This weekend a dipping happened. My hair, which left alone, is the color of rat fur...and I'm not talkin' about the white lab rats. No, I'm speaking of the gray rats that scuttle around dark alleys in creepy movies.
Around here, dipping is done at home. As a teacher, I don't have $100 (or more) to spend on getting my hair professionally dyed, so I look for the bargain basement stuff. Discontinued because during the testing phase, dolphins died when the hair coloring was slathered on them twelve times in the span of a week? Bring it on. Just a little stock left--and no longer being produced--because magenta is not really a "natural-looking" hair color? I'm game.
And I am. I'm up for trying a variety of red shades. A different box, a different brand, a different shade--every time--makes life more interesting.
Today, I provided levity for the sixth graders. While I was outside their class window at dismissal (my class--the third graders--head out the building before the older students), they were overheard talking about my blindingly-bright tresses. Since I did the dye-job on Sunday, the chemicals are still holding on for dear life. The box says one thing, but it's Russian Roulette once you squirt that stuff on your head.
"Mrs. R did her hair."
"It used to be blonde." (No, it was never blonde, but a lighter red. I thought a lighter shade would blend in more with the gray, but the strawberry blonde shade made the gray hairs angry, and they got unruly.)
"Why does she dye her hair?" (I wonder. Perhaps I deal with a bit of stress during the day? Perhaps I could even name the patches of gray after colleagues/classes?)
"What is that color called?" (There is no name for this color. The name on the box is soooo wrong. This shade makes a person speechless. Metallic Magenta is what I would call it.)
Oh yes, I was the talk of at least one class. I gave them something to talk about. And I was happy to help...
(You have to be able to laugh at yourself. If you take yourself too seriously, you'll miss out on lots of fun.)
When was the last time you laughed at yourself?
Daily I laugh at myself, but some sixth grader got the last laugh once. I purchased brown hair color and obviously some little sh*t mixed up the colors in the hair color boxes. I ended up with coal black hair.
ReplyDeleteLinda--I'm STILL laughing, imagining you with black hair...
DeleteThe only way to survive teaching is to be able to laugh at yourself!
ReplyDeleteMama Zen--For sure.
Delete"What is that color called?" THAT is so funny!
ReplyDeleteI used to teach pre-school and one time I cut my long hair short and I made a little girl cry.
Birdie--It's funny how students are so attached to some things (like our hair).
DeletePre-school? I bow down to you. THAT is a level I couldn't handle.
The last time I laughed at myself at school was when I came in and was amazed that I had been given a cutting-edge screen that hung from the ceiling, see-through, that I figured I could project things on like fighter pilots see their targets on the windshield of their jet.
ReplyDeleteImagine my disappointment when I walked across the room, pondering the possibilities, and saw that it was only the light cover of my fluorescents that had been left open by maintenance while awaiting a new long bulb.
Val--That is the sort of thing I would have done.
DeleteGreat attitude you have. I would love to have a dash of red in my hair again, it only showed in sun. But alas, covering the "rat fur" changes that. Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteClaudia--Yes, we're at a fun age, aren't we...
DeleteI'd love to be a redhead, but my sister is one naturally, and it's really the main way people tell us apart, so I can't do it. We're a little old to prank with the Patty/Cathy schtick. My daughter has had beautiful shades of red, but her very best was a purple eggplant. I wish I could carry those rockin' colors. But my stylist - and I use the term broadly because all she is allowed to do is color and comb, no style at all - has come up with a blonde that gets a lot of compliments when I can afford it. You always look great - fun and quirky and bold. You go, Girl! It's our job to present the wonders of the universe to the next generations and get them pondering possibilities.
ReplyDeleteMarcia--You don't need to style it, with hair that long. And you're right--the possibilities of today's generation ARE limitless...
DeleteFunny story, Sioux. Kids are so honest.
ReplyDeleteWhen my hair first started to show touches of gray in the mid-80s coincided with my having surgery at an Army hospital in Germany. I wanted to make myself look younger before returning to work so I bought some do-it-yourself stuff. Somehow the side effects of the anesthesia interfered with the chemicals in the hair color. The result was I had shades of purple in my hair. You can imagine the looks I got when I returned to work. I had to laugh because everyone else was.
Donna--I'm still chuckling, imagining you with purple hair.
DeleteI always knew you had a wild side...
Mrs. C has streaks of purple...I like it. I only laugh at myself when my wife points out my flaws, otherwise I'd never know I was laugh worthy.
ReplyDeleteJoeh--You are a wise man to laugh at yourself. It's better to laugh at yourself and beat others to it...
DeleteI laugh at myself daily. Your young students were so much more polite than older ones. I once overheard a high school kid say about the French braid I was so proud of doing myself, "She shouldn't wear her hair like that. It makes her look like a frog."
ReplyDeleteTammy-How could a French braid make a person look like a frog? And do they look in the mirror and see what THEY look like?
DeleteHigh-schoolers are just mean.
I wish I dared to do dye jobs myself, but I'm chicken. Maybe once I finally get to retire, I'll go wild and just do it. Just the other day I saw an ad for hair color that will make your hair bright colors, including a blue. Blue? My grandma used to go "blue". When did that become fashionable again?
ReplyDeletePat
Critter Alley
Pat--I think today's "blue" is different than the blue hair in our day.
DeleteAnd by the way, I don't see old blue-haired ladies anymore. Did that go out of fashion?
Oh, Sioux, you crack me up. And don't you love the names on the boxes? Sunset Strawberry or Golden Chestnut. Mine always comes out pretty much brown. lol I laugh at myself on a daily basis. I'm always doing some goofy thing. At least I don't have to worry about where to find entertainment. :)
ReplyDeleteLisa--You are sooo right. One of the latest colors I used was called "Hot Tamale." After I was finished dipping, I think my husband was expecting me to transform into a Latina firecracker.
ReplyDeleteSadly (from his perspective) it did not happen...
If I had any hair I could relate. Too cheap to pay a barber, my wife trims the fringes, but I get worried when she says, "Whoops!" Amazing what a hat will cover. My face is mostly gray, but if I were young the fun I could have!
ReplyDeleteJono--You guys DO have it easy...in so many ways.
DeleteUm...five minutes ago? It's always something around the Hall house--(Though it's not always my hair as I break down and pay someone to color it every...oh, 3 or 4 months. So about 3 or 4 weeks every year, it looks great.) :-)
ReplyDeleteCathy--Why can't they create hair dye that stays indefinitely AND completely covers the gray? Jeeze.
DeleteMy neighbor asked me to dye her hair, even though I'd never done it before. It was one of the most frightening things I've ever done. I'm lucky she still talks to me.
ReplyDeleteKim--You ARE brave. There is no way I'd want to have that responsibility. (And no one would ask me, so it's silly to consider.)
Delete