Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Pinking Day


Every couple of months, this day rolls around. Pinking Day. Sometimes the pinking takes two hours, sometimes three. Today was the short day, which is when Dayna my stylist only does the roots, and doesn't repink my whole head. My whole gigantic head. (Actually, my head is pretty average-size, so I'm thinking Clementine's 90th percentile head must come from Jim :-) 

People ask me a lot, so here it is. Yes, my hair, which is medium brown, has to be bleached before it can be pinked. Only the new growth is bleached each time. I would never attempt this myself, at home. Chemicals, best left to the professionals! 


The bleach stage always reminds me of sherbet, the faded pink up against the new yellow. It's kinda pretty in its way.




I don't even know what this is a picture of, but I like it!





What I see: 




What Dayna sees:




Dryer time.




By the way, speaking of my hair, I wasn't sure how it would be received in Morocco -- I needn't have worried (well, not that I was worried, more like curious). There was nothing to it. I got lots of "Nice color!" while walking through the souks. And I didn't catch any horrified or appalled glances, either. I'm not saying that Moroccans liked or approved of it, just that they didn't show outward sides of hating it.

Italians, now . . . concealing their opinions is not part of the national character. To put it mildly, they were not keen. Youngish women tended to be the most rude. In fact, the first words I heard on setting foot in Italy, barely one step off the airplane, were from a stewardess waiting to board, and they were, "Fa male!" or: "It hurts!" The accompanying gestures made it clear she meant that my hair hurt her. And she was just the harbinger of things to come.

I was actually practicing in my head saying, "You know, you're much less cute when you make that face," because of all the grimaces. Ha ha!

Anyway, it's bedtime for Laini. Happy Pinking Day! And question: have you ever done anything *weird* to your hair?




And this just for cuteness. Later in the day, Clementine and "Beebee" cruise Trader Joe's. SO CUTE!


20 comments:

Q said...

Every two and a half years or so I chop all my hair off and donate it...

Your hair is stunningly well-done. :)

tone almhjell said...

Silly Italians. In many ways.

The other day I visited my friend Camilla's house. She loves dolls (Blythe dolls, I think they are), and has a collection that her five year old daughter Ada is sometime, but not often, allowed to play with. One of the dolls har luscious, bright pink hair.
- You know, I said to Ada, - My friend Laini has that exact hair colour.
- Nooo, she whispered. She's a little shy.
Of course, I had to bring her proof via the internet and your blog. And for the rest of my visit, she kept staring at the pink haired doll with stars in her eyes.
- For real?
- For real.

Hello Hoobubby / Alexandra said...

You look uncharacteristically pensive in the blow dryer photo! I think you might already know my own hair episode when I decided to take advantage of my parents being away for a week to dye my hair red. I got a product at the drugstore called "Zazu" ( I think) by Loreal, poured it all over my head, and then forgot for way past the time I was supposed to leave it on! When I did at last rinse, my hair was orange, like a freaky orange thats been dunked in fruit punch. Needless to add, I had not applied it anywhere near evenly so it was heavily streaked too in patches, mad dashes and zigzags...ugh....and then the Dean of Students sent me home the next day at school shortly after I'd arrived, and told me not to return until I had "rinsed out the wreckage."

andalucy said...

So that doesn't surprise me either way--that the Moroccans were not disturbed by it at all and that the Italians made a fuss. Didn't you notice how fashion-conscious the Italians are, but that they all have to look the same? No individual, personal style at all there. che noia!

Your hair is gorgeous. I love it. Thanks for posting the pics.

When I was in 8th grade I bobbed my hair and then cut off one side really short, almost shaved. Everyone was scandalized at first (this was central Maine) but then girls started to copy it.

Evie said...

All my life my hair was long, falling nearly to my waist in a golden brown cascade of curls.

Fast forward years + three kids, I sit in a salon chair looking in the mirror feeling utterly bored to death with what I see. I want change. Need it. The stylist is asking, yet again, "Just trimming the ends?" Nope! Not this time. It’s 1990, and my husband and I’d just seen the movie Ghost....

