Gentlemen prefer Sars
Sorry for the sporadic updates of late; between Bean’s wedding, the cold I came down with the very minute she was safely married, AIDS Walk fun times (awesome job, Angela and Team Supersnack!), bleaching my hair, and jury duty, I’ve had a pretty eventful couple of weeks over here.
The question of whether blondes really do have more fun remains, for me, unresolved (did I mention the jury duty? I see I did), but the question of whether I look good as a blonde is closed: I do not. On the plus side, because my hair is basically wrecked, it’s all fluffy and it holds the style really well now. Also, I still have hair; compared to other tonsorial fund-raising stunts, this one was a cakewalk. (Thanks to Gwenn for her coloration skills, and Allison for the relaxing rinse.) On the minus side…I am just really not a blonde. Pictures after the jump.
Suggestions on a good semi-permanent rinse welcomed with open arms.
I dyed my hair because my team and I reached our goals — so thank you so very much to all of you who helped me/us do that, and to everyone who came out on Friday night in the rain.
Tags: city living friends photo essay
http://www.carolejackson.com/ will also take you to the site of the original author of the “Colour Me Beautiful” colour theory. (Sorry for the double post; I thought I had the right website the first time – it’s still a good site, what with the hair and skin colours, etc.
@Sars: “Either it needs to be floss-white, which will entail another process and a bluing agent (no thanks), or it has to be greyed down to a darker shade with some much darker lowlights.”
Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I would go with the “greyed” option. Blondes, like any other hair color, either have a warm cast or a cool cast. I think you have cool (maybe Winter) coloring, so that’s the kind of blond you need — a medium/dark ash blonde of some sort.
P.S. I just checked out Feria’s site to get ideas. Something like their Chardonnay shade would work, I think. Or Desert Flower if you want a shade lighter. (Only ideas, these are. ITA with the others; get this corrected professionally, not over the basement sink).
sotto voce// thanks for not being mad at me // sotto voce
Actually, it’s not the color, it’s the cut that does not do it justice, IMHO.
I always go shorter than a bob when dying hair (also, that way you can grow the color out faster =P).
From the shade that you’re at, it shouldn’t be difficult for a stylist (don’t try it at home!) to lighten and brighten it, if that is what you want. You can also try some rinses, which I think someone above mentioned as demi-colors. They basically “fill” in the open follicles and give you a temporary shade adjustment. Like you could use a rinse in a darker blonde and it washes out gradually over 10 shampoos or something.
But also, having fried my hair like a twinkie in the past (and looked like Donkey Kong for my efforts), let me tell you the sad truth: you’ll have to grow it all out. The dryness and breakage only gets worse. Fortunately, I did that to myself when I had short-short hair, so it was only a few months to get rid of it all. In the meantime, I have found that one of the best things is a Loreal conditioner (Loreal Natures Therapy Mega Moisture Nurturing Creme) that is available at salons or beauty supply stores for around $15. It’s thick and creamy, rinses with a clean feeling but makes your hair SO SOFT and smooth. Plus, it smells like candy. :) I use it all the time now for my colored hair and it works wonders on my bleached streaks. :)
Hie thee to a salon and get the nice, dirty blonde highlights/lowlights put in. Until you get to the salon, may I recommend a conditioner called “Dumb Blonde” made by some company called Tigi? I use it sometimes (but I’m a *smart* blonde) and leave it on for 10/15 minutes if I can. Works wonders with the my-hair-feels-like-hay issue. You can proably get it at any Ricky’s.
Anyway, I like the second picture a lot. And congrats on the AIDS walk- you all raised something like 7 million dollars- Yippee!!! Onwards to the cure!
Yeah, Sars, I think it looks good, too. It’s likely just that you aren’t used to it yet. That happens to me when I change my hair color. But, no I think you are definitely ‘pulling it off.’ Sorry, How I Met Your Mother quote. :)
I go to a salon if I’m doing anything more than basic combing and styling, so I believe if you are going to change the color, a professional should do it. Chemicals are best handled by the pros.
