WHY I STOPPED AFTER MY CRAZY EXPERIENCES WITH HAIR COLOURING
The other day I was telling a friend why I had stopped colouring my hair after 2009. No, it wasn’t because I got married that year but because, well, read on.
I was looking for all the old pictures to prove what I have set out to tell you. But with conking hard drives every 10 years, it seemed close to impossible. Just remember that I’ve tried my best anyway.
So, it all began when I was happy to know that my to-be-hubby’s friend owned a parlour somewhere in the south of Bangalore. On my first or second visit to Bangalore (2007/2008), we met this bunch of friends which ended up with me having a little RED STREAK under the back of my hair. It wasn’t that visible but I was excited about it.
Then came New Year’s 2009. I remember getting back from my Christmas holiday with BLONDE HIGHLIGHTS in my hair. My to-be-hubby was shocked! He said I looked like a zebra. Men, I tell you!!! Anyway, there’s a not-so-great picture below to show you my dwindling highlights.
Check this if you want to get a temporary hair colour!
In April 2009, Wella needed some sitting models who were willing to get their hair done for free. Perhaps, it was a brand collaboration (because I definitely did not get paid for it) and I submitted my name for it. Who doesn’t love a good hair colouring done for free, right? When I was getting ready to get my hair done, I was strict about leaving my hairstyle the way it was (I had already gone through numerous exciting haircuts before I was struck with some sense to leave my tresses the way they were: long). The hair stylist wasn’t very happy with my decision but said she would give me a PURPLE BALAYAGE. I love purple. She informed me that she would give the fringe (or bangs as they call it now-a-days) a lighter shade than the rest of my hair. I smiled in agreement.
I began observing her every move like she was operating on my heart. She took some paste and applied it to my bangs. After a while she removed it and my bangs were WHITE! She saw the look on my face and assured me that it was required for the bright purple to show. At 26, thoughts like ‘hair damage’, ‘hair health’, etc. are generally ignored from our vocabularies. So, I relaxed. The result was quite pretty, I must say. Here’s a picture of me with my hair just done.
Then May end, I decided to take part in a musical. During the practice sessions and numerous photographs, I was shocked to see that my fringe was turning WHITE. The purple was almost gone. I acted on impulse and turned up for practice the very next day with ORANGISH hair and BRIGHT ORANGE bangs. I had no hair colour at home, so resorted to applying mehendi that night. The result is below!
Then we decided to have an engagement ceremony in July 2009 for the families to meet each other. Here’s a picture of my hair colour on that day. Not bad, right?
By August, I was done with looking like an orange troll doll. I bought black hair colour and did the needful. I was so happy with the look because my natural hair is not jet-black.
My wedding day was set for the second week of September. So, I met with the hair stylist and make-up artist towards the end of August. The hair stylist told me that a good head massage every alternate day would make my hair softer by my wedding day. Plus, I love head massages. Or any massage for that matter.
After work (yes, I used to be a full-time working woman back then), I would freshen up and leave to enjoy a relaxing head massage. It was great until I realised that while I was washing away the hair oil, slowly, the black colour got washed away as well. Again, mehendi came to my rescue overnight. Again, my hair was orangish.
On my wedding day, my hair was tied up and covered with a veil or flowers, so I didn’t have much of an issue trying to hide my confusing hair colours. You can see a bit of my hair colour here in the photoshoot pictures taken a week later.
A Guide to Hair Colouring with Colorisma!
A few months after my wedding, I realised that my hair was dry and scantier than ever. Though not thick, my hair is naturally straight and smooth. So, I almost cried looking at what I had done to my beautiful hair. Here’s a picture of my hair in January 2010. Though I look decent here, I know how much hair I had on my head.
Soon, I realised two things: Through all of this, I was only torturing my hair, and doing anything permanently unnatural to your hair requires continuous high maintenance which I had no patience for.
That’s when I resolved to NEVER colour my hair again, however much I was tempted to look funky and cool. I WOULD NOT GIVE IN. Since then I’ve seen my hair regaining its volume and strength. Though I don’t diss hair colouring if it’s once in a while, I have decided never to think of hair colouring if it’s not necessary.
