New Year, New Me?
This wasn't one of those "new year, new me" moves. This was actually one of my impulsive, "I want this and I want it now" incidents. Lee, *bless his heart*, knows this all too well. This past Saturday, I decided to add some color to my baby locs. I knew I wanted a natural-looking color, something that would just lighten up my hair just a bit to give me a subtle change. I haven't stepped foot into a salon in a while and due to my urgent need for change, I didn't mind doing it myself.
Research
I'd done some searching online the past couple of weeks on different color systems. I definitely didn't want anything harsh, because I struggle with dry hair as it is. Shea Moisture offers an ammonia-free and sulfate-free hair care system that has a plethora of YouTube reviews. Only problem? They didn't carry them in my Target store. And let me remind you, that I was already impatient about coloring my hair. Then, I stumbled upon a brand called Naturtint, which was also a healthier alternative. Naturtint is plant-based and boasts many other less harmful features than your average dye. I set off to YouTube to see what reviews and results other people had. Unfortunately, there weren't as many videos from folks with dark, kinky, afro-textured hair, like mine, so the few that were uploaded would have to do. I watched MiaMor's video, Naturtint Natural Hair Dye on Natural Spiral Hair - Review. She used one of the brightest colors offered by the brand, 10N Light Dawn Blonde, and achieved a very nice color that was very subtle and even.
Perfect! Just what I was looking for. Better yet, I could pick it up from Whole Foods, which is only 5 minutes from where I live. It was a done deal.
Application
I was getting pretty excited about adding the color to my hair. Lee agreed to help me apply it, so we were just waiting on Kent to fall asleep (and stay asleep) before we got started. But since that was taking longer than usual, I started to get the process rolling. Here are the contents of the box:
The 5-step instructions were very simple. I'm not sure if that's standard; this was my first time doing an at-home color job, but having seen aluminum foil and all kinds of other craziness in other hair coloring tutorials, this seemed to be a cake walk.
Mistake #1: I didn't take note of what time I started applying the dye.
I started with the front of my head, because that was the area that I wanted to focus on with the new color anyway. I did not want to color the very back of my head...I don't know...just wanted to hold onto some of the darkness, I guess.
Ignore that blob of product on my forehead |
Mistake #2: I probably used way more product than I needed.
My hair is short and I covered my hair sufficiently only using about half of the bottle. The instructions said to discard the remaining contents, but I'm very frugal and I throw little to nothing away without optimizing use. I kept adding more. And more. And more. (You should be shaking your head ferociously right about now.)
Forty minutes AFTER I finished drowning my hair in color, I had Lee come and wash it out. His initial reaction was to the above pic..."I like it!" *with a smile*. To my overzealous coloring situation, we both got big-eyed. It was still doable, but I'm fairly conservative when it comes to my face and hair and anything that doesn't change daily.
Shampoo & Conditioning
This part was done solely by Lee. This was the first time he washed my hair and did a fine job. I think I'll keep him. The conditioning was my favorite part. The smell of the Naturtint Multiplier, as its called, was very tropical-like. Lee said that it instantly made my dry hair soft.
Retwist Time
It was done. My hair was at least 7 shades lighter on my imaginary hair color scale. I was a little spooked, at first, to be honest. I sent a picture to my sister and a couple of my friends for some initial reactions. They have me some reassuring feedback.
My reaction when I looked in the mirror |
Last step now was for me Lee to retwist my baby locs.
This lighting is really bad, so you definitely don't see the full vibrancy of the color |
Hi, Lee |
Crazy lol |
I still love it even though I feel like I was deceived (kidding). I read the instructions and chose not to follow them, so I get what I get and I don't pitch a fit! The new color is very vibrant and edgy, not adjectives I'd typically use to describe myself. But new year, new me right? ....Nah...haha. I'm really looking forward to using the color as an indication of the growth of my locs.
Oh, and if you're wondering about the title of this blog, see Kent's reaction to my new hair color here!
Let me know your thoughts!
I like it! (The back story is caw-ute!) I'm a little scared of color, but I may try a natural brand.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the compliment! My son is surprising us daily with his unintentionally funny comments. I'm so glad I met you this past weekend, Shanetra! You have some GORGEOUS natural hair and I love your cut. Color or not, It's beautiful.
DeleteThanks for reading!
Your new hair color looks great! It's really good to be up for a change every once in a while. And it seems like the beginning of a new year is the perfect time to do so. Well, you did a great move with your hair. Thank you for sharing that. All the best to you!
ReplyDeleteTommy Clark @ Her Hair Company