I’m African-American and wore a relaxer for years (did the Big Chop six months ago and do not miss touch-ups one iota; I’m growing my naturally thick, soft curly hair out), so I’m well-versed in deep conditioning treatments – relaxed hair is very dry. I would use a hot-oil treatment once a week while you’re deciding what to do (I used to use VO5 but found that olive oil works just as well; now I use Carol’s Daughter Hair Elixir, which I used to use to add shine to my relaxed hair). And see if your stylist will do a hair mask. The best thing you can do for chemically treated hair is keep it from drying out.
I, too, have to side with the many other posters who think it looks great. Maybe follow the suggestion one person had – keep it as a fun summer ‘do, then in the fall switch to something in the deep reddish-brown category?
And, hee. Thanks for mentioning Sun-In way up in one of your first comments on the board, Sars. It made me smile all day as I remembered my 14 year-old self’s encounter with that dreaded product. I had forgotten all about Sun-In but I remember it vividly now…and how ticked my mother was at my best friend and I for royally screwing our hair up when we were supposed to be under Mom’s supervision.
*Especially* since she had already sent us back to the drug store that same day to return the two boxes of ultra-strength Blondissma hair dye we had trotted home with. I still stick to my story that Mom said nothing about coming back with cash. Trading in one blonde-enhancing hair product for another seemed perfectly acceptable to my friend and I at the time. Thanks for the unintended fun teen memory.
I think it looks nice, but agree that you have to be happy with it. Right before this past Christmas I decided to treat myself to a salon color. BIG. Mistake. Colors are graded I think 1 through 10, light to dark. I usually do a really bright coppery red that’s about a 2 to a 2.5 (I mix it myself). Through some horrible misunderstanding I ended up with a level seven color. SEVEN. WTF. My hair was BLACK, with a shiny purple glint to it. (ALWAYS ask to see the hair swatch book!)
Everyone ALL through family holidays kept telling me, “Oh I like your hair!” I just wanted to wear 40 bandanas and a hat.
So yeah. If you’re not feelin it, go get it fixed to a color you’re happier with. I can relate to getting out of the shower every day and going “awww…. well, maybe when it’s dry… Awwwwwwwww. Crap.”
Also because a couple other comments mentioned it: Ah ha haa, Feria SUCKS SO MUCH. I hate Feria. Worst fried dead feeling, worst fading, worst bleeding. SUCK.
Sars you look beautiful in the second picture. The light seems wonky on my computer in the first picture so I can’t really judge. I LOVE the cut on you. I’ve been through a zillion hair colours and had some really terrible all over blonde highlights that destroyed my hair, both texture and colour. The first thing I did was find a stylist who specialized in colour correction to add lowlights matching my natural colour and something else to tone down the platinum blonde that was left over. I also used intense conditioners every time I washed it (I can get away with two or three days between washings, but I think you mentioned that you had to wash everyday some time back). In between washings I used a good leave-in conditioner especially on the ends.
I don’t live in NYC, but the last time I was there I had my hair coloured by an amazing stylist who works magic with colour and also specializes in colour correction. I don’t know if I should post her name here, but if you want it I can send it to you.
TiGI makes the Dumb Blonde conditioner which I liked okay, but I prefer the Redken Smooth Down products and also their All Soft line. I’ve been sick and on a variety of meds that made half of my hair fall out and the other half look and feel like crap. I’ve been using the WEN cleansing conditioners (amazon carries the line as does QVC) and they have improved the look and feel of my hair immensely. They can also be used as a leave-in after cleaning. The styling products are also very moisturizing.
Sars, I love it. But please go to a salon for maintenance. If you can find a salon that uses Aveda colours, you are sure to get a great result with minimal hair damage.
And super-pale skin with blonde hair is a gorgeous combination, think Cate Blanchett.
The other thing to consider about keeping it blonde (at least for a little while) is that blondes look great in black, which I know you like to wear.
