Product Watch: Best Shampoo

I have hair the consistency of a horse's tail, and an unruly one at that. My hair has ALWAYS been coarse, thick, and curly. Before you wax poetic, it's not that lovely kind of curly where you have billowing tresses perfectly framing your face. No, it's more like crazy cat hoarder who always looks disheveled and might be a little touched in the head.

Sigh.

I have learned that product is not so much my friend as it is my necessity. My hair has tried every shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in serum on the market and yet I just came by the greatest shampoo and conditioner yet: Sake Bomb by Drybar. I LOVE this shampoo! I have tried everything from Living Proof to Biolage and everything has left my hair rather lackluster. I'm always surprised that raved-over products on Sephora look terrible on me.

And so as I washed my hair with Sake bomb, I went selfie-crazy. Well, it was for this blog post but it was awesome to have a great hair day! And though this is all in fluorescent lighting it will at least show how soft my hair is after these products. So after a lifetime and closet full of products, I can finally start to pare down. All I need is the following:

Sake bomb shampoo
Sake bomb conditioner
Purple shampoo for brightening occasionally
Perfect 10 leave-in for heat protection against blow dryer/curling iron
Coconut oil for occasional deep conditioning
Aveda control paste for humid days
Kerastase Elixir Ultime for post-style seal of any stray hairs

Green Broke

I grew up around horses and horse people. In fact I was helping to break horses from the age of four. My Grandpa would start the wild horse on a lead, then put a saddle on him/her, and when they got used to the saddle, well the next logical step was to put on an uncombed 4-year-old tomboy. Immediately I would be thrown and just as quick I was expected to get back on, ride for a few minutes, then my Grandpa (the real expert) would take over.

So growing up around horses and breaking horses we always left them a bit on the wild side, or "green broke." I often define this as the horse knows the rules but he may just buck you off for the hell of it... or rub you off on barbed wire... or run like lightening toward a low-hanging branch.

Anyhoo, I have often (and still do) use this term to describe myself. It's a bit more appropriate than you'd like to think. I also used this analogy before my sister's wedding: we were always considered Grandpa's wild ponies and those ponies choose who rides them; no one breaks their spirit.

As I was straightening my hair this morning I looked at those crazy little new growths and thought, "Damn. Green broke." They're no longer wild little forest children, they've been beaten into submission enough to know the rules. That doesn't mean they don't just stand at a 3 inch attention straight out of my scalp. Little bastards.

A while back I showed how to train the cowlick (which Auto-correct turned to 'Catholic' and henceforth I received the first hits from some Middle Eastern countries I had not before seen on here). I used a blow dryer to tame them. But to tell you the truth, I hate blow dryers. It takes FOREVER to dry my hair and since I want to curl or straighten it, I only want to do styling damage once. Now I have learned the art of using barrettes to tack down these crazy cowlicks to each side so they won't rear up on me.

It works and as you can see from this photo, shot at 5.20am nonetheless, that those wild little spurts of new growth you get when you stop dying your hair DO eventually grow up. That's a great benefit to not coloring your hair- you gain a lot of new growth. My hairline came down a full inch. They come in standing at full attention but eventually do behave. My wispies are only teenagers right now but I do hope that, unlike me, they grow out of their green broke stage and become well-behaved adults.

Best Conditioner in the World

It is Winter here and that means dry everything- cracking hands, wind burnt face, chapped lips, and brittle hair.

No matter what, I always seem to want to buy the next miracle brand of product. This is probably because I'm American and a born consumer but I'm always convinced that there's going to be some fix-all product out there for my hair. Well there is and it's coconut oil.

I've raved about the wonders of coconut oil before but it never ceases to amaze me. I'm now dealing with dye-free hair that's in its healthiest state in 20 years. I can't blame the state of my hair on the dyed and fried ends or from keratin treatments. Now I'm seeing my hair and its unique personality. Lately this personality has revealed itself to be moisture-lacking dull grey hair.

I've gone to some of my miracle products- from the cheaper end Frizz-ease lotion (which made my hair seem a litle less dry but still a bit crispy), to my mid-range serum (which made my hair feel dry with an oily coat), to the high-end Living Proof (which made my hair feel dry with a waxed coat). Maybe these shouldn't be miracle go-to products after all?

It wasn't until I thought about my old friend the coconut oil that I used it as a last resort. Well I guess the best was saved for last because it instantly transformed my hair! It is so luxe and soft now. There are many uses for coconut oil and I'm going to list some below: 

Internal Health 

A tablespoon swallowed is good for you. I take one and melt one over my dog's food. I believe it gives us both a shiny coat. 

