A woman drove by me today and yelled out her car window “I love your hair!”

Ever have one of those moments when you realize that how you see yourself isn’t how others see you?  It’s so easy to look in the mirror and see the flaws instead of the overall beauty of the person that is you.  Let’s not even go into the how the whole beauty culture depends on telling you that you need commercial products because you are not perfect enough without them.  I was definitely having one of those moments about my hair – the color seemed too blonde in spots, the texture felt dry, it was being too fluffy and making me look like a cocker spaniel.

“Thanks!” I yelled back, and proceeded to walk home and go up to the mirror and look again.  Taking a look at myself from a stranger’s point of view, and letting go of all those negative voices.  I love my blue hair, and the silver addition is my latest hair-venture.

The Silver Edition

Over the past few months I haven’t done much with my hair, as I paid more attention to downsizing and selling my house.  With letting my “roots” grow so long, it was easier to see how the “sparkles” (as my former hair dresser called my grey) were increasing.  But, with a major life change and becoming a nomad, what would be a good solution for that awkward transition time until my hair becomes completely grey?

Thankfully, in the past few years, grey has become the trendy color.  From women embracing their natural progression and not coloring their roots to young women coloring their hair all shades of silver.  Vogue declared silver as the hottest color for 2018 and 2019.  Women of a certain age have taken over the term “silver fox” and making it as sexy for women as men.

My grand experiment this time is based on the premise that by dying the top part of my hair silver/grey, that when my natural hair grows in, the increased grey will blend nicely.  I wanted blue at the bottom part, based on my experience in the past two years with blue.  Meaning, for me, the blue dye came off on my neck (hello, Smurf!), pillows and towels.  My second premise, while searching for examples of hair styles, was that by having blue at the bottom fringe, that there would be less of a chance of leaving a blue trail.

The execution of my plan

After searching for a hair colorist who could dye my hair silver and blue, I found Johnny at a nearby salon.  He assured me that the technology for blue dye has changed, and is much more permanent than in recent years.  He had me show up extra early, for a round of heating my hair to open up the molecules so the colors would last longer.  He gently explained all he was doing and why, which made me feel at ease.  It was hard to see the color differences of the mixtures as he layered on the silver and the blue.  I told him I trusted his artistic instincts.  I’m including photos of the different stages of the process, in case you’re curious!

The results

There is much more blue in my hair than I originally had planned.  But Johnny seemed to know that I secretly (or maybe not so secretly) love having blue hair.  I feel it’s a way to express my individuality and embrace non-conformity.  The silver seems to change depending on how the light hits it.  I am learning that silver hair has its own methods needed for proper care.  Johnny kept in mind that I will be traveling, and gave me great tips to take with me!

Will this grand experiment pan out as planned? Will it help me ease into my natural grey hair? Will I be able to find another good colorist in my nomad journey, or learn how to keep the edges blue myself? Who knows? That’s part of the magic of adventure, even if it’s a hair-venture! What about you, are you more willing to try something new and different, even if it means playing with your identity?