It was supposed to be a quiet no fuss Sunday, what it turned out to be was nothing short of chaotic. I had a hair dye disaster.
I’ve dyed my hair plenty of times in the last twenty years, so doing a quick color treatment from a box was going to be a cinch and from the look of the stray gray hairs making their presence it was time for me to wash that gray right out of my hair!! I swear ever since I turned forty (going on four months now) those pesky wirey unwanted hairs are sprouting out faster than Speedy Gonzales getting his hands on a spicy tamale.
The color was just supposed to be a light brown what I got was dark brown bordering on Snow White Black; I stared at my hair, panic set in and that’s when I heard her voice, the voice of my kids great-grandmother who voiced her opinion twenty years ago when I decided to go black on purpose. As we all sat around the kitchen table enjoying an amazing Easter feast the dinner was interrupted when Great Grandma yelled across the table “Jolene WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR!! I don’t like it”, I wanted to hide ….. It was then the whole table stopped and stared. I was mortified. Since then I never colored my hair dark again, there are only a few who can pull of Snow White Black hair and I’m not one of them.
I needed to fix this monstrosity…not only was the color bad but it fried some of my ends. I grabbed my computer and googled “dyed my hair black need to fix it” there were many helpful tips such as washing your hair with Prell, Tide, Dawn or using a color remover or clarifying shampoo etc. I seriously didn’t know what to do, with my luck I would probably end up with orange hair by the end of the day. “Honey I am going into town I need to get a color remover” I said as I headed out the door with my hair pulled back in a pony tail.
Sally’s Beauty Supply store didn’t open for another hour so I spent thirty minutes in the hair color aisle at Target choosing a color that wouldn’t leave me in tears. It was then that I decided to send a quick “HELP ME” message to the woman who cuts my hair. I told her about my screw up and she instructed me to go get a clarifying shampoo or color remover …so I headed over to Sally’s. Talk about a foreign land!! I was in over my head, hair color lined the shelves, toner, powders, and shampoos…anything hair related was there. I finally found the color remover and stood there staring at three boxes not sure which one I should buy, I was nervous as all get out! I just had this feeling that I was going to screw my hair up BAD!!
As soon as I got home I headed to the bathroom and laid everything out on the counter. I read and reread the instructions a few times and it was then that my husband came into the bathroom and took a closer look at my hair, “it doesn’t look THAT bad, there’s a lot of frizz though….why don’t you have someone color your hair?”, I explained to him that coloring your hair isn’t cheap it can range anywhere from $80 – $125. “You got to be kidding me! No that can’t be right….you should go to the person who cuts my hair” he said.
“Hmm, the person who cuts your hair specializes with military haircuts….and yes, depending on the length of your hair, if you want all around color or highlights the price goes up” I told him as I started to mix the color remover powder and lightening crème together. I said a quick prayer to the hair gods and started to apply the mixture quickly….because the instructions said that I could get lighten up in 3 minutes, I left it on for ten minutes….the whole time anxious as you wouldn’t believe. I was going to end up blonde I just knew it!! I washed my hair and wrapped it up in a towel. I wasn’t ready for the reveal just yet so I played with the furkids for a few minutes.
It was time…..I walked into the bathroom, removed the towel and started to blow dry it. It wasn’t blonde, or orange…..it was more auburn. I was relieved, but my hair felt sticky, dull, ohhh so unhealthy and there were some spots that were obviously darker still….but at least it wasn’t BLACK. I sent a quick message to my stylist and told her that I was able to lighten my hair some but that I needed to get it cut and maybe some highlights. “Would you like to come in this evening?” she texted back, I couldn’t believe it……I told her I would meet her at 3:30 and thanked her over and over!
I didn’t leave the salon till 6:00 pm, but it was so worth it. I love that she took her time and knew what she was doing. She put highlights throughout my hair, shampooed and conditioned the heck out of my hair and took care of all the split ends. I left feeling relieved and very satisfied at the end result but as I headed out the door I was welcomed by rain, not just your average rain.. a freakin storm… by the time I reached my car I was soaked, but I didn’t care ..my hair was no longer the shade of the nights sky or felt like a horses mane. It was silky smooth and pretty.
I took these pictures this morning
Submitted by: Jolene Cecil