Cracked Skin 

I use this on elbows and also the pads of my dog's paws. A few uses and we're both feeling better. 

Makeup Remover 

This is the single-best eye makeup remover I've come across. It can take off any mascara without pulling out half of your eyelashes. 

Quick Hair Fix 

A little goes a long way so for my just-past-the-shoulders hair I use a teaspoon (if that). I take a little bit, rub it in my hands until it's an oil, and distribute through my hair very sparingly. You'll see an instant change in your hair and in an hour your hair will be perfectly hydrated. 

Deep Conditioner 

Here I use a tablespoon or more and coat my hair. Some people cover their hair and sleep with this in but I find that leaving it in for an hour and washing it out works well. You'll never have to buy expensive hair products again.

How To Tame Your Cowlick (or Catholic to autocorrect!)

I recently went to see How To Train Your Dragon. It was adorable and I feel no guilt in seeing it in 3D. I love the concept of Medieval Vikings drag racing dragons. Actually when I put the words down it seems downright dorky but it is actually a clever and cute movie.

Much like the wild and unruly dragons of the Nordic world, my cowlick is even more unruly. Any silver sister has noticed a change in the hairline since they stopped coloring their hair. Mostly, they notice a lot more growth. Mine came in the form of a huge white clump of hair- baby fine, and forming at the left corner of my temple. I also have the "wiry greys" that everyone talks about. I call them my wild little forest children. They're absolutely crazy looking until they grow out and become assimilated into the rest of your hairline.

My clump of white hair at the temple has become the bane of my existence. This is also more commonly known as the cowlick. I have done all kinds of bizarre things in order the tame it: I've tried talking reason to it, trying to force it into submission with every styling tool under the sun, and apparently screaming and yanking at it. All to no avail.

So I politely asked- okay, inappropriately cornered and held captive- my hairdresser and asked him how to tame my cowlick once and for all. Basically there are two ways: either crisscross your hair wet and keep them in barrettes and let air dry; or you need to blow-dry it into submission.

Here are a series of pics before and after. HORRIBLE pics but it describes my rather remedial process that everyone on earth knows but me.But for my own sake I will write out the process.

After applying heat protection product, start by blowing your cowlick section to the front. Then blow dry it to the opposite side of your part until it's almost dry, and then finally blow dry it the side you want. As you can see the first pic shows what happens if I leave the cowlick to form a coup. The second pic it's wet and rebelling. But by the final pic- voila! I have beaten it into submission!!

New 'Do

Thank you for the comments via Cafe Gray, email, and the blog. It was a resounding vote to grow the bangs and cut the length. 

Before I was having a bad version of a Mrs Brady do replete with flipped ends and bowl helmet top. Cutting off some of the layers and growing the length has already seen less frizz and *gasp* an actual style!

My hairdresser told me that I still have  about 4" of dyed hair on the canopy but it is so blended that only a hairdresser would be able to see it. Although that's a long way to a resounding graduation it does mean that my hair will continue to get lighter and lighter. So exciting! 

Here's a quick pic before I jet off to run some errands. You can see how much lighter my hair is with just a trim:

Frizzy Friday

In my quest to avoid the hard stuff during my move to Washington DC (i.e. sorting, donating, purging, cleaning, etc.) I have decided to post more than usual. In fact, I'm trying to procrastinate through this post just so I won't have to go through closets and I can watch old episodes of Monarch of the Glen.

Today I am writing about the annoyance of frizzy hair. I currently live in a swamp- Southern heat followed by heavy humidity. Yes you get dewy skin but the hair suffers. I really don't know how I survived it last year with short hair. In a couple of weeks I will be moving to DC- slightly less heat (very slightly) with an impending thunderstorm every night. Sigh. I hate Summer. Although my hair is not as frizzy as it once was, it is finer hair now so there is a frizzitude or shall we call it, frizz tendency? Here is a picture of what this humidity is doing to my hair. Ugh.

Okay I need help and fast. This is what happens to hair (that was just FLAT IRONED this morning!!!!) when one lives in humid cesspools of air that you must swim through. Anyhoo... what in the world should I do with my hair?!

I am at a point where I have no particular style. You can see on the right side of my hair that there are bangs that are growing out (my fault, I got scissor happy). You can also (kind of) tell that my hair is not completely devoid of leftover dye. I have up to 3 inches in the back but since it's in the back, I don't care too much.

