My First Time
It was about a week before I made my first big move away from home at the age of 22 that I ever colored my entire head of hair. I was working for a software firm at the time and moving from beachy south Florida to the big serious city of San Francisco. Which meant, of course, that I needed 'serious' hair for the 'serious' city. So I did it- I bought a box of 'darkest chocolate brown' from walgreens and skipped out of the store with it. Fast forward a month later and my chocolate brown had faded to more of a rust-brown and lets just say I wasn't exactly loving my job in the city. Luckily for me, the story ended well- I lasted a few months in San Fran before realizing I'm just an East Coast girl and made my appointment for a full head of highlights the same week I got back (and I quit the job with the chauvinistic boss to start my own company a few years later- can I get a Hallelujah?)
The Ever-Changing Palette
After that first dye job, I've never looked back. I went from dark brown, to light brown, to burgundy and back to blonde in the span of a year. I'll admit for the first 5... ok, maybe 10.... years I was coloring it myself with formulas I was making up from sally's (we'll categorize these as 'the fried hair years'), but once I found the right person who understood what I meant by "baby blonde, not butter blonde"- we were a match made in heaven. *Enter Michele Sanford- my very own hair fairy godmother*
"I'll always be a blonde at heart"
I found Michele at the time I was constantly getting a full head of foils and it seemed no matter what I did- my roots were "black" within a few weeks. ("Black" is a complete over-exageration that people with dark blonde hair -me- use to describe the color of their roots when they are no longer platinum) I found her because all of her pictures on instagram looked so natural- there were no harsh lines and that was what I wanted. In our first rendevouz we decides that a full highlight and a base bump would work for me. This is where my hashtag #basebumpsavedmylife was born! After we washed out my highlights, Michele added a lightening solution all over my head at the wash bowl. It is only left on for a few minutes- to "bump" up the color of your roots slightly- and it was complete sorcery. FINALLY I left a salon feeling as blonde on the outside as I am on the inside :)
If you're a highlight addict like I was and you feel like the roots are just a bit too contrasted- ask for a base bump next time you're at the salon, it just might save your life ;)
Pastel-perfect
Once we cut my hair short, I felt like I was ready to go platinum. Just like the pixie cut, all over platinum was something I knew I wanted to try at some point in my life. So we did it and we put a gorgeous lilac pearl wash over it that was just gorgeous. This is where the pastel addiction really started. Previously we had done a section here or there with little punches of pink and lilac, but now we were talking full-head pastels which is much more my speed ;)
If you want to try pastels I would highly recommend it, just understand that it fades very quickly. I have learned to love the fade out process with my pink tones especially. The beauty of pastels is that I don't have to worry about messing my hair up too much by doing them at home. The color is deposit-only, and it fades so fast that even if I despise it- I'm just a few shampoos away from being rid of it.
Finding the right shades for you
Notice I said shades and not colors. I'm a strong believer that anyone can rock any color as long as it is in the right shade for them. (For instance when Kim K went that honey blonde like 5 years ago compared to the over-night platinum attempt the second time.) If you're on the fence for a new color, or even a new cut, here's a tip I like to use...
At least once in your life, someone has probably told you that you look like (insert celebrity's name). For me, it's Emilia Clarke, Cameron Diaz or Reese Witherspoon. Each has a similar feature or coloring to myself. What you want to do is find your celeb look alike and pinterest search the hell out of them! The fact of the matter is, celebrities and especially actresses change their looks up all the time whether it be for roles or simply to stay on current trends. It's an awesome way to brainstorm colors that will match your own coloring by seeing it on another person similar to you without taking the plunge.
PS- IF (big, huge IF) I ever go back to long hair- this is my #hairgoal all day...
Morally of the story- hair color is such an easy and fun way to switch up your look for different seasons and even moods. Play with different shades on yourself, it's more eye opening than you think... I know that I most definitely have different interactions with strangers as a red head than I do as a blonde.
xoxo
Sarah