This really is not a Japan related post, just a little stream of consciousness I found in my blog drafts. I tend to have so many drafts, and most of them are unfinished, but this one was actually complete. I didn't publish it, though, because I thought it too silly and girly. You can be the judge.
My hair has gone through a lot in the past decade. Not only has it been going through the constant cycle of growing out long and being dramatically chopped short, but the color of it has hit every spectrum of the rainbow. It became an unbreakable habit: even after the unnatural color highlights phase passed in high school, I was not content with my natural color, which I considered a boring mousy brown. I started dying it more natural browns with reddish tints or deeper browns. I came to fear (and disgust) the time when the dye started to grow out, and the shade at the top didn't match the tips. Thus the endless unbreakable cycle continued. At one point of the cycle, I stuck to one color that I continually bought and used, proving I was getting tired of the cycle (and trying to think of ways to re-invent my hair). Finally, I altogether stopped and winced as my two-toned hair slowly grew out. Before coming to Japan, I knew I wasn't going to even attempt to dye my hair while here, especially in a profession where I'd be answering why I did it to 9 different schools full of kids over a period of a month. I ended up cutting off my hair and having that experience anyway, but I was glad to chop off the last remnants of dyed hair. The results surprised me: my natural hair color wasn't dull, mousy, and one solid color. I had natural highlights.
Questions arose:
Did my hair change color as I grew up?
Maybe the dyes permanently changed it?
Perhaps the Japan sunlight is playing tricks on me?
Does being in a sea of black-haired people make me think my hair looks different?
Or was I just too ignorant to notice my hair is truly a nice color?
Whatever the case, I can't believe I'm able to say I'm satisfied with my hair color after a decade of change.
That's why I was always afraid to try coloring my hair - I thought that once I started, I would never be able to stop.
ReplyDeleteRight now I have my hair colored to something awfully close to my natural shade. I think the color is richer, but at the same time no one will really notice as it starts to grow out. Best of both worlds :).