Now, should I get a trim and let the bangs catch up? Or should I bite down on the leather strap and wait it out a bit, depending on the pony tail as my default hair style? Bear in mind that I have a wedding to attend in a month and I'd like to be able to dance and have a great time, not worrying that my hair looks like a giant q-tip.

So in my utter shock that there are people that read my blog, I am calling on you to advise me on my current hair situation. Post suggested hair styles, comments, suggestions- I need them.

The Right Hair Stylist

The importance of this subject cannot be emphasized enough, especially if you are growing out your grey. I have filtered out dozens of stylists and have yet to find one grey-friendly and still cutting edge super stylist- until today.

I started out very nervous about this. The last time I had my hair cut (besides my one-time self-trim) was 7 months ago. I know, but even though it was a good cut, the stylist seemed put out to work on my hair and then didn't listen to my ONE request to not have a high-heat flat iron. "Oh, I have it on medium," she said as she burnt my hair and turned it yellow. No, I still have not let that go and it made me even more timid to see a new stylist and avoid this again.

I had my speech all prepared- I was going to point out that I started running again and want to be able to pull my hair back in a ponytail, I don't like too-short layers on top because I look like a '70s News Anchor, I don't want him/her to flat iron my hair, I'm allergic to hairspray. I spent a couple of weeks compiling the horror stories of past stylists and trying to make my high-maintenance list seem not so high-maintenance. Fail. But this was important because I get intimidated in salons and chicken out anyway so I was hoping to meet half of the items on my list. Usually I rue the day I go to the salon and start the whole process over looking for a new stylist.

Salons have long-been my Achilles heel and I was just praying that a Master Stylist at a top-rated Yelp salon was going to pass the muster.

Enter Michael Knight at Samuel Cole Salon in North Raleigh. He has 28 years of experience and is constantly learning the latest in the industry. I walk I in and he greets me. I'm relieved to see a cool silver and black-striped beard, lots of tats, and a friendly smile that is not glancing at my grey and making a face. I'm still wary as the last Rockabilly salon owner (with his own black and silver hair, tats, and nose ring) told me how much older I would look with grey and there was only one cut that I would be able to do (enter expletive of choice).

But Michael was different, giving a great consultation and was almost as excited about my grey hair as I am. He suggested longer hair for my hair type, how my natural part was falling, what my current and future goals were, and when I would graduate (before my 40th birthday in July- holla!). All-in-all, here was a stylist celebrating my choice with me and absolutely thrilled to see the end result. He saw my progression pics and verified that I looked better with every inch of grey that grew out.

After a great cut, comparing favorite 80's Metal Bands, and my having the courage to ask that he not flat iron my hair (he was on the same page), I left feeling awesome. I have a great cut, an inch less of color on my ends, a great cheerleader, and I feel wonderful. Was it cheap? No, but damn, so worth it! I think the key to remember is that you're saving a ton of money on ditching the dye so splurge and get a great style. After all, you're celebrating  and you need a great style. The time for Super Cuts and cuts that come with a coupon are past. If you're talking about budget and you were coloring your hair all those years, you are saving a ton- put it into a great cut and a great stylist.

These are my after pics from this afternoon. How cool is this, only 3" left!! For those in metric Countries, i.e. everywhere except the US, that would be 7-8 centimeters. The cool part is that for every bit of dyed ends that get cut off, your hair lightens considerably. Every cut thus reveals a new you and you get excited all over again.

 

Well, I am so elated with this and if you find yourself in Raleigh, give Michael Knight (link above) a call. You might email him anyway and see if he knows and can recommend a stylist in your area. Also, look on Café Gray under the Gray-Friendly Salon Guide to see about recommended stylists in your area.

 

Okay, I'm off to paint the town and celebrate my new cut. Have a lovely day, all!!

Iron [Wo]man

I had to find some gratuitous reason to reference Tony Stark and what better way than to segway to flat irons? My last name is Stark and when I see 20-something boys get wide-eyed and excited at the last name on my card my canned response is, "Iron Man or Winterfell? Which geek outlet is yours?" 9 times out of 10 it's Iron Man and I have no problem make-believing that I am Robert Downey Jr's secret wife. Either that or Jamie Sives (Jory) is destined to serve the Starks, and by extension me, for time eternal. Umm... sorry... my imagination was running away with me.

