New Hair

I changed my hair!

I wanted to grow it out really long, about to my mid waist, but it just wasn’t growing. In fact it had been the same length for about three years and I couldn’t figure out why!  Then just recently I realized that was incredibly damaged; the strands just kept snapping off and that’s why it looked like it hadn’t grown. It had gotten so bad that the hairs on the top of my head were only a few inches long, from where they had broken off. There was no saving it!  

I think the damage mainly came from washing my hair and using a hair dryer every single night, and then a straightener every morning for years. It was time to find a healthier hair routine! 

I bought myself a nice boars hair brush, some sharp scissors, a hair dryer with a cold setting and some lightener (One last round of damage!) 

I wanted it to be blonde again, because it’s easier to upkeep than red hair and I can dye it less. Also I only need to dye my roots when it’s blonde as opposed to my whole head. I decided to use this stuff because it’s supposed to be less damaging than bleach, and when I used it the first time I lightened my hair it it worked well.

Here is what it looked like before, this photo doesn’t show damage but it was there!

I realized that this lightener is mainly for un-dyed hair.. My roots turned blonde right away but the colored parts were stubborn!  I left it on for an hour and a half, the maximum amount of time it said to do.  The first time I had used it my hair wasn’t that dark, I didn’t take that into consideration this time.
‘
Annnd this is what I ended up with. Blonde roots, red bangs and orange all over. So I ran out that morning and picked up another box of lightener.
An hour and a half later, it was still dang orange! But I didn’t want to lighten it a third time so I decided to go with it.
I gave myself this haircut, but it was really hard to style, the ends were super poofy and I couldn’t get them to do anything. It also sort of resembled a helmet. So I called my mom over and she gave it some layers to make it was easier to tame, and help it curl on its own.
And here is the result!  (The frizzy parts sticking out are the broken split ends)




 Of course the most annoying part of a new hairstyle is all the strange comments I have to put up with. When I showed up at work last Monday there were plenty of “What did you do?!” and “Was that on purpose?” My favorite response though was the lady who stared at me for a good 30 seconds before saying “You know, most salons can fix that.” And then wanted to give me the name of a place I could go! Another person asked me when I was going to be fixing it.

But despite everybody’s crazy opinions I really like it!  The orange has already faded quite a bit.

Also, the night before I took these last few photos I didn’t used shampoo when I washed my hair!  I tried that “no poo” method, using only baking soda and apple cider vinegar to bring back my hair’s natural oils. I expected my hair to be pretty greasy just like the tutorials warned, but it wasn’t!  Aside from being hard to comb when it was wet, it wasn’t any different from using shampoo. I think because I have been washing it a lot less for the past few months, it has already had the chance to start producing its natural oils again. I am going to keep it up this no poo thing and report back!

0 Responses

  1. I think it looks lovely! The peachy-ness really suits the curls. That's so good that you've been able to colour AND cut it without spending loads at a salon. Sorry to hear people have been so rude about it though. X

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  2. Urgh some people can be rude, i'm sure *they* think they mean well, but yeah, sometimes they should hush. I think it looks awesome and I love how you've curled it too! My hair is pretty dead, too many years of dying it and over styling, I really should use a cooler setting on both my dyer and straighteners!

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  3. i think you look great! my hair has gotten a bit long over the last year and i'm craving short hair again. the last photos literally make me want to pick up the scissors right. now. you look like spring! the bob is so cute! oh my goodness. really, the only reason i've been waiting to cut my hair is i figured i'd let it get a little longer, but the biggest is the comments. “wow you got your hair cut” “hey your hair's different” “why'd you cut all your hair off?” “you look so cute with short hair” 'it looks nice but i liked your hair long”. can't a girl just wear her hair how she wants?! but i'm glad you're not deterred by the comments. i for one, love it.

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  4. You hair looks so fabulous and I think it suits you so well! The colour is incredible and those curls look so stylish and chic. My goodness, people can be a little rude can't they? Comments such as those really aren't necessary.

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  6. I like the short cut! I'm amazed that you did (most of) it yourself! I don't trust myself with scissors like that.

    I did the no-poo method allll last year. It took about 4 months before my hair really got used to it, but I was adamant about only washing it twice a week, regardless of how greasy it was looking. I stopped using all products and made myself a concoction of cornstarch and cocoa powder for dry shampoo. It worked great with my pixie cut, but I stopped at the end of December because now that my hair is shoulder-length, the whole method wasn't working quite as well anymore. I bought myself a super natural shea shampoo and conditioner (consensus so far… they leave my hair feeling a little greasy, but I've only used them for two weeks). I also bought myself a bottle of castor oil that I mix with coconut oil (1 part castor, 2 parts coconut), slather it on my hair and leave it in for 1-3 hours, then wash it out. Make sure to wash it all out! It will take a few shampoos. But it leaves my hair soft, smooth, and super healthy feeling/looking. You should try it! There are also essential oils you can add for extra goodness, but I've had a hard time finding them.

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  7. You look fantastic, kitten, Gorgeous photos. This hair color resembles the photo you have on your instagram profile pic. I love the color, cut and the way you've styled it. Such a cute outfit, too!
    Good for you for taking extra special care of your hair. Make sure you get all your nutrition to grow big & strong!
    Aaaaa … People! Don't they say the darndest things? You've dazzled them with your charm and Joie de vivre!!
    xo mom

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  8. I can't believe people said that. They said that to your end result the strawberry blonde like I saw yesterday? That's a perfectly normal hair color that people want to achieve. How rude. I think it looks really good! My hair is awful too… But because I've cut it every time it gets passed my shoulders I just have to deal with the damage… Couple things I do to try to keep my hair as healthy as possible, I only wash my hair about every 4 or 5 days, use coconut oil on the ends overnight a few times a month. I brush my hair out with a boars head brush in-between washes because it actually cleans your hair. Then before when a hair wash is coming up soon, I brush my hair with a wooden brush, the bristles are wood too, that distributes oils down your hair follicles. You can get wooden brushes at Ulta. THEN (sorry if this is totally boring) I got a micro fiber hair wrap, from bath and body works. It soaks up so much water out of your hair so theres less blow dryer time, and unlike normal towels it will cause way less frizz. Yes I'm a pyshco…

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