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Learn How Pink and Purple Hair Will Change Your Outlook on Life!
If I had a dollar each time I heard someone tell me they love my pink and purple hair and “wish” they could wear theirs that way, I’d be a wealthy woman! But guess what!? I’m already wealthy. Maybe not in the pennies and dollars sort of way, but I have a wealth of things happening inside of me that make my pink and purple hair not only pretty cool but perfect for me!
The Pink and Purple Hair Begins
It all started a couple of years ago when I met a fabulous friend with the most gorgeous pink and purple hair! She had terrific curls and a sparkling personality to go along with them. I approached her at a regular church service where she was volunteering as a greeter. I just had to tell her how much I loved her gorgeous locks! It wasn’t long, and we were chatting like old friends.
I told her how much I loved her pink and purple hair but was not brave enough to do it. She challenged me that I am indeed that brave and encouraged me to try it! I am a slightly impulsive person, so I decided to be brave and vulnerable and give it a try. Thanks for that, Brené Brown! After all, it’s only hair, and it will grow out, or I can re-color it, right?
Before you could say “purple pink hair wax and highlights,” I was off to the stylist for a new do. I was so excited when I told her that I wanted to be brave and try a little pink. Looking back, I realize what a tiny baby step I first took in my pink and purple hair journey. I allowed my brilliant stylist to use one foil. Yes. One single foil in the front of my hair. Sigh. I was “so” brave.
But really, while I can have fun with myself now – I WAS feeling brave. I had so many reasons that I didn’t think I could wear that pink hair. Let’s talk for a minute about my childhood.
A Look Backwards – Before Pink and Purple Hair
I am my parents’ only daughter. I have one older brother, which makes us the perfect American family. There is no doubt that I was welcome and loved and the ideal second child for my parents, who had hoped for a girl. You see, back in my day (wow – I’ve waited so long to use that phrase authentically), expecting parents didn’t know what gender their child would be before birth. So I’m sure they were delighted with me.
About my name
They chose the loveliest name for me: Veronica, meaning “true image.” They quickly shortened it to “Roni,” which rolled off the tongue a little easier. My mom was tickled to give me a cute, condensed version of my name, which was something that had been very popular in her day. Think of Bobby Jo and Billie and Charlie as cute girl nicknames. My mom gave me a kind gift, a name that could be shortened into a cute, boyish moniker. Roni. Darling, right?
About my Hair
My hair type throughout my life has been very baby fine. This fine hair was particularly troubling in my childhood. All little girls like long, flowing hair, right? As a young child, limp and baby fine hair did not look cute. Enter the Pixie cut. A perfect solution, right? Short, sassy, cute! Who wouldn’t want a Pixie cut? I mean, