Cranberry Hair

What comes to mind when you hear these two words: red violet? Do you think of crayons; a sunset; a pack of incense sticks; a cup of herbal tea, or a new fragrance? Think long…think hard. Now imagine your hair color is RED VIOLET when hours before you were pale blonde with bangs that were close to platinum.

I went to my hair stylist requesting a cut and medium brown rinse. I had lived my life as a blonde for the summer, and discovered I wasn’t really having more fun. That stage in my life now over, I was ready to go back to my “natural” color…say it with me…medium brown.

When my stylist checked the new color early on, she said quietly said “I don’t like what it’s doing.” I shook off her comment because I trust her implicitly, and have been going to her for over 5 years with happy results.

When the towel came off I could see my roots were violet, and the ends an auburn color of some type. I now matched my lavender eye shadow and the curtains in the shop. Although I was surprised I just knew she could fix it! Out came the color wheel and I heard these words: AMBER GOLD. Round #2 was due to begin and I was certain I would be medium brown in no time. What really concerned me was the old ticker beating so fast I thought it would fly out of my chest. Plus my neck was beginning to itch and my forehead was getting damp…a sure sign of freak out. I was laughing out loud while praying silently for a miracle. When towel #2 came off I was greeted with black shoe polish hair color – no shine – no highlights – no gray – no white. My husband will now have good reason to divorce me.

My stylist and I decided I would try to live with it for a couple of days. If I couldn’t adjust to the change I’d come back for a “discoloration process” which meant let’s bring out the bleach. I left the shop at noon (name of establishment undisclosed) and called my beautician the next morning at 8:30 AM. HELP ME! In spite of 4 shampoo and condition marathons the color remained severe. When I looked into the mirror I saw a woman with black Halloween hair. The puppy barked at me and ran into the laundry room behind the water heater. The cat hissed, then preceded to have an accident on the carpet. But what hurt the most was my husband calling me Elvira (Mistress of the Dark) without the dress and dramatic cleavage.

Hubby and I had planned to go out to dinner that night. It was a NO to the bowling alley – too many lights. It was a NO at Nickel Charlie's – too many people. It was a NO at Stillwater Bar because we were afraid to sit outside in the sunlight to see my hair up close and personal. We pulled the blinds and ate in.

I went back for the discoloration process and watched her pull numerous strands of hair through a bathing suit cap. She slathered on the bleach in an attempt to add highlights. The final product was black hair with faint red streaks… it was time to laugh or cry. I grinned big, gave her a hug, told her I’d be back in 6-8 weeks. I assured her it wasn’t her fault… it was simply the luck of the draw for me. Middle aged Ja’Nee with a hair color nobody could properly name. At least I’d match the cranberry sauce at the Thanksgiving table.

Interesting though was the conversation at the beauty shop. General consensus was this: Water; diet, chemicals, health, and inexpensive shampoo could cause this to happen! So I began to filter the water at home; concentrate on a better diet, made an appointment for a complete physical, and threw away my cheap shampoo. And let the record state, I held onto humor. Especially when (2) clients at the shop complimented me on my red violet hair; said I could pull it off like no other woman they knew; plus my roots now matched my eyeliner. I didn’t have the heart to tell them in just minutes it would be down the drain.

Enjoy the day and your current hair color.