Focus, Jill, focus! Yes, the main point of this blog post is about hot irons (this also applies to curling irons) and whether they will damage your grey. The fact of the matter is that you need to rethink your approach to styling tools and products. You rethought product to protect your dyed hair and now you have natural, uncoated hair with little to no melanin. This needs to be considered. See? Even Tony is adjusting the temperature settings on his flat iron.

The first thing I would like to point out is stop listening to people tell you you have to stop blow drying your hair, or that you have to accept the curls that drove you to the flat iron in the first place. You have options and choose whatever option works for you. I hate being told that I should embrace my curls. Don't wanna. Ain't gonna. I have control over very little in my life and so I take out these control issues on my hair. 

Point number two is that you're not going to necessarily burn or yellow your hair just because you use a styling tool. I'm going to lay out my much researched information to dissuade this from happening. When I first heard this discussed on Cafe Gray I knew it not to be true. After all, my mom had gray hair for 30 years, blew it dry every other day, and curled it EVERY SINGLE day. Never once was it anything less than brilliant silver and white. 

Mom didn't buy high-end styling tools but I recommend that you get a good styling tool with a heat setting dial. I also recommend that you get a blow dryer with a cool or cold setting. Now a disclaimer is that I am not a hair stylist so this is just my research, what I've learned calling and talking to various stylists, and my own personal experience. So I recommend you take this to your stylist and get his/her opinion as well.

Temperature 

One should never go over 300 degrees F. You might have wiry forest children sticking up but they will soon calm down. Normally they stick up because they are new growth, short, and have no tribe. So they need to be coaxed into a tribe and then they will soon be well-behaved gray hairs. Hair starts to literally melt at any temperature above 420 degrees so you can see what 120 degrees difference makes. Why not over 300? You have very little melanin in your hair now and the high heat can burn it easier. I personally never go over 265-285 and I had coarse, curly hair. Now it's medium textured and curly. 

Styling Products 

Try to buy styling products specifically for grey or platinum hair. A lot of products can create a build-up or even tint your hair and the combination with heat will just seal them in. That is why I NEVER put on any styling product right before I style my hair. I typically put on a serum after washing my hair, sleep and let it air dry, then iron in the morning. I too need to reevaluate my styling products and trash a great majority of them. If you're going to blow dry then put on your styling product and let it air dry for at least 15 minutes before you use the dryer.

Keratin Treatments 

This will probably get me hate mail but here goes. I think your keratin and Brazilian blow out days are over. Remember what I said about hair melting at 420 degrees? Well Keratin and Brazilian blow outs use irons at 450 degrees or higher. It fuses the formaldehyde or aldehyde to your hair and can easily cause permanent damage whether you have colored hair or grey.

Clean Your Iron 

Every week, clean your iron. I use mine twice a week, and I might use it 1-2 times more on the nape of my neck on those mornings where I must have had really rockin' dreams. Take a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and clean any build up from product. The cleanliness of your styling tool will ensure that it won't be sealing any product on your hair and thus damaging it. 

Heat Test 

This is the most important tip: do a heat test before you use your flat iron. Take a piece of tissue paper and get it damp. Hold it in your iron for 10-20 seconds. If it sizzles and yellows the paper, it can do that to your hair. If the paper comes out white, it won't discolor your hair.

Damage Reverse 

You can't always reverse damage. Sometimes if it's a matter of sealing product buildup on your hair, you can put baking soda and purple shampoo on your hair for 15-30 minutes and it will brighten again. You can substitute baking soda for a vitamin C packet like Emergen-C as well. It might take a few times but always worth a shot. 

This is the anal retentive guide to using styling tools on your silver. Remember, my mom used them every day of her life, and she bought her utensils at drug stores. They weren't costly, they weren't the highest setting, but in her 30 years I never remember her once damaging her hair to the point of being yellowed. But if you're paranoid like me, clean your styling tool and do the damp toilet paper test. And then you have more options if you want a sleek, straight look.

Self Trim (Must Be Supervised)

When you are growing out color the single most annoying thing is looking at those damned dyed ends. I will confess I have been so focused on attaining the glorious ponytail that I have not self-trimmed. The last time I DID self-trim was about three months into my transition when I was desperate to see just one piece of my hair without dye. This went tragically wrong when said piece began to rebel and stick out, making one side of my head look like it had a permanent fascinator. A little styling gel and I soon got it in check but it was touch and go there for a while.