Oh, yes! Yes, I did! The stylist’s hands tremble as she cuts. People stare, incredulous. It was exhilarating! I felt wild, free, sexy.

Once home, I’m greeted with shocked silence. Normally I’m met with a chorus of cheers, but my children--even my husband to some degree--look bewildered, almost frightened. Suddenly piercing screams split the air as my four-year-old catapults himself into his father’s arms. “Get away! You’re not mommyeeee!”

Reaching for him, I say, “Sure I am, honey. I just cut my hair. That’s all. I’m still mommy.”

He slaps my hands away. “Then put it back,” he sobs into his father’s neck, “Put it back!”

My nine, and six year old stare up at me, quietly appraising my new look, then run off to play, I guess having come to the conclusion that mother’s hair does not mother make. My four year old refuses to look at me. His dad doesn’t help matters when he says with a wolfish grin, “You look like a completely different woman…let’s go upstairs.”

My son remained wary of me for days. Other than that, I loved the haircut! (grown out now.)

Two years ago, I had hot pink “peek-a-boo” hair color put in the under layers of my hair. My husband loves it! At 49, I feel like doing all the things I was too conservative to do in my youth…like pierce my nose with the tiniest of diamonds. To that, my husband gives me a resounding, “NO! Never the face.”

My husband thinks your hair is awesome! We love it.

Sorry-I sure am wordy for being a complete stranger on the east coast. However, I'm a huge fan! Love your writing; it's magical, eloquent and for all ages, imho. And your blog is fun.

How does it feel--having fans?

KT said...

I'm not surprised about the Italians. Although when I was there, we encountered more rude women than the men. We thought it was a national jealousy or something (no one can resist an American woman).

Oddest thing I've done is get a purple streak in my hair. I meant it to be subtle and not very wild, but people still commented on it. I might do that again sometime.

Unknown said...

I did pink hair for a year, but bleached it out for fear of job-finding problems (a good call: my current job does not allow unnatural tones to grace one's head). I loved the pink. Even going to a fairly liberal school, people started dying their hair pink a few months after me. I put blue over it at one point and the purple was gorgeous. I also somehow managed to have blue/purple/green from that another time I tried, and I had the most amazing mermaid hair.

I also had a mohawk for several months the year prior to that... It was maybe 5-6" tall at maximum? It was really fun, but I looked very androgynous with it, and it was a pain to maintain. I had to keep the sides buzzed fairly regularly, and the gel was killer on my hair.

Until last year, I dyed my hair at last once a year since the age of 13. I used to keep it very blond and now I'm trying hard to get used to my natural color. It's not easy, I think it's very boring. I'm trying to experiment with cuts now, since that's what I'm limited to, but I may try henna to liven it up a little.

It doesn't help that I had to lose my eyebrow and nostril piercing for work too! I feel so plain.

Whimsy said...

I am in a un-natural color phase with my hair.

It's been pink, teal, blue, red and now purple. I'm thinking maybe orange next?

Your photos are always so beautiful...

Laini Taylor said...

Hi Q! Long time :-) Your hair must grow fast to be able to do that regularly. Wonderful!

Tone, I love that story :-) Clementine has a pink-haired dolly too, but she must think nothing of it!

Hooby: hilarious! Do you have pictures?

Thanks, Andalucy :-) And you're right about style in Italy. Very style conscious and very samey-samey. I think everyone was wearing the same winter coat!

Evie, ha ha! I think Clementine would be very unsettled if I changed my color now. I wonder when is old enough . . . not that I have any plans to!

K.L.: I vote for the purple streak.

Nameless Wonder, you have had some hair adventures!

Whimsy, more hair adventures! :-)

Shveta Thakrar said...

It's amazing how people think things like that, which really don't affect them, do. *shakes head* Glad the Moroccans could handle your pink.

I think your hair is awesome. :)

I've always wanted put a blue or purple streak in my hair, but the bleaching part you mentioned scared me away.

