A lot of people have asked me about my hair recently. Why? Well, if you follow me on Social media you may have noticed that on 10 November 2018, I took the plunge and had my hair dyed pink. You can catch up on the experience at Safy B’s Salon here.

Now, here I am, 81 days later and I’ve washed my hair approximately 40 times – and I’m pretty sure my stylist Saffron will have a mini heart attack if she knew – but my hair is still pink!

So, this is a progress post on my pink-hair-journey. But it’s also a “Day in the life with pink hair” account. You see, my whole world has changed since dying my hair. It’s affected my outlook, the way I perceive other people, and it’s affected the way other people treat me.

Are you ready? Ok, let’s dive right in.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The day after my hair appointment was a Sunday, so naturally, I attended church. It wasn’t until I read comments from my friends saying they weren’t allowed to dye their hair “unnatural shades” because of their profession, that I suddenly wondered if I was going to be reprimanded by people in my church. Thankfully, everyone thought it was pretty fun and complimented on my “bravery.” Phew.

You see, maybe a decade ago pink, green, blue or red hair set off a message of non-conformity. Or you know, telling the world you’re a punk.

But guess what, now in this world of Unicorns and Mermaids, having pink hair can just mean you feel girly and fun! It’s a sign of confidence! A creative way to express who you are!

My own mother – who is pretty conservative – said I suited the shade and approved of it.

What I did not expect though, was the fact that going to the local shop to pick up bread would become a WHOLE different experience than before.

Previously, when my hair was simply blonde, I felt like I could wear no makeup, drag on a trench coat and tiptoe in and out of a store with little attention drawn to myself. Nothing to see here, move along folks.

But aha, NOW, I would walk in and “OH MY GOODNESS MUMMY LOOK AT THAT HAIR!” Small kids would point at me from across the store like I was a magical unicorn. One little girl actually came out and gleefully shouted “She has My Little Pony hair!” to her mother.

Then, there’s the LOOKS I would get. Downright stares of unapproval from elderly men and/or women. Which is funny, because a pink or purple rinse was all the rage when I was growing up. Well, if you were over 65, that is. So what if my shade is like 50 shades darker?

The most surprising reaction I’ve had so far is from fellow pink-coloured hair people. Actually, it’s not just us pink-hair-don’t-care folk. It’s the people with shaved heads, tattoos, and piercings all over their face, the bikers, and goths, the people who walk around trying to be Marilyn Manson…who – wait for it – SMILE at me.

Like, totally, SMILE.

I got looks from people who would normally be frowning and not give me the time of day, and they would smile and just look at me with acceptance. Like a silent message was transmitted from one colourful head to mine. “You’re ok you know, you’re part of our club.”

So, the pink hair has been met with disapproval but also opened doors to being great pals with some people who were not friendly to me before.

10 Things I wish I knew Before I dyed my hair Pink

1. My pink hair would clash with half of my wardrobe. I could no longer wear orange, some shades of yellow and red. So, I needed to buy new clothes. Which you know, I’m not complaining. Who needs an excuse to get a whole new wardrobe? But this isn’t Princess Diaries and my shopping budget is not limitless. So, it was kind of annoying that I had beautiful clothes that totally clashed with my hair!
2. I would need to wear makeup more often. When I was blonde, I guess I could just get away with the “natural” look better. The worst comment I’d get is “you look tired.” But when I don’t wear makeup now that I have pink hair, I look like the corpse bride. Not kidding. A bold lippy is a must and lashings of black mascara help to stop my features from blending into my face and making me look like the faceless Slenderwoman from afar.
3. My hair would draw attention to myself. Surely this one was obvious. But I have to say that I really had no idea just how much attention I would draw to myself. When I walk the dog, I see people do a double take. Some people eye me with suspicion. I have certainly been stopped by security guards more often, and kids would look at me like I was a real-life Disney character. (Which I’m totally not complaining at, dream come true for me!) But yes, you kind of need to be aware of that!
4. You will never be able to use a white towel again. Even NOW, post 40 washes, the pink in my hair will transfer slightly onto a white towel. However, the first night I washed my hair after I had my hair dyed, I used a white towel and it looked like I had stolen Joseph’s multi-coloured dream coat.
5. Your roots look weird.  I’m so glad that my stylist did a purple root fade on my roots. It made it slightly less obvious as my hair grew, but still…my hair is pink….then it’s dirty blonde. It’s not the best look in the world, I have to say. In fact, I’m counting the days (14 SLEEPS SAFFRON!!!!!) until I get my hair done again.
6. It will be really hard to go back. You can’t just wash this colour out. Yeah, maybe if you use a box colour or your stylist uses Crazy Color. But when you’re dealing with high-quality colour like Goldwell, this shade is here to stay. At most it fades to a more subtle shade of pink. But honey, your hair is still as pink as a newborn-baby’s bottom.
7. It’s ADDICTIVE. Once you dye your hair pink, blonde looks SO BORING. I have actually woken up in a cold sweat, hyperventilating and dashing to my bathroom to check my appearance because I had a NIGHTMARE that my hair was blonde again. I spend an unhealthy amount of time scrolling through google images and Pinterest to choose what colour to go next. And sorry, it’s not brunette.
8. Your hairbrush will change colour. I did not expect this. But you know all the strands of hair that come away when brushing your hair? Well, instead of yellow/golden strands, you see bright pink tuffs of hair that make your hairbrush look like it was used on a TV character, rather than a human. So, you need to get clean the bristles regularly.
9. It changes how you feel. Dying my hair pink gave me oodles of confidence. It also grabs attention over social media making my Instagram account grow from a measly 47 to over 700 followers since I went pink. I feel happier to take more risks, jump out of my comfort zone and try something new. I published a book, threw my own birthday party AND I ticked off a bucket list item by doing STAND UP COMEDY.
10. Your hair will look different in different lighting. Sometimes my hair looks pink, sometimes more purple, sometimes the coral shines out stronger and sometimes it looks really dark. Despite the fact all these pictures have been posted without using a filter, my hair looks totally different!

Embrace the Fade

My beautiful pink locks have faded to more of a light purple than pink. But it is oh, so pretty! It’s stayed this good thanks to special shampoo and conditioner given to me by Saffron at Safy B’s Salon. She also sent across a big list of instructions on how to care for my coloured hair.

Blonde hair that is dyed pink fades to a shade of coral. Which I LOVE. And there’s still some pink in there! This look is most flattering with curls, so I’m sleeping in pigtail plaits now.

Bottom Line.

Going pink is not for everyone. You need to be aware of the extra attention, deal with a little bit of judgment and a lot of wardrobe issues, and take good care of your pink locks. So, it’s not for everyone.

BUT you DO take the leap, it might just be the best thing you ever did.

If you do decide to go for it and live within commuting distance to Aylesbury UK you need to book with Saffron at Safy B’s Salon. She’s an award-winning stylist and there’s no one else on this planet I would trust to transform my hair from blah to Bow Chikka Wow Wow!

Laura

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Psst! For more pink hair pictures, follow me on instagram.