Red-dy or not!

Every now and then the urge comes upon me to dye my hair a bright and alarming shade of red. (Okay technically ‘traffic-cone-orange’ might be a bit closer to the correct colour, but red requires less typing out).

Many folk believe I do it to get attention or to appear weird and quirky. (Which I do, why lie about it)? But to me the most important part (besides being able to stop traffic as I get mistaken for a red robot for the umpteenth time), is that I find it a really lovely way to let out my self expressionalism! < - - which I suspect might not be a real world but let’s gloss over that for now.

It’s not just about being noticed or getting attention. If I wanted that I could flash some of my 20 odd tattoos for a much more satisfying ooooooooh-ing or even just leap onto all fours and go running after school kids! (Though I hear that often ends badly…). It’s just something I think all humans have to do at one time or another (or repeatedly) through out their lives! Whether it’s colouring your hair, wearing the latest trends (or specifically not wearing them), or popping on flashy jewelry that makes you look like a washed out rap groupie, or piercing your eyeball or to whatever helps give you that feeling that you are uniquely you!

So saying I am now off to play with the hair dye! I have to bleach my hair first (And might I say I make a dang fine blonde but alas, I’ve just never been able to come to terms with having hair that looks the same colour as over fried noodles). Once bleached I add the red dye so that the colour isn’t red but RED!!!! All the chemicals are frankly quiet stinky and sometimes I have to run to the open door and breath in great shuddering lungfuls of air that don’t smell like “Tequila Sunrise”.

More often then not, due mostly to over-enthusiasm, I end up with a dandy, super -noticeable orange smear all around the lower part of my scalp and hairline. It washes away in a few days but if ever there was a time people suddenly seem to pay attention to your hairline it will be then. Sometimes though people will come up to me and say, “I can tell you dye your hair” as though they’ve discovered I wear shoe lifts, or get Botox or had my butt plumped up ala J Lo. I then wonder, oooookay, the extreme ultra-orange-red-beaming-neon- Bethlehem-star-bright-look-alike bit didn’t give it away first? But I just nod and smile anyway (It saves time from having to patiently explain that I’m not descended from a line of roguishly good looking circus folk).

Mind once having bright red hair would really have made you stand out in a crowd, these days though, it’s nothing new. (In fact from what I’ve seen little old ladies hold the record, having bright blue, red and purple rinses that would make KISS think they’re Over The Top!)

It’s just all about being who you are and how you want to be! So why not try something new to express yourself? And don’t worry how people will take it, those who matter won’t mind and those who mind? Don’t matter! ^_^