemist on the way home to buy a dye to cover it. Luckily I asked the chemists opinion instead of just picking up a box. The chemists opinion was; "aaaargh!!!! Do NOT try and dye over henna!!!!!" Together we called a hair dye company helpline. Their useful advice was to apply dry anti-dandruff shampoo as a hair mask then wash over and over again with same shampoo. This worked to an extent- it calmed the shade from "eek! tangerine traffic cone orange " to "OMG what have you done? jaffa cake interior orange"
Lesson learned.
As the years passed and the greys emerged I turned into a suicide blonde- y'know "dyed by my own hand". I tried highlights then full head dye to fool myself that I was still young and blonde. And to match my houseful of blonde children. As anyone who dyes knows this is an endless task but I amuse myself regularly trying varying shades from Debbie Harry downwards.
Recently I won a competition. I enjoyed facials, nail pampering, eyelash curling and a hair makeover. The salon convinced me to change colour. It went darker, with red tones. I wasn't sure but got a really good response from friends who told me it took years off me.
Inevitably though the greys reappeared so I spent time in the chemists trying to find a similar, albeit slightly less red shade. My slightly disinterested (naturally blonde) dh helped. I suspect he said " yeah that one" in a bid to move out of the chemist and off to our lunch venue. Whatever. I hate it. I hate it so much that within 4 days I ignored warnings from friends and the internet about green hair or baldness and had been out and bought a light blonde dye to re-do.
With some trepidation I applied. And rinsed. Checked the plug. Good- hair still appeared to be attached to my head. Checked mirror. Not green but help! Seemed even more red than before!
Since then I have washed and washed with anti-dandruff and it has calmed down. But I cannot wait to be proper blonde again. I suspect the salon dye somehow affects the shop dye and that's why the bleach won't take. So I'm just going to have to sit it out.
But it's odd that the fake colour on my head affects my mood. I hate being mousy. It makes me feel mousy. I want to be blonde. They say blondes have more fun and I believe it. So bring on summer when I can take the roof off my cute little cabriolet and let my beautiful bleached blonde hair fly around in the wind as I whiz of for some fun! Woohoo! I the meantime, thanks to the snow I can wear a hat every time I go out. Phew!