My last haircut was in early August and having seen six months go by without so much as a trim, I wanted to see some results already! Although my last stylist burnt a section of my hair, thus yellowing it, she did manage to give me a kickass haircut. This has made it possible for me to grow out my hair for six months and it still looking styled. I learned that from now on, I will get a cut and blow dry, but not allow any salons to use styling tools on me. They simply don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to grey hair. 

It was the day before my 16-month anniversary and I just went for it. I divided my hair in half and cut at least an inch off the side-swept bangs. I should have had parental supervision when attempting this but alas, I did it anyway. One silver sister said, ‘the difference between a good haircut and a bad one is about two weeks.’ I can live with that.

I have this unfortunate Patty Duke flip going on and that’s really annoying me but I must say I’m still glad I did it. My hair looks sooo much lighter just with some of those ends off. I figure I will go get a trim before I go back to Kansas in March but I need to grow out my cut a bit before doing the walk of shame to the hair salon. Here is my before and after pics. The two before pics show the alarming amount of dye still left. The two after shots show both the cut (indoor lighting) and how much lighter it looks now that there’s a little bit less dye to reflect off. 

 

It really is all about the lighting. There’s no flash or saturation changes done or any editing, for that matter, on these photos. You’ll notice with grey hair that some people seeing you only indoors will think you’re a blonde. Anyway, I hope those of you getting frustrated with your transition process realise that there are nice surprises along the way. I didn’t think an inch off would make that much of a difference but I’m pleasantly surprised to see my hair lighten with the trim.
 

Grey Friendly Salons

Few things are more important to a woman than a great set of friends, downtime, and a good stylist. Remember the last time you (FINALLY) found a great salon, a stylist that understood your hair, gave you great cuts, AND was friendly? Remember when she had an off-day and butchered your hair? I seem to be one of those people that attracts the off-day into my life.

Unfortunately, I am a very unforgiving person when it comes to my hair. The short cut I got in May was from a stylist that I really like- she doesn’t try to dye my hair, she’s friendly, she marks goals for me in growing my hair out, and she gives neck massages. And although I was happy to get so much hair cut off, there were a few things I didn’t like: one, I felt she was trying to blend the grey away whereas I want to celebrate it; two she looked at my specific pictures as not literal but “inspiration” leaving me with the back too long; and three she had to keep asking more expert stylists what to do.

I will probably go back to her in the future but when I started sporting a mullet from my three month grow out, I was a little apprehensive. After all, there seemed to be a hole in my top layers which cowlicked away and made my head look cubicle- never a look someone strives for. The bottom had grown out and formed silly little ringlets and at best, one side would flip under and the other side would flip out. I couldn’t take any chances so I looked at yelp and got an appointment with the owner of a great salon I’ve been to before.

One would assume when going to said salon that the owner would be friendly and really make this an experience (especially since you’re paying for it). One would assume wrong. She barely spoke two words and it was like pulling teeth to have a conversation with her. Okay, so I’ll sit quietly and listen in on the other conversations going on around me.

I don’t know about you but I have hairstylist intimidation. I have too often been talked into things (or they did them without my consent) only to be unhappy. So I have learned a few things to speak up on. I showed her the cowlick and how I wanted that blended, I don’t like short layers, and I’m allergic to hairspray. To her credit she gave me an EXCELLENT haircut. That didn’t stop her from trying to shellac my hair with hairspray before I stopped her. Then she flat-ironed my hair. I saw the steam and asked her what heat setting it was on and what should I use for my grey hair? She openly sighed and replied it was on medium. Hmmm…

Well I get out and feel my hair looks great- the cowlick is gone, my in-between cut looks fab, and I can go another couple of months with it looking great. Then I take pictures and my hair seems… darker. Some of this is because I still have a lot of brown and red hair, some of this is because I still have dye on my layers and it darkens the overall look of my hair, and some of this is because she burned some of my hair.

*insert low grumbling growl here* I was both livid and panicked; after all I have been growing this out for 11 months and starting over?? Are you freaking kidding me?? I called the salon and they said it wasn’t possible to burn and darken but could only lighten hair. So then I explained the dynamics of grey hair and the lack of pigmentation, etc. The receptionist recommended a good purple shampoo to take the yellow out and suggested I come in for the stylist to look at it. To be honest I didn’t want to go back there many days later, on MY time, to not get an apology from her when she would do nothing more than what I could. I looked online and found that hydrogen peroxide and purple shampoo would take it out. Thankfully it almost did and after a couple more washes it will be brilliant again. Whew!

