I’ve been coloring my hair for more than half of my life. I think I was 15 or 16 the first time I dyed it at home. I’ve colored it black, dark brown, burgandy, auburn, and deep purple. I had my hair professionally dyed at the salon once and only once. I was there for three hours. Three.
The last time I dyed it was last summer. It’s now reached that stage where I’ve got a solid 2″ of natural hair and the rest is a faded orange-y/brown. This is the stage where I’d normally run to the drug store, pick out a new box of dye, and get to work in the bathroom. But – I’ve decided to work on embracing my natural hair color. It’s been so long since I had a full head of it. It’s sad that it’s been so long since I truly saw me staring back at me in a mirror.
The truth is – I hate dyeing my hair. The chemicals smell awful, my scalp itches while it’s on, and it stains everything it touches! I can’t tell you how many t-shirts, towels, and wash cloths have been permanently stained. How can we forget? It costs about $10 every time I want to dye it. It’s not the most money I’ve spent on a beauty product, but it’s money spent nonetheless.
I’ve been working on envisioning my future self – my goals, my passions, my career, my relationships (especially the one with myself) and I just can’t see an older me with deep burgandy hair anymore. I want to live as naturally and freely as I can. I don’t want my mind wrapped around any preconceived notions of what beauty is. I haven’t started graying yet, but I don’t want to be afraid of it. There is far too much going on in this world to be fearful of, and my own natural beauty (or aging) shouldn’t be one of them.
Do any of you dye your hair? Are you thinking about giving it up? Let me know in the comments or shoot me a message!
Thank you for reading!