I can honestly tell you that my recent need of change has taken me to the direction to change my hair color. Let me tell you this, it wasn’t easy. In fact I think I went through stages of shock and withdrawal. Dying my blonde hair dark was extremely difficult. Not just process-wise of dying blonde hair dark, but mentally and if you’re a current blonde right now, you know exactly what the thought of going dark does to you.

For most of my life, I’ve had just about every blonde hair shade and for a long time bleach blonde hair. It fits my personality, it’s my persona, it’s my signature, I ooze blonde. I’ve modeled with it, loved with it and most importantly my blonde hair and I have gone through some adventures together. I also plan my hair styles and shades accordingly with my moods and the seasons (yes I’m obsessive with my hair). My hair is my baby, and it’s taken years and years of work and maintenance to get that certain shade of blonde that I absolutely love and for it to be in suitable condition-it by no means was ever “fried” like you see the straw hats some blondes wear on their heads. The thought of going dark has swirled around in my brain for a long time but I’ve never had the cajones to actually go through with it. Going through such a drastic change takes mental preparation and prepare I did indeed, because the last time I went dark, 2 weeks later I was missing the blonde.

Preparing myself for the drastic change, I needed some hair color help. The perfect color that I needed is going to complement my eyes and skin tone and that alone is very important. If you’re having trouble finding exactly what color you’d like to go with look around for inspiration. There are many colors around you every day and taking a picture of something you see to your hairstylist will get you two on the same page when telling them what you want. First stop, the local wig shop. I had a certain color and style in mind but what else would be better than just trying it on? If you have never been to a wig shop you’re missing out. I can spend hours there trying on every single color and style they have. In this process take pictures of what you look like with different hair styles and colors. This is great to do so you can come back and compare for reference when making your color decision. After trying on chocolate, burgundy, mahogany and a lighter brown, I had a good idea of what would work with my eyes, face shape and undertones. After much consideration and influenced by TV shows, wigs and outside colors I made my decision. The next step is to get ready to take the plunge.

Lucky for me my super amazing hair stylist was more than ready and willing to change up my style. When you’re about to do something drastic with your hair I highly recommend going to someone who’s great with color, has a resume and knows what they are doing. Going to a random person that isn’t familiar with your hair texture and chemistry can be disastrous. Monique Cardenas from Harroin Salon is my go-to hair lady. She has an impressive resume and lucky for me her specialties are bobs and color. After sitting down with her for 2-3 minutes she practically read my mind and knew exactly what I wanted. On a side note, your hair stylist should connect with you and get what YOU want, not what THEY want, then interpret that into something fabulous. The countdown to my hair being saturated with color began. Last chance to back out. I’m not exaggerating when I say that panic mode kicked in. Will it look good? What if it’s not the right color? What if I hate it and want my blonde back? This is where your mental preparation beforehand comes into play and your stylist (or in this case new psychologist) should be right there to talk you through it.

The coloring began; first color was an orange to fill in from the blonde. (Not a very good look on me by the way). After washing that out the next color came on, about two more times. From there all I could feel was excitement for the outcome and stayed away from looking in the mirror until it was done. After much anticipation the final product was unveiled and I was thrilled. It was dark and the perfect hair color, but my emotions went blank. The period of emotional shock had begun. I was so happy to have a changed hair color, but emotionally I was missing my oomph inside. This may hit you as well, just be prepared it took me about a week for reality to finally set in. Here’s the thing. I knew I looked good and I may be conceited for saying that but I did and I felt great. This weird sense of nothing just struck me out of nowhere. Over the next few days I was asked “how do you like it?” I love it but no form of utter excitement that I knew was there would come out in my response. You don’t just get over it, but we are creatures of adaptation and that’s exactly what I needed to do.

Before...

After!

Here I am three weeks later and I feel like a better, sexier version of myself. I am a woman of many looks and I’ll never be bored or scared to take a leap of faith with my style. It’s like J. Michelle 2.0 and I couldn’t be happier with my hairstyle. Don’t ever be afraid to change up your look it’ll make you more confident and most likely bring on a new improved attitude. Change may be exactly what you need to get out of a rut. Remember; hair grows back, and if you’re taking a risk you have to work it inside and out. If you’re ever in doubt, ask your trusty hairstylist or friends. Changing your hair color drastically is a big step and you just have to be ready for it. Never ask “what is this hair color going to do for me?” The correct outlook is “what am I going to do for this hair color?”

P.S. The great thing about changing your hair color is experimenting with different shades and color palettes of makeup to go along with it. Have fun!

Tags: Hair, Hair Care

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 11:13 am and is filed under Hair. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.