I’ve been blonde my entire life (save for two “dark” periods that I’ll get to—keep reading). Growing up my mom often called me “Sister Golden Hair” but when puberty hit around 13—and my hair progressively got darker—mom promptly took me for highlights. That’s pretty much been my schtick for almost 25 years (that is so scary to admit), and my only real deviations were turns to the dark side when I lived in NYC (one of my best friends from college didn’t recognize me from across the street) and when I was trying to get pregnant and didn’t want to expose my body to the chemicals. Then just about a month ago I decided to shake things up a bit and try the rose gold trend (as you can see from the before-and-after photos). After two washes I loved it. But once it all washed out I needed to hit the salon for a color appointment…
I’ve always entertained the idea of going platinum. Basically, why not? It’s only hair color and if I hate it I can fix it. End of story. But when my rose gold was gone and a color appointment was imminent, the wheels were turning. I didn’t go to the salon that day planning on going platinum. My girl/lady love/colorist Alex delicately broached the subject. Then, before I knew it, the platinum receptionist was there. My main concern has always been the upkeep. She said she gets touchups every six weeks. I thought, That’s totally doable, and we were off.
Let it be known I didn’t go “pussy” platinum (pardon my French) with a whole head of super-light highlights. No. I had my entire head of hair bleached. TWICE. Then the actual platinum color I wanted was put back in. All in all it took a little over two hours. No biggie. But the aftershocks were harder for me to wrap my head around.
I felt pretty good sauntering out of the salon. This color grabs people’s eyes, and I’m totally ok with that. It just so happened I had an incoming kindergarten ice cream social at the school my son will start in August. OK… Not another platinum blonde in sight. But the friends I ran into loved it. My husband said it was a bit much (and he had a few other thoughts that I don’t care to share). And my five-year-old son told me I looked weird. I still found it amusing when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, which I know is a strange adjective at this juncture. But it was.
[Side note: When I got home, I saw a few hairs in my widow’s peak area that somehow remained untouched by the bleach. I had to pluck them because the contrast was so dramatic against my nearly colorless locks.]
Then I started treating my hair like a frail, sickly child. I barely touched it. I started using Alterna’s Overnight Hair Rescue three times a day. (My colorist told me it was all about moisture.) I washed my hair for the first time on Tuesday. (I did this the Friday before.) I was more scared to wash my hair than ever before. I’m now petrified that even touching my hair will make it break off. I oh-so gently washed and applied a deep conditioner—which I was told to use every single time I wash my hair now. After my apprehensive washing and deep-conditioning, I applied Privé Vanishing Hair Oil, blowdried, and frankly was pleasantly surprised at the state of my hair. It’s soft, flexible and feels otherwise normal (until I look in the mirror).
After a few days I started to see dark dots on my scalp. Yes, these would be my hair follicles, and it was a bit disconcerting. So I stopped with the close-ups. Not that I expect anyone to think this color is natural, it needed the first week of growth to not look like I was wearing a wig. I am enjoying this color, but it’s not for the faint of heart. The deciding factor will be the grow-in/maintenance. It’s hard for me to find the time for a salon visit every three weeks. The receptionist at the salon said she touches up every 5-6 weeks (she may have been lying—but she works in salon which makes it a hell of a lot easier).
My plan for now: Wait and see. If I look like a freakshow with trashy-not-trendy roots next week, I’ll be shutting this down. If I’m still digging what I see (and getting at least positive feedback) platinum Paige may stick around for a while… We’ll see!