How I Fixed My Hair Disaster, or Did Not

Everyone has done something to their hair that they instantly regret. If you are lucky it is a simply styling gone wrong and something can be fixed relatively easily. If you are not quite as lucky you just might be tempted to shave your head and start over. I have experimented with my hair a lot over the years, and have made both kinds of errors. There are prom and bridesmaid photos, not to mention that fifth grade school picture; that I would love to burn all copies of. However, even if I managed that destruction, the images would still live on in my memory and the stories of my friends and family forever. I do not say this to deter you from making changes or taking risks with your hair, more so to let you know that you are far from alone, and that no matter how terrible your hair mistake might seem someone has done worse. Seriously, if you saw some of those pictures you would think your worst hair day was pretty darn good. Regardless of your hair dilemma, keep in mind that a little time and a lot of tender care can fix just about anything. Patience and determination are key; and a little bravery and faked confidence never hurt.

Now comes the hard part, admitting to my worst hair mistake. It was not the teased and hair spray caked mess from my senior prom that it took me two hours to wash and brush out. It was not the hair cut of doom, cutting my hair from a length past my butt to my chin followed by a perm. It was not the multilayer cut or the bangs that took me years to grow back out. All of these mistakes still make me shudder. My biggest hair mistake came in the form of color. I have messed around with my hair color since high school, trying everything from kool-aid to salon applied colors. Sometimes I was happy, sometimes I was not, but my hair often rejected the color so quickly that any disappointments soon faded away. That is until I went black. I dyed my naturally medium brown hair black, and lived in regret for a few years. This was a home dye job, which actually makes no difference because the dye held very well. In fact the dye held in my hair forever. Other 'permanent' dyes always faded away in a month or maybe two, but not the black. No color remover, other dyes, or even bleaches that I tried would get the black to fade. Since my hair was long at the time I dyed it, almost to waist length, it took some serious time and patience to let it grow out and many trimmings to remove the black a little at a time.

So how did I fix it? I did not; instead I owned the color and waited out my hair growth. I ignored the pallor that the black hair brought to my face and just rolled with it. Alright, I admit that after a month with no fading and several failed experiments there might have been some tears and some tantrums. But, since I could not seem to fix my hair I just tried to act like I wanted my hair that color. I pretended confidence in my look and after awhile it was real and I was not pretending anymore. As my hair grew out I dyed my roots fun shades of red to make a statement, I wore any color but black, and I hung out with artists and musicians; which I was doing anyway to be honest. Because of all this, I went from thinking of myself as 'the girl with the hair', because I had always prided myself on my long wavy hair, and looking at the larger picture of who I was. Sometimes you just simply cannot fix a mistake, instead you need to bide your time and be brave. A side effect of my initial efforts to remove the color was some seriously dried and damaged hair. That I could actually repair with some oil treatments, careful trimming, and gentle treatment as I waited for the black to grow out. Jojoba oil, herbal rinses, vinegar rinses and deep conditioning treatments made my hair happy and looking healthy despite the color. When I was able to cut the last of the black out of my hair I almost missed it, but not enough to ever repeat that mistake. It has been a little over ten years since I made the black hair dye blunder, but it has not stopped me from playing with my hair. However, now my hair experiments tend to center around natural ingredients and how I can keep my hair happy, healthy, and looking good with my two young children in the house.

The moral of the story is simple. Do not be afraid to try new things, to take some risks, and be a little crazy with your hair sometimes. You never know when it might be a good thing. However, do not skimp on doing strand samples when dying your hair. Do not stop and think about the worst case scenario before taking a big leap toward change. Sometimes it is the mistakes, the blunders, and even what we my think is a disaster, that ultimately gives us something that we need. In my case it was the ability to forget about what people might think of me based on my appearance and being happy with myself, regardless of what my hair might look like. I could not fix my hair dye mistake, but in some ways it helped me become a better person.