Today I color my hair, at home, without a pro in sight. Only my 19 year-old is there to help me paint the color on the back of my head, and then I am on my own. Luckily, I’ve been through this a zillion times over the years with my own hair stylist so I kind of know what to do. I like someone else fiddling with my hair to make it beautiful. And while my nineteen year old is not a pro, he can see things I can’t.
But before I get started, I inspect every tube in my Madison Reed Hair Color box to learn how to prepare for what feels to me, like putting together IKEA furniture. I don’t normally like to read instructions, rather I skim to get the gist. But this one, I want to be exact because I can’t afford a screw-up and there is nobody to fix it for weeks!
At first, I couldn’t find any printed instructions, so I googled Madison Reed and found two videos on how to color my hair. As I follow along, one used the pointy bottle to divide the hair every quarter inch to apply color and squirted the liquid along the parted line, using the fingers of the opposite hand to massage the magic into the individual hair. Another video used the brushes and bowl, like the pro pack I now own.
The video mentioned to save some color to cover midsections to the end. Hmmm. I don’t think my stylist does that so I think I’m going to skip that part. My heart is beating a little faster as I realize the grave risk I’m taking.
What if I don’t color from the mid-section to the ends? Will I have hair color like Billie Eylish, a dramatic ombre effect?
What if I really f*&% up?!? I consult my calendar to see how long I would have to live in shame or under hats until my next appointment. 4-6 weeks.
The video also mentioned special instructions in my box, just for me. Dang! I hope I didn’t throw them out. I dug around the house and found my special “Hi Beautiful” how-to. Boy was it a lot less intimidating and easier to follow than watching a video. I learned the dark champagne color goes on the roots and the prosecco revive gloss goes on the mid-section to the ends. My head will be one big bubbly party!
Yikes! My palms are sweating as I set up all the tools and towels. i ask my son to take a pic of my roots for the blog.
“OMG! Mom! Is your hair black?” He exclaims.
I never thought about how long I’ve been highlighting and the only mom he knows is mostly blonde. I’m not sure what color my hair is any more to be honest. It was never black.
I section my hair into four parts and start to work on the front to demonstrate to my youngest son how to color hair. As he watches, his eyes grow bigger.
“Man! This is going to take forever!”
“No, it won’t, you’ll see. Ten minutes.”
I finish up and then sit on the edge of the tub so he can work on the back. He fumbles and grumbles.
“This is kind of gross.” He whines.
“I think I’m getting some of the bottom parts too. Is that ok?” He asks.
“Yeah, I think so.” I reply. Will I look like a calico cat?
“Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of it now.” He says happily.
After the roots are painted, I comb through the prosecco revive gloss from the mid-section to the ends. It looks more like vegemite, so I’m a little worried. (I decided to follow the instructions exactly instead of skipping this part as originally planned.)
I flipped through catalogs and my phone for 35 minutes until I could wash and condition my hair, getting water everywhere.
Blow dry and flat iron: voila!
BEAUTIFUL HAIR!
My younger son saunters in, “Well, how did it go?” (He’s vested now.)
I shake my head like a L’Oreal hair commercial
“Nice!”
“I think so too.” I say with the biggest smile and sigh of relief.
Looks kind of like this, but I can’t load current photos. New hair is GREAT!
Got my photos working…Ta Da!
TIPS
- DON’T LOSE THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE BOX!
- Wear a ratty tank top. A towel gets in the way and a sweatshirt gets drenched rinsing out shampoo and conditioner.
- Brush and bowl kit, worth it! You don’t want any of the gunk on your own stuff.
- Extra conditioner and gloss are worth it.
- Moroccan oil for shine at the finish line.
*I am having technical difficulties loading photos in the last two weeks, so I am improvising from what I already have stored.
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I’m going to have to walk by your house and see it for myself. I’ll look from a safe distance of course. Just like everyone else, seeing for a friend.
I’d like that. Pretty sure I’ll be here.;-)
Looks amazing! Way to go Alex and mom!
It all worked out! Proud of Alex for helping me.
Thank you for providing a little normalcy and light-heartedness today, Francie. You look gorgeous with your new color, though a Billie Eylish might not be so bad!
Ha! Maybe a pink Billie Eylish. In a lockdown, might be fun.;-)
Wow! Glad it turned out so well and your happy ending gives us all hope!
I think I helped a lot of people in the end.;-)