So my suggestion is when you see a silver sister with FANTASTIC hair, ask about their stylist. A good haircut is just as important as having a grey-friendly (and grey-knowledgeable) stylist. Natural hair may not be salon’s forte or moneymaker, but they should have an education in how it should be cared for. Now I have been lucky to not be intimidated into color like so many others (although there are the polite “you’re here for a cut… umm also a color too?” replies), but I am intimidated all the same. I need to remember this is a service I pay dearly for and so what if I have demands, it’s better than a one-star Yelp review. 

Color Lift Part Deux

There's a lot to this color lift so I'm going to spend a little more time on this. As I went into the bathroom to re-examine my grey in yet another light, I noticed that there were a few areas where there was red hair about an inch from the roots. The roots had more white. Oh no! I thought that the color lift had deposited some dye on my virgin hair. Damn! Seven months of grow out for nothing.

Not completely unlike me to jump to conclusions, I called Aveda up. The manager had me come in that afternoon so she could get a closer look. She said that there were a few spots where the red was further down but that it was my natural hair color. Apparently, all the greying has had me grey even more and there are spots that are getting lighter and lighter. I'm constantly going lighter. What the--? Does this mean that when I graduate from hair dye, I won't really graduate?? She further explained that hair color shows up differently and there was no hair color on my grey. I know my hairdresser took special care and she was so careful that this is why I have that darker stripe at my demarcation line. So whew! I am glad that the process was a total success!

This process of color lifting is not for the faint of heart. The chemicals contain a lot of peroxide so for all of you with ppd allergies, I'm afraid this might not be a good bet for you. The color doesn't rinse out but the peroxide formula penetrates the hair shaft and breaks up the color, sort of eating through the color. As I said in a previous post, one application of organic coconut oil and my hair was restored.

Even though it sounds like a harsh process, I look at the before and after of my hair and it's sooo much easier now. I really am not conscious of it when I go outside. I realise that writing a blog about your hair makes you a wee bit more obsessed with it than the Average Joe but it is making this transition even easier. I feel like I'm really starting to see what my color will look like when I'm all done.

Roux-fully Challenged

I did something I SHOULD have done several months ago: I went to a salon and had a color lift. This is the polite way of saying I had the salon strip out as much of the color as possible. This is not for the faint of heart because it is heavy on the chemicals and can make your eyes water. But it lasted for 10 minutes, cost $10 at Aveda, and with some coconut oil left in for 30 minutes (thought I was going to say 10?) my hair was as good as new. Except one thing- it's LIGHTER!

These are pics of me right before I went in to the salon, right after, and styled with Roux Fanciful rinse (I'll get into that in a minute). Disclaimer: I was going into the salon and wanted my stylist to know exactly what kind of tween tantrums my hair will pull if not whipped into shape, so she could suggest shorter styles. Lest we forget, I reside in the South: a swampy climate which ensures dewy skin and frizzy Texas pageant hair. Going to a short 'do is done with trepidation. So here is the 1, 2, 3 of my hair transition:

Several oddities came up when I saw my new hair. First of all, I was in mourning for my lost Sheltie look- now I wouldn't look like my puppy anymore. Second, and I know I should have come to terms with this long ago, I would never be a redhead again. Other than the occasional wisps of red hair I still have, my days as a ginger are done-zo. Also, my silver has changed completely; almost unrecognizable to me. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that some of the dyed hair must have gotten on my virgin hair and coated it. Against the dark red my grey looked somewhat pewter but against the blonde it looks redder. The jury is still out, but really I think my grey is just adjusting to reflecting the new color.


One question you might have is why the hair is so much orange-ier at the top of the dyed hair in Pic #2? This is due to the original hair nightmare- the craptastic ombre that I had dyed over. Apparently that cherry chocolate undercoating has now oxidized to a lovely shade of traffic cone orange. The second question you may have is why is there little-to-no improvement between Pic #2 and Pic #3? This is because I'm roux-challenged.

Roux-Fanciful is a rinse that perhaps your grandmother would know. I have seen silver sisters that have super light blonde ends and they use Roux to turn their blonde silver. I'm not exactly sure the extent of Roux because I can't seem to get it to work for me. I have tried it in Silver Lining and Tru Steel but to very little effect. I've glopped, combed through, sjoozhed (it's a word), smooshed and still failed.

Regardless, I am loving the change in the lighter hair. I feel like this makes the transition easier and my silver blends in much better with the blonde-ish color. Even though one of my favorite kids at Church said my hair was different, just a light orange *thud*, alas still it's better. And next up will be shorter hairstyles!