Sars, just another unsolicited suggestion here: find out what colour/season you are, before you pick another colour that isn’t The Sars Original Hair Version; reddish-brown, while a lovely colour in and of itself, sucks moose eggs on women with cool colouring, e.g., Summers and Winters – and we’re already thinking you have cool colouring. (Sars is cool! Pass it on!)
It would just be … really unfortunate if you wound up not liking your fixit hair colour.
I guess the main question is, do you FEEL any different as a blond? Will the lack of pigment on your head of hair affect your writing? hee.
Another vote for the ash-blonde compromise. I’m naturally a dark ash blonde, and from what I can tell my skin tone is similar to yours. Ash would work well on you.
I am getting such a Meredith Baxter Birney vibe from the second pic. I see a tv movie of the week in your future!
Hee: http://flickr.com/photos/teamsupersnack/2508641611/
Dear AIDS Walk: Please start later next year. Love, Sarah.
Please, please tell me you’re going to write another essay about jury duty! Super George and the Walrus still crack me up.
I am quite pleased to report that there will not be a full entry because I was excused mid-voir dire yesterday morning. The jury clerk could see we were about to revolt because the process was so ridonkulously slow, and while I don’t think that’s really anyone’s fault in this instance — the nature of the case meant the questioning had to proceed very gingerly, and then one of the attorneys fell ill, so on and so forth — the entire panel was clearly not predisposed to do anything but bring in the fastest possible verdict, fairness entirely aside, in order to get the fuck out of there.
So they turned us loose. But I met some nice people, including a TN reader, with whom I emailed a little in the hopes of both of us getting the boot for fraternizing outside of the jury room. (I don’t know if they do that, even, but seriously, it was like a Beckett play.) (Hi, Ms. Dawson!)
Keight said: “Also because a couple other comments mentioned it: Ah ha haa, Feria SUCKS SO MUCH. I hate Feria. Worst fried dead feeling, worst fading, worst bleeding. SUCK.”
It beyond sucks. There is no word for how much it sucks. And it sucks even more because it costs so damned much.
Keight – to clarify: Colors are grades 1 through 10, dark to light. 1 is black, 10 is platinum blonde.
I like your haircut and color (at least in these photos) but if you want to become less blonde I would recommend a professional. Bleached hair isn’t something to screw around with. I am remembering highlight kits of my teenagerhood.
Queen Helene’s Cholesterol is a good, inexpensive deep conditioner. Old-fashioned hair dressings (the oily kind) are also good, but you do have to use them sparingly. They are good for really bad frizzies and add a bit of weight to hair. I’ve found some good ones in the African American hair products section of the drugstore.
Maura – I thought it was the other way around! Weird. The colors I buy are graded a 2 and a 3 and I mix them, and it’s pretty light. Maybe the brand is backwards from the general scale…
Hooray for getting out of jury duty early!
I think it looks good blonde, but if you insist on colouring it back to whatever colour you want, S A L O N. Already damaged hair doesn’t need inexperienced help. They’ll also condition it for you so that it is less hay-like.
Of course, you could always go for the bald Sars again…………
It looks fine, Sars, but if you’re not happy no number of people telling that it’s great will make you change your mind. When taken with drink one Saturday afternoon, I poured a bottle of peroxide over my head thinking, highlights, how difficult can that be? Answer, more difficult than than you might suppose. That was a learning experience from which I gleaned
1. The chemicals stay in your hair so leave it a couple of weeks at least until you try anything
2. Aveda Blue Malva shampoo and conditioner will take the brassiness out of it, and will take care of the condition as well
3. You would do better going for a range of lowlights which you can grow out gradually over time rather than a one-shade tint which will fade/wash out and generally steadily look worse over time – particularly as we are just at the beginning of summer
Good luck – why not try a non-hair-related bet next time?
A
4.
Great cut! Great bone structure! I tend to side with you, though–not so much the blonde. (This from a bottle-blonde.) (But I used to be blonde, before I had my son, so…)
Don’t do it yourself. I tried that once, and my hairdresser mocked me mercilessly: “Clean up on aisle 4,” and all that sh*+.