This was me at 30 (2012-2013).
And, now this is me at 40! 😉 Of course, the credit for this look also goes to healthy eating, walking, taking care of myself, not using a hair dryer regularly and good photography. But still, I’m proud of my decision to stop messing with my hair till now. Of course, COVID has led to some extra strands of hair leaving my scalp as and when they feel like, but still, I think I’m doing my best not to lose them all.
Have you overdone something that led you to quit or stop it eventually? Let me know in the comments below.
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.
40 Comments
This was an entertaining read. I can imagine the heartache every time the colour faded or looked strange! I’ve consciously never coloured my hair for this reason – I want to keep the hair healthy naturally. But when I start seeing some whites, then I will definitely start the colouring process… Hahaha!
I have never coloured my hair. The very thought scares me as I already have rough, frizzy hair. Your healed hair looks lovely.
Thank you, Mandira.
I do have a picture of you with pink hair. An old one.. I am bad at hair care but with grey hair popping out, I have no option but to color my hair very frequently. Slowly learning to maintain it too.
Ouch, send it to me, Karen!
I have never tried using any color on my hair apart from brown/black. Now I don’t even do that. I surely like seeing all the experiments. Some people carry them off really well. Your experience was fun to read but I think it was also quite tense.
Yes, the pain was real, Madhu!
I never tried hair Colour just because I know the side effects. Like you I also wanted to have some funky hair colour. But till date not possible. You are brave enough to have these experiments.
Hair coloring–the devil! I started coloring for fun when I was about 20 and my sister was getting married. over the years I too switched to Mehendi and then back to hair coloring. I must agree that my hair has lost its volume and texture and now even though I color my hair out of compulsion (I have too many greys), I regret my decision to color my hair. It would’ve naturally greyed and would’ve looked pretty. But now, it looks horrible 🙁
Yikes!
Oh dear dear Cindy… now that I know about your resolution, i can rest in peace cuz I used to wonder y u never colour your hair. But, I admire your resolve.. you just don’t budge!
I am the highlights n streaks kinda person n havent ever coloured my full hair, but the # of greys that r popping up… dont know how long I’ll be able to hold the fort.
To answer your ques, I don’t think I have ever overdone anything that I needed to say, ‘I will never do it’… I like ‘balance’ and also, I never say never😉
P.S: u look cute in those colours btw.
Hahaha, thanks, Kaveri!
A little bit of experimentation can keep life exciting, so I believe. I first colored my hair when I was 35 and it was to hide my greys because Henna just did not do it for me and was a very time-consuming process.
I gave my hair red highlights when my life was going through a rather bleak patch, I quite liked that and it looked great but it would run with every wash and that was very inconvenient. Then I switched to a light brown shade with caramel highlights but it damaged my hair and also did not come as well as I had imagined.
I think your hair survived most of the hair-coloring adventures pretty well. It does burn a hole in the pocket though because coloring is expensive and maintaining colored hair with special shampoos and conditioners, hair masks, etc is equally costly. After My Father’s passing away, I stopped coloring my hair. I just did not feel like it. Now it looks quite grey and white but I have got accustomed to it. It is liberating to not rush for a touch-up on the first sight of white roots.
True, Preeti. Good call. Just be natural and beautiful!
I can totally relate to your crazy hair coloring experiences, Cindy! It brings back memories of my own hair color adventures! I’ve definitely had moments where I wanted to change my hair drastically, only to end up regretting it. It’s funny how we sometimes experiment with our hair without considering the consequences.
True, Felicia!
I always wanted to do all these crazy colours but never took the bold steps. Then in 2011, I went for streaks, they look strange after the initial euphoria wore off, then they became wild. And then finally, when they were going off, they did look good. However, the hair health went for a toss. Now, I only use hair colour for the roots as grey hair needs more maintenance and also tends to turn yellow. But, natural hair is the best. You did the wise thing and stuck to your natural self!
Ya, Ambica, I plan to leave my greys and whites just the way they are whenever I have them.
