I’m trusting that you know me well enough by now to know that when I say back to nature, I’m not talking about camping. To put it in a line from one of my favorite movies, Troop Beverly Hills, my idea of roughing it is 10 people having to share a bathroom. (Though I do love nature!) The nature I’m getting back to? My natural hair color. Which you may have noticed. It’s a process- there are days I hate it, days I’m giving up and wanting to highlight the front or tone it a bit darker. But most of all, going back to nature (for me) is a journey about getting back to myself and then deciding where to go (at lest when it comes to my hair.
This is not the first time I’ve written about my hair, see here, here, and even here when I first wrote about going darker after I went platinum. (And being platinum was fun for a while! Then I felt that it make me look older and then my hair started to break- part of the reason I’m avoiding dye right now!) There may not be a lot of new thoughts in this essay about my hair color; but being in the processing of actively choosing to let my hair be, to let it go through the growth- even when I worry about the color or want it to hurry up- is forcing me to think about I approach a lot of change in my life.
Mostly that I want change to be quick and painless. And change often has to take its time. I want my hair to be healthy, before I make a move on color I want to see what I’m working with- which all means that I have to let it grow. My hair can look still blonde to brown to sometimes red, depending on the light. My natural highlights come and go (or it feels that way), and for having naturally dark blonde hair (or at least at one point!), I really thought that the growing out would be seamless and blend easily. Sometimes it feels like that’s happening. And then, there are are days when I can see what feels like a hard line of opposing color and my instinct is to fix it, and urges to chuck it all and go in for an instant change. Yet, I know that long term those changes might not be what I want or need and if I want my end goal of healthy, beautiful hair (Even if I end up dying it once I grow it out) that I have to let it go back to nature.
There’s a good chance that this hair journey could be applied to many seasons in our live. To get what we want we have to grow through some things, be a bit uncomfortable, and trust that we look ok in the meantime. Does the end justify the means? I’m crossing my fingers so! But I am trusting that- and of course will call a professional if it doesn’t quite work out the way I want. I’m having to breathe through this change a lot (and maybe kick myself for being in the thick of it in the most hectic part of the year- but is there any good time for change?), but it’s also teaching me to breathe through a lot- and trust that my end will be worth it.
Have you ever grown out your hair color? Tips? Any way that you can soothe yourself through change?
Wishing us all a week of seamless transitions and amazing shoes! XO RA