The Virus Diary: Don't Be Blue

 It's been just over a year since the first case of Covid-19 landed on our shores.  It's been almost a year since I started working from home and my son started learning from home (although we've been in a pseudo hybrid mode since mid-September).  No matter how you slice it; it's a bizarre time.  I know I've done some silly things to try and keep my sanity or to just DO something.  How can we not?

For most of my adult life my days started by getting dressed for an office (which included hair and make-up).  I don't do that most days.  Yes, I get dressed.  But the hair and make-up routine is sporadic and I have always been a big hair and make-up person, (I am the first to admit that I AM high maintenance.)

It was March 8, 2020 when I last got my hair professionally cut and colored. I have gotten my hair cut once since then, but no professional highlights.  Over the warmer months, I did fall back on old school "sun in" (yes it still exists!).  But I gave that up come the cooler months and as much as I don't like what I guess is now my "natural" color, I've pretty much decided to go with it.  (At least for now.) For the record, natural is a dirty blond.  (Although looking at some color charts, maybe I'm actually glazed mocha?)  I'd be much happier with a lighter color; and that includes gray/silver.  I actually wish there was more gray/silver in my hair (there is some, but nowhere near what you might expect) as I think that would lighten my face and my look.

Now I have during this pandemic considered doing some fun hair stuff.  (Remember when I tried to find hair chalk? or added some pink to my hair using a spray?)  At one point, I tried to do a blue streak (I'd already tried and kind of liked pink/purple), but it didn't go so well. The blue did not spray on as well and I wasn't happy with it.  However, this Saturday I was antsy and tried again.

Once again, the streaking thing did not go well.  Perhaps it's me? Perhaps it's the brand I used (which was different than the pink)?  But getting just a streak of blue didn't come off.  So instead, in a wave of frustration and what the hell, I just sprayed the heck out of my hair.  Yes, I went crazy.  And this is what happened:

Now it doesn't look bad there.  Mostly because I put on some lipstick and a blue dress to make the look "pop" (Is that the right term?)  It kind of actually brought out the blue in my eyes.  (On official documents my eyes are blue; however, I think they are more of a hazel (more of a green with blue and a few flecks of gold).  The look was ok, but when I put on darker colors...

I just kind of fade into everything.  (I realize this isn't the best photo.)  I actually thought I looked a little crazy (and went with it):  

Not the image I want to project on a daily basis.

But the good thing is that this was a spray and could be washed out.  That's the whole reason I used the pink/purple spray previously.  While I wouldn't mind a streak lasting a while, I couldn't live with the blue hair.  Mostly because it turned my hair into an unmanageable mess. (This is what immediately comes to mind:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr6eufh4DA4)  It was like I had sprayed my head with two cans of heavy duty Aqua Net (you know what I mean) without styling it previously.

So I went to take a shower that night. At which point my neckline was turning blue (actually more than just my neck) and so were the edges of my face and forehead.

I washed and conditioned my hair twice in the shower.  Now, I have baby fine hair which is usually very soft and fly away.  Even after this it was feeling tangly.  (Is that word?)  In the meantime, the shower water was pooling up in my tub and turning blue.  When it was up to my ankles, I got out.  I let it drain, as it left a blue stain.  (Not just a ring, but a nice blue all over.)  The shower curtain liner also had blue splotches.

Then there was my hair.  Yes, it was still blue in places.  So back into the tub... I'm kneeling under the faucet, washing it again and the tub is filling up again. (I'm guessing the blue and the hair was doing a little bit of a number on the drain.)  I kept scrubbing and letting the water run over it, until these old lady knees said they'd had enough.

Despite this (do I need to go further?), there was still some blue.  But I gave up.  

The next morning, I washed my hair again.  There was still blue water running.  But most of the blue was gone.

While I love the color blue; blue hair is not for me.  Blue SPRAY hair is definitely not for me.  (I may do a green streak again for St. Patrick's Day as I have done in the past and a pink/purple streak might be in my future as well.)  And despite my best efforts, there is still a tinge of blue under my nails and I'm waiting to see how the shower curtain liner (which is machine washable) turns out.

From now on I'll stick to blue only when it comes matters not of the hair.