Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow...

Those of my readers who have been following my blog for a while will know that I have a tendency to do silly things with my hair. Usually those silly things are pretty predictable, and happen when I lack the time, money or opportunity to go to my regular hairdresser.

I never seem to learn from these mistakes. I have had some pretty spectacular disasters over the years, the most impressive of which was when I went aubergine. Fortunately that episode predated blogs and phone cameras, and so no evidence exists, other than my scarred psyche.

An aversion to being photographed has distinct advantages.

However, yesterday I restrained my natural inclination to mess about with my hair, and went to the hairdresser. It was decided that, as it was in quite a bit of a mess colour-wise, it might be wise to bleach out everything and start from scratch. The hair equivalent of a tabula rasa, no less...

I've never done that before, and visions of perfectly ash blonde hair glittered enticingly through my mind. I agreed that it was worth a go, and I wasn't in any particular hurry, so I could waste a few hours drinking cups of tea, chatting to the assistants about hair, nails, makeup and whatnot. Girly stuff.

I can hear the cry of "Photos, or it didn't happen...!" resounding across the blogosphere. Now, I really do hate my own photos, so I have edited these to remove my features, though there is enough left for you to get the general idea.

First of all, there is the state I was in to begin with...

Lots of honey tones in the hair, which really do not suit my colouring at all, as well as making it look as if I need a wash, even when I just have!

The first stage of the process involved bleach - lots of it. This was to strip out the reddish tones, as well as to remove any previous hair dyes.

This basically looked (and felt) like straw.

Next, came the application of the light ash blonde colour. I expressed reservations almost immediately as I noticed how light it was getting. The hairdresser dried my fringe off first so I could judge just how light it was, and whether remedial action would be required...

It was a beautiful shade, but more baby blonde than ash, and far too light for my complexion. The hairdresser liked it a lot, but we agreed that it just wasn't "me." I explained that I wanted to go more silvery, with a bit of grey thrown in... so, after perusal of shade cards, more hair dye was employed...

The final result was rather more grey than I had anticipated, and, to be honest, it was a bit of a shock. However, I am getting used to it, and I think it will tone down a bit after a few washes... I rather like it, though I don't think anyone else does...

I was quite thankful that I was able to wear my mantilla at Mass this morning! I suspect the real test will be in the Parish club after Rosary and Benediction this evening... I shall let you know if I'm greeted with stunned silence or hysterical laughter... Watch this space!!