Saturday, November 7, 2009

Day Seventy - Two or Blonde Ambition

Well, in the words of the great Lucille Ball, I returned my roots to their natural color today.
This was long overdue. There was a time when I took care of myself. I never broke a nail appointment, my eyebrows were perfectly waxed, and roots were unheard of. I was working in a very competitive environment (ironically I'm not referencing acting. I did very little of that then. Maybe that was part of the problem... but I digress.) and all of that was expected. I can't say as I minded it, though. Especially pedicures. I'm pretty sure that heaven has pedicures.

But in my mostly SAHM days, those are expenses that I can no longer justify. So I paint layer on top of layer of toenail polish (why bother to remove it if you keep using the same color?), I try not to blind myself with tweezers (I've seen my wedding pictures -- I can't go back, I tell you. I can't go back. The 90's were not pretty for eyebrows!) and well, I just try not to look at my hands. But the one thing I have kept is my haircolor. Sort of.

Let me set the stage. I grew up with lovely flaxen blond hair. My brothers and I were all towheads and my hair stayed bright and beautiful until... PUBERTY! Then, did it turn a lush chestnut or chocolate? I would have loved a head of deep, dramatic, dark hair. (Nice alliteration, huh?) No, it turned blah. I'm not kidding. I have dark blonde hair. You know that color that gets lovely names like "dirty" blonde or even better -- dishwater blonde. I mean, who thought up that name? That's just cruel.

They make haircolor in my shade and I have NEVER ever seen anyone buy it. In fact, across all the brands, it is always fully stocked. ALWAYS.

So back to today. I try to fight the blah with highlights. But they cost money. Something that is always in short supply. So I try to avoid seeing when the roots come in. At first, I just comb it differently. Then I blame the lighting. Finally, I just stop turning on the lights in the bathroom. But not tonight. Tonight, I can turn all the lights on in the house without avoiding the mirrors.

Boy does that feel good. Now, if you'll excuse me while I go turn all the lights back off. I've got to keep the electricity bill down. I just paid for highlights!

5 comments:

Widge said...

oooh I so know that feeling!! what a massive luxury it would be to visit an actual salon!!stuff that dreams are made of.

Betty Manousos said...

I know exactly what you mean.
and what it feels.
Hope you're having a lovely Sunday
xxx

mommakin said...

I colored my hair consistently when I was younger. some of my friends were going gray and I just didn't want to know when it happened to me. A dozen or so years ago I decided to see what was under there and went back to my natural color. There was no gray. It was dark and shiny. I decided not to mess with it anymore. Lately I am seeing the same thing you mention (except from a dark perspective rather than a blonde one) I have a couple grays, but they honestly don't bother me. I'm old enough to have a couple grays. It doesn't look wrong. I can live with the grays. What I'm having more of an issue with is the dullness. I don't necessarily want to change my color, but dang! Would a little luster be too much to ask for? Dull, dull, dull...

I, too, believe there must be pedicures in heaven.

Amira said...

Yay! Where did you go??

And I paint layer upon layer, too. I want to splurge on a pedi one of these days. Let's save for a girls day out and go to lunch and get pedis together, okay? OK, gotta go, you reminded me how badly I need to paint my toenails!

Mama-Face said...

Ha. I've seen so many posts about hair coloring lately. I am so excited for my app't tomorrow. I've never been high maintenance except for the hair.

I love your comment about the hair coloring products at the store. I plan on noticing that next time. :)