Saturday, June 20, 2009

The real Sara is back


My daughter has had colorful hair since 6th grade when she added orange streaks to her dishwater blond. She and I agree that - although soft and luxurious - the natural color of our hair is almost but not quite the most boring color on the planet. Light brown. Yawn. Sigh. I would prefer to go back to the strawberry blond of my childhood but it darkened when I was a teenager.

I colored my hair so many colors as a young person that I didn't remember it's natural color until the kids were born. I tried platinum, fire engine red, hot pink, blue streaks, highlights of every shade. But none of them lasted. I got bored easily, I told myself. After they were in school, I went to a really rich chocolate brown that made my eyes look pretty darn cool.

So, when Sara started wanting to try some color I was all about her doing it the right way - at a salon so the hair wasn't totally the texture of straw. After her orange streaks, she did a half and half of pink with blue on the tips which was pretty darn awesome. Hot pink hair got lots of attention (and just think of the cat ears that she wears daily on top of that cotton candy looking fluff!)

But she wasn't completely happy until it turned blue.

The first time we colored it at home, I was so afraid of destroying her hair that I didn't let the peroxide process long enough. The effect was a vibrant blue with some teal undertones. She was hooked. She's tried a couple other colors since but always goes back to the blue.

The color we use is very vibrant and comes off on couches, runs when it rains and basically makes a nuisance of itself for about 6 weeks. She would ruin my towels if she used them so she carefully pulls out the rags. Then, as it tones down and fades a bit, I have an extra bottle of color for touch ups or to refresh it before we need to bleach the roots again.

My favorite part of the process is seeing her with canary yellow hair for a few short minutes. She hates it. No blond for this girl, even though it looks cute and edgy and like she should be in the Portland Roller Derby - the old color at the tips doesn't bleach out but stays light pink and blue.


So, on goes the dye and she sits patiently as she waits for her blue to be back. While I go to the kitchen to scrub the blue sink, my oompah loompah hands and everything in site that got splattered with this stuff. Oh, the things I do for love...







The transformation is amazing. When the towel comes off and her hair is blue again, this strut appears in her walk. She talks with more authority, more confidence. She is truly in her element again and I love to see that.

And guess what - Sean, her super conservative and oh-so-patient, brother looked up and said, with a grin, "Hey, looks good." A high compliment indeed! When she first went blue, he didn't want to be seen walking down the street with her. Now, I think he gets a kick out of the looks (and she gets them) and especially from the cute little kids that ask her questions and the parents that stand back, obviously saying to themselves, "Not while she lives under my roof!" I guess for me I'd rather support her independence than try to make her fit into some preconceived notion of a box I made.



I guess she's lucky to have me as mom and I'm extremely lucky to have her as daughter. We had an awesome time last night, shopping at Powell's, Presents of Mind (where they only sell art, jewelry, t-shirts and other fun items from local artists - and they'll be selling Sara items soon!) and having our favorite dinner at our favorite neighborhood tea house.



Today, I can imagine she'll spend her time at home, staying out of the June Rain. But she'll be longing for a walk in Sellwood, through the shops, where her hair and cat ears and great personality will shine through the gray like a beacon.

9 comments:

  1. Blue is definitely her color. Interesting how her confidence level goes up when she's feeling true blue. I get the same reaction when I go a tad bit redder with the red.

    PS - You're a cool mom!!

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  2. Sean is super conservative?! The kid you let me swear around?!

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  3. Scar is right, you are a very cool mom. You are the karmic balance for MY mom! We have fought more about my hair than anything else put together. So stupid.

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  4. That strut is worth everything. She looks beautiful!

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  5. Very very brave I must say !!! I cannot imagine how I'll react if my daughters tell me they wanted blue heheheheh..

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  6. I absolutely love the colors. You're a great mom for letting and helping her express herself.

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  7. I always love it when people do interesting things with their hair (as I have very little, i can not)! I always think of children who have colored hair (blue is great) as having fun and having at least one good parent who lets them have some fun.

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  8. Wow....are you a cool mom, or what?
    Kudos to you for encouraging your kids to be who they are!
    ...lucky kids.
    I wish that I had that kind of confidence when I was that age. Of course, I could always dye it some fun color now...I don't know? A 60 year old Grammie? Now, that would get people talking! : )
    xoxo

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  9. I love the blue!! I have dark blond/light brown hair naturally, as well. Definitely not the most exciting, is it?

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