Hair Dye

So I gave into social convention, or maybe it was peer pressure, and dyed my hair. My natural hair color is a light brown - some would even say dirty blonde. The color I selected for dyeing was maple brown, just one shade short of black. When I first emerged from the shower to look at my new hair, I was startled by the contrast. It looked like a wig. Once my hair was thoroughly dried I could fully appreciate the change. I looked like a completely different person. I was a little worried.

The truly interesting thing was to witness which people noticed and which did not. To my surprise it was primarily the males that noticed the different hair color. Many of my good friends that are girls didn't even double take. My two sisters had very delayed reactions, noticing about five minutes after meeting. The males, however, picked up quite rapidly. I'd say at least five guys have asked me if I dyed my hair, to which I must sheepishly reply, "Yes," or "No, it's just raining like crazy outside."

After much deliberation, I decided that I wanted the good old me back. It seemed that every time I passed a mirror I had to look three or four times at myself, just for recognition purposes. I'm worried what my parents will say when I go home to visit, and I'm worried what a certain girl will say as well. Because the hair dye was labeled "28 washes" I thought I could speed up the lightening process by washing my hair more than once a day. I don't recommend this.

Luckily, and quite by accident, I found a solution. A couple friends and I have recently taken up the hobby of swimming laps. Call it a new year's resolution, but we really just need something to do. In the last week we went swimming at the university pool twice. Since we swim at night, I neglect to shower directly after, and merely go to bed. The next morning the shower smells strongly of chlorine as I wash my hair. One thing I've noticed, however, was that my hair has grown significantly lighter upon leaving the chlorine in it. Pretty soon I'll be back to the same sandy brown haired kid I always was.