Connie Onnie said...

I have not dyed my hair for years. Now it is long and its natural brown. But I use to dye & cut my hair all the time. Black, blond & I use to do chunky streaks with fire engine red, blond & brown. One time the red bleed on the platinum blond so I had a few pink stripes as well.

I love your pink hair! Was it easy getting those pictures of your hair? I am horrible at trying to get shots like that, it takes me like ten times.

Johari said...

Your hair looks great!

I've dyed it orange and pink. One Christmas I dyed it half green and half red. Unfortunately, the green side looked more like a bad chlorine reaction. Oops.

A few years ago I tried putting some purple in my hair, but it kept washing out--to my utter disappointment. I even had a professional do it. It was such a lovely shade of purple. So it took me until this year to finally grow out the bleached parts (which they dyed a more natural color, when it seemed the purple just wasn't going to stick).

So, now my hair is just its natural dark brown. Although, every time I walk into a salon, I eye the bright colors and wonder, "Should I try again?"

Jennifer Morian Frye said...

The "weirdest" thing I have ever done with my hair was a short curly poodle/q-tip thing in the second half of 8th grade......bleck. I have three sisters, and I am the only one of the 4 who has never done any coloring of any kind.....I'm thinking that means I should do something drastic, at least once.

megwrites said...

Just curious--what made you decide to go pink?
I've pretty much never done anything weird with my hair. I've never died it or anything. I guess that in itself is pretty weird, though!

persnickety_jen said...

I dyed my hair so much when I was in my teens that I actually forgot what my natural color looked like!

Sadly, I haven't done anything funky to my hair in a long, long time... but I think my favorite was the one and only time I had may hair dyed professionally. It was a triple-process [ergo, super-expensive for someone earning minimum wage] and very reminiscent of Jean Grey's hair in X2, except that I also had very thin highlights of bleach and dark brown as well. I couldn't maintain it, but it made me feel awesome.

One of these days, when I leave the corporate world behind me, I'm totally going to have funky hair again. :)

Bets said...

Love this post! It's fun to see the process. I like the sherbet phase. :-D

I didn't do much with my hair until one year I got lazy and cut it very very short. I was playing a fairy in the G&S operetta Iolanthe, so I dyed blue streaks in it and fell in love. *swoon* Kind of got lazy and let it fade the next year when I got morning sickness, but bleached and dyed a streak of blue back in after the boy was born. My hair has grown from under an inch to past my waist, so it's been awhile. ;)

I got way more negative comments about my short short hair than about the color. One person told me, "your husband told me he likes it, but.... I know what men *really* prefer." Ugh.

My favorite hair dying experience though was helping my brother turn his dark brown mop of hair into Vash the Stampede glory for comicon. That was awesome.

melanie said...

I love your hair, Laini! I'm dying to dye my hair a succession of bright colors--I just dyed my roommate's hair teal, and I'm so jealous of him. I'm trying to find a job right now, and don't want it to hold me back. I'm living in NYC, and surprisingly, almost no one has brightly-colored hair. It's very weird.

There are, however, lots of pierced noses, so I felt pretty safe finally getting mine done a couple months ago. (I highly recommend it, Evie, if your husband can get used to it!)

Anonymous said...

I accidentally went fuchsia in college when Manic Panic and I had a disagreement over the color "Mahogany."

One of my newest, best friends is a longtime purple-haired gal, but she added a streak of Laini Pink for New Year's and it's awesome. May I recommend a purple streak?

G.K. Billings said...

Have you ever tried dying it with KoolAid??? All you do is mix the powder with thick conditioner, and paint it on. Then you put your hair in tin foil and sleep in it. Next day:you have dyed hair!! (You will want to rinse the conditioner out)

That's what I do, it stays in so long and when it fades at the top, it still looks cool:)

I am going to do mine purple soon!!! I can't wait!

G.K. Billings said...

Oh, by the way, I LOVE your books!!!!!!

You really inspire me:)

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