From the time I was in my early to mid 20s, I messed with my hair a lot. Within my family, at least, it became something of a trademark. Since I worked as a bartender for most of those young years, my hair color or cut didn’t matter, so I’ve been just about every color: red, brown, platinum blonde, pink, orange, purple, blue. I loved every single one of those colors in their own way.
I think part of my hair restlessness stems from the same urge that drives me to move away, to try new countries, to explore new jobs, to wish for the grass that is always greener. In short, I bore myself.
Living here has meant a level of poverty I haven’t experienced since I was a jobless kid and lived at home, so my hair mania has, by necessity, fallen by the wayside. In December of 2006 and April of 2007, my cousin cut and colored my hair when I went home to Chicago, at a steep discount (ie, free). These are the only 2 times in the last year that I’ve had anything done to my hair. As a result, my hair got longer than it’s been in 15 years. I loved that I could wear my hair in ponytails and braids, but lately it’s looked kinda, well, shitty.
Feeling sorry for myself today, lamenting my old wealthy life when I spent hours and hundreds of dollars in salons, I spent the ungodly sum of 310 pesos and got my hair cut at the foo-foo French place here in town, Salon Bleu (bluhhhhh).
This is what I get when I do something impulsive:
While it’s not an outrageously bad cut, it is NOTHING like the picture I showed her. It’s about 6 inches shorter than I wanted to go and if I don’t style it a certain way, it’s definitely helmet-y looking. I have a feeling that in 5 months, I’ll like it, and hopefully by then I’ll be able to put it up again (because if it’s not long enough to put up by the hotter than balls summer, I’m doomed).
Although I’ve never been one of those girls attached to their hair, I mean c’mon, it’s just hair…when I saw the big ole pile on the salon floor today, I felt a little weepy. It took me FOREVER to get it long and just when it was, I lopped it off again (well, unintentionally, but still). Oh well. That’s what I get for having a Mexican girl cut my hair in a salon owned by a Frenchman in the Yucatan.
Help me pick my new color…I’m going to try to see if it makes me feel better about the cut.
310 pesos is like what… $2.57 US?
I say you pick the color purple, so i can nickname you “Grape Ape” after my bowling ball that i never use anymore…
By: trucker on November 16, 2007
at 3:42 am
I say a deep intense red!!! We have similar coloring, it would look fahbulous dahling!!!
A dark brown & when you step into the sun, wham!! red, red.
By: Jacquelina on November 16, 2007
at 9:32 am
I think it suits you. Sassy! I would go for a few highlights, if you must color. But you don’t. How liberating.
By: rasa on November 16, 2007
at 8:30 pm
I personally like the dark brown color you have now. It’s kinda like mine so maybe that’s why I like it. I know how you feel about chopping it off though. After my wedding my hair was LONG. I chopped off 10 or 12 inches and donated it to Locks of Love. It was soo weird to see it all braided and not on my head.
I soo miss the crazy colors btw. I wish I could still do them sometimes. I wanna go purple again.
By: Teetle on November 17, 2007
at 1:24 am
Heather, I’m finding it interesting to learn how in many ways our lives have been similar without either one of us knowing it of course.
For years I was known for my ever changing hairstyle/hair color – and yes I’ve done everything from pure white to magenta — and why? Because I got bored and there was nothing else to do! I couldn’t pack up and move to a new place, so I had to recreate myself. However, about 2 years ago, I said enough.
I can honestly say all of the hair on my head is it’s own natural color now — and that means all of the gray is really mine too. I do have people say, oh well you would look younger if you colored your hair, well I normally have people think I’m a lot younger than I am anyway, and at this point I feel I have truly EARNED my gray hair. It’s like a medal that I’ve worked a long time for – found my first gray hair at 20 when I took the home pregnancy test and it came out positive – but at 20 I was still the oldest in my family before going gray! There are times I think about going out and coloring it again, but I think for now I will just stick with the actually haircuts — that is when I have the time and money to get to the damn salon!
By: Kerri on November 17, 2007
at 9:06 am
Don’t cut yourself short, Heather (pun intended
), you’re looking just as good as ever (and I meant that as a compliment 
).
How ’bout Aubergine?
By: TeeZet on November 17, 2007
at 9:18 am
I can’t add anything to this. don’t call the hospitals.
By: Jerry on November 19, 2007
at 1:23 am