I’m glad you’ve got your hair health back. I always believe that if what you do is something that you’re passionate about, no matter how eyebrow rising it is, go for it. I’m happy that you’ve got to do yours. I’m sure despite what happened to your hair, there’s no regrets in you that you never tried to dye your hair and that’s what matters.=)
Hair, hair dear hair where are you my love. Cindy Once upon a time I used to have thick hair and that too jet black . My mother used to always discourage beauty treatments or even going for eyebrow settings… I really dont know why she used to behave like that . I always preferred to remain decent in my appearance and for that I loved caring for my skin and hair but was not allowed at all. I am still in love with my jet black hair but for hair care I started using Mehendi few years after my marraige. It never turned my hair complete orange but a golden black shade but it turned my hair so dry and frizzy that I stopped using… I never preferred coloring my hair till the time few white strands started showing up… with growing ages, stress, family melodrama started taking control on my health and hair started thinning and now when i look at my hair now I feel like crying. Anyways I do occasional coloring and that too black in specific hair line areas and not on full hair. I use doctor prescribed brand cuticolor black 2.0 and not the so called permanent colors.
But Cindy I salute your guts to experiment with colors and by the way you aged so gracefully and who will say you are 40. You are beautiful then and still now. Keep that vibrant smile on face alive as that makes you more pretty and beautiful.
Thank you, Samata!
Well, I am currently doing the exact same thing what you did. Coloring my hair and it is dry and damaged. But I have a lot of grey hair and I am not yet mentally ready to accept that state. You look great and cute with all the colors.
Glad to see your hair fully recovered and healthy now.
Yeah, Rose, I’m glad too.
You look gorgeous. Seeing the last pic makes me think that you aged in reverse. 🤩❤️lots of love. hair colouring or not I tend to lose a lot of hair I am also doing my best to keep it from falling out.
Do take care of what you eat, too, Sivaranjini!
Wow, Cindy, loved your experience with hair color, and you look great in all the looks! I used to get highlights, but surprisingly, I don’t have any pics like yours to post. In my 30s, I rocked a bold red highlights – it was awesome! Then I switched to a coffee shade. But when I noticed my highlighted hair getting rough, I quit going to the salon for it. Plus, it was getting way too pricey. Hairdressers always quoted me like 10k bucks because my hair is long and thick. Now that I’m in my 40s, I’m trying to convince my family and friends to let me chop it short 😂😂!
Hahahaha! I love my long hair, Anjali. I tried various short hair cuts in my life. I should find pictures for that too, hahaha!
Been there experienced the same n got to worst, started losing alot of hair. Now the hair loss is gone down, it was at peak when there was a change in water from Kuwait to Mangalore. Handling the few that I have left with care and caution 🤣
Hahaha, Flavia!
I always feared getting streaks even. I never experimented with my hair. When I started turning grey, I used hair colour and my hair started falling and thinning. I started looking for organic hair colour and stumbled on Henna first and Indigo next gave a soft natural colour. I have been using this since 7-8 years now.
Oh, that’s nice, Harjeet!
What a tumultuous coloring journey. I was devouring each word that you wrote. Though I am in love with your coloring experiments, the danger that prevails is scary. I am a hair color enthusiast but I always stick to highlights as I already have thin hair and didnt want to experiment. BTW your current look is very funky.
My current look is normal now, Rakhi. Hahaha!
I mean not the colour. The fringes lol
Oh yeah my fringes get quite a lot of compliments, hahaha! I didn’t know it was funky. It has been my hair style for years now!
My highlights lasted until 2021, have been planning to re-do it but I am too burnt out these days. But to be honest in contrary to yours my experience was good, my hair is good to go. I dont know if it was the brand or may be I got it from salon but I had a good hair experience.
Dunno, I sat for Wella. Not sure if that was good or bad.
I have a pic of mine in purple shade…. And really I miss that colour hope to get new color again ….
Wow, that is quite an experience. I used to color my hair but mostly to cover grays. Now I have embraced them. Ditto on the high maintenance for coloring hair. I don’t have the time or patience for that either.
Haha.