One of my lovely redheaded longtime friends reminded me of something the other day. The sisterhood. The bond felt by all redheaded women. For those of you that don't have red hair, I'm not sure if you have it too. Do brunettes and blondes connect on a deeper lever? Redheads do. It's more than just sharing a hair color. It's like sharing an experience.
As a kid, red hair made me a target. For insults, for jokes, for teasing. I swear to you... if one more person calls me a firecrotch I'll lose it. Like, hair-pulling catfight style losing it. If you're considering testing that, don't. That is the number one way to lose rank on my hierarchy of acquaintances. I don't know if I fully understand why such an insult lights me up like none other. Maybe because its vulgar? Maybe because it insinuates something negative about the carpet matching the curtains? I don't know. I just know I hate it; and I've heard it far too many times in my life. This is where that redhead bond comes in. I've never met a redhead that didn't absolutely DETEST that nickname. The anger that comes from being called that... we share it. We've all felt it. It's like we're all sitting around the same fury-fueled campfire, roasting our marshmallows of rage.
There's a flipside to this coin though. There's a pride that comes with being a redhead too. You feel special. You feel unique. You feel... well, like a unicorn. Unless you're born with red hair, (as another friend of mine put it) the closest you'll ever be is a horse with a horn taped to your head. I like that feeling. That is truly special. When you meet other redheads, it's almost like you share a private joke in an instant. You realize that there are other people that feel special like you. Kind of like when you see someone in public wearing your team's paraphernalia; "you like what I like!" But for redheads it's more like, "You feel what I feel!"
I must admit I've been missing that feeling this week. I don't feel as special, aside from the occasional remark from people that haven't seen my brown hair yet. My uniqueness is still inside of me though... people just can't see it upon first impression anymore.
I guess that's part of why I'm doing this; I need to learn how to show that I'm rare and unique without playing the "redhead card". I guess I never imagined that hiding my uniqueness would help me discover my uniqueness.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
It's done. She's dead.
I watched the dark streaks circle the drain. The unicorn blood staining the tub on its way down the pipes. As the dye was setting I had already had regrets. It looked dark. As I rinsed it out I had a minor panic attack. There was no going back.
I got out of the shower and brushed through my hair. No red in sight. It was kind of exciting! Blowdrying it and styling it was the same, but a little different. I was getting ready for a Christmas party with my friends and was kind of anxious to hear what they thought. I knew what my family would think; my parents especially. They'd hate it.
Getting dressed was kind of odd too. What colors do brunette's wear? I know that it's hard for redheads to wear red, or yellow... no orange... pink is questionable depending on the shade. I texted my two closest friends and they told me I could wear any of those colors. YES! Unplanned benefit! So I dug into the back of my closet and pulled out a very rarely worn red shirt.
As I walked through the door of the hostess's house, my friends all seemed surprised and positive. It kind of made me smile to see how surprised they were. I admit that I like the attention of a good surprise. There was a bit of mixed reaction. Lots of them liked the brown but some admitted they like the red better. Overall a good response, which I kind of expected. After all, these are my friends we're talking about... supportive.
I also posted a Facebook picture. It got a pretty mixed response. My parents and close relatives all like the red better. My dad was disappointed. He said he liked the color he "made for me on my birthday" better.
I went to a holiday party with my co-workers on Sunday. Most of them liked the red better. One of my bosses (who's currently going through his own transformation in the form of weight loss) told me he barely recognized me. I told him DITTO (as he's already almost 30lbs lighter)!
I must say that I felt sassier the last couple days. More mysterious. More fun. I did discover that black no longer looks good on me. Note to self: Buy more colorful clothes!
Without further ado... here's the brown hair. Pardon the faces I make in any photos I post... I have a special talent for awkwardness on camera.
I got out of the shower and brushed through my hair. No red in sight. It was kind of exciting! Blowdrying it and styling it was the same, but a little different. I was getting ready for a Christmas party with my friends and was kind of anxious to hear what they thought. I knew what my family would think; my parents especially. They'd hate it.
