Dyeing thoughts

Just in case you missed the “e,” this is not about death. I have no suicidal ideations and no, my cancer has not returned to take me to the great beyond (and I hope it stays that way forever). This article has nothing to do with that at all! I just thought I’d share my love for dyeing my hair. Yes, this article is about hair dyeing, one of my favorite need-to-do things.

I have been dyeing my hair since med school. Usually, to make it blue-black (Bigen had it, it was inexpensive and I was not allergic to it). Then came that wave of mahogany, brown and even red tones. I enjoyed it too! It was a thrill to have color options. No attempts of trying to hide any white hair then (or now; although bleached hair hides them without any effort), I was just quite amused that I could actually do it and usually by myself. There was a long lull in coloring after that. I got busy trying to wear my hair the shortest way possible without totally freaking out my mom. Of course, she would react but would always say, hair grows back but opportunities for self-discovery and such, pass. Naks. Palusot!

Anyway, about three years ago, I had my hair bleached and since then, I have had quite an adventure with hair color. I started out blonde then got bored so I went for bolder hair colors like grape purple. Yup! I can still recall how my mom stared at my hair for a looong time. Hahaha. The colors got even bolder when I discovered plantbased hair dyes which are nicer to your hair. Using it lets me change my colors more frequently without worrying much about my hair getting frizzy. This year, I went from platinum blonde to silver to pink to rose gold to ash blonde in a span of six months! Now my hair is actually green. Lukot (the seaweed) green. It used to be a deep blue-green/ teal but dyes fade as you may know. I am happy with it, no matter how alienated my mom looked seeing it that time I came home from the salon.

I guess we all come to the point when we realize we don’t really care much about what other people say as long as we are happy. We all come to discover that place of inner zen when all the ramblings of the outside world either become muffled if not, totally silenced by our personal satisfaction. I believe there is no particular age pegged when we are going to reach this kind of enlightenment, but when we do, it’s one helluva feeling knowing that you have become unchained from stereotypical expectations that you actually get to enjoy a little bit more freedom compared to the next person.

I remember a few weeks back that I discovered I have been actually wearing one of my favorite blouses since I bought it! My sister Leah actually pointed it out to me. I realized that I was indeed wearing it the wrong way and initially felt a little bit embarrassed about it. I had, in fact, previously wondered why the labels were located in front rather than the back! Of course, I didn’t pay much attention to it, not until I checked after my sister pointed my mistake out. Needless to say my sister laughed so hard when I admitted it to her. I laughed with her and I was a bit surprised that it was okay.

I have reached that point where I would rather be comfortable than fashionably correct!