that time i dyed my hair blue, then pink

The first time I dyed my hair, I was about fifteen. My sister, being the Manic Panic expert she was and the fabulous wearer of fuschia hair herself, helped me bleach sections of my hair and dye it fire-engine red. As I was pacing the apartment with tin foil dreads, I was pumped to finally get the fiery look I’d been wanting. Well! Once everything was done, my hair was more of a…burnt orange. Not at all the bright red I was expecting. Womp, womp. Since then, I haven’t been very experimental with hair color, although I’m always dreaming of (and pinning) candy-colored hair. That is, until last weekend when this overwhelming urge came over me. I absolutely needed my hair to be blue. Or purple. Or pink.

So fast forward to when I chalked my hair blue right before we had to be at a birthday party last weekend. Do you know about hair chalking? It’s kinda’ cool. You just rub this chalk all over your hair and the result is a funky, vivid color. I loved how bold it looked and it didn’t appear chalky or harsh. The downside was that it got everywhere. As in, anything it touched (i.e. my face, neck, clothes) turned blue. Want to see what happened when I hugged Bob? Needless to say, there was no way I was going to roll up at this party giving everyone blue cheeks, so I washed it out. Hair chalking? D . Great color, ease of use and washes right out with shampoo. But the rub-off? No bueno. Although I’d definitely recommend it for pixie-haired girls that aren’t planning on giving out hugs. As ridiculous as it sounds, that could totally work. Oh, and don’t wear when it’s raining outside. Disaster waiting to happen.

I guess I was going for a grungey, heroine-chic look here?

The next day, I tried hot pink, which was a cream that came with a mascara brush-like applicator. It was…the worst. The formula made my hair incredibly stiff and when you looked closely, it looked like someone had just slimed my hair with Gak (remember Gak though?!). I give this one a big red F. The only redeeming quality was how quickly it washed out. And let me just say, it is really alarming when you’re showering and suddenly the water at your feet is running neon pink and for a second you forget why that is.

The blue hair looked great, but if I want quality results, I’ll have to stop being a commitment-phobe and go at least semi-permanent. Hair bleach, tin foil dreads and all! But for the moment, I like to think of myself as brunette on the surface, blue at heart. And if it comes to be that I don’t attempt color again, well at least I got it out of my system. Even if it was short-lived!

Instagram: @jillianm55