Getting dressed was kind of odd too. What colors do brunette's wear? I know that it's hard for redheads to wear red, or yellow... no orange... pink is questionable depending on the shade. I texted my two closest friends and they told me I could wear any of those colors. YES! Unplanned benefit! So I dug into the back of my closet and pulled out a very rarely worn red shirt.
As I walked through the door of the hostess's house, my friends all seemed surprised and positive. It kind of made me smile to see how surprised they were. I admit that I like the attention of a good surprise. There was a bit of mixed reaction. Lots of them liked the brown but some admitted they like the red better. Overall a good response, which I kind of expected. After all, these are my friends we're talking about... supportive.
I also posted a Facebook picture. It got a pretty mixed response. My parents and close relatives all like the red better. My dad was disappointed. He said he liked the color he "made for me on my birthday" better.
I went to a holiday party with my co-workers on Sunday. Most of them liked the red better. One of my bosses (who's currently going through his own transformation in the form of weight loss) told me he barely recognized me. I told him DITTO (as he's already almost 30lbs lighter)!
I must say that I felt sassier the last couple days. More mysterious. More fun. I did discover that black no longer looks good on me. Note to self: Buy more colorful clothes!
Without further ado... here's the brown hair. Pardon the faces I make in any photos I post... I have a special talent for awkwardness on camera.
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Murderous Plot
I've already set the plan in motion. It's too late to turn back now. I bought the supplies. Tomorrow I kill the unicorn. My mom will be mad. I've been thinking about it for months so I guess that makes it premeditated. I think I'll make a good brunette.
A lady in a bar once told me that my red hair was magical like a unicorn. I suppose she had a point (and likely a good buzz) because redheads are rare. Maybe not quite to the point of mythical status, but I certainly took it as a compliment.
She wasn't the first to compare my hair with a unicorn. I once informed my mother that I wanted to dye it brown and her response was, "Why would you want to kill a unicorn?" Okay, I get it. I'm an endangered species. There will continue to be fewer and fewer redheads over time until eventually we are extinct. Why would I dye my hair brown and help to speed up the process?
The answer is this: Being a redhead can be hard! There are a lot of not-so-nice nicknames that go along with my fiery tuft of a mane. I'm sure I don't have to spell them out. I've also noticed that no other hair color polarizes people quite like red. No one is wishy washy about red hair. Either you love it or you hate it. I seem to find many more that hate it.
So here's the plan. I'm going to dye my hair brown tomorrow. My murderous plot against my unicorn will commence. I'm going to keep it that way for a year (or as long as I can stand to hear my mom complain about it). Then I'm going to blog about my new life as a brunette. I'll tell you all the reasons why I have such a love/hate relationship with my hair and if I feel like people treat me any differently.
To kick this baby off, lets start with a before picture. This one is from last year, when my glorious locks were a bit longer, likely generating a crimson glow that could be seen from outer space.
A lady in a bar once told me that my red hair was magical like a unicorn. I suppose she had a point (and likely a good buzz) because redheads are rare. Maybe not quite to the point of mythical status, but I certainly took it as a compliment.
She wasn't the first to compare my hair with a unicorn. I once informed my mother that I wanted to dye it brown and her response was, "Why would you want to kill a unicorn?" Okay, I get it. I'm an endangered species. There will continue to be fewer and fewer redheads over time until eventually we are extinct. Why would I dye my hair brown and help to speed up the process?
The answer is this: Being a redhead can be hard! There are a lot of not-so-nice nicknames that go along with my fiery tuft of a mane. I'm sure I don't have to spell them out. I've also noticed that no other hair color polarizes people quite like red. No one is wishy washy about red hair. Either you love it or you hate it. I seem to find many more that hate it.
So here's the plan. I'm going to dye my hair brown tomorrow. My murderous plot against my unicorn will commence. I'm going to keep it that way for a year (or as long as I can stand to hear my mom complain about it). Then I'm going to blog about my new life as a brunette. I'll tell you all the reasons why I have such a love/hate relationship with my hair and if I feel like people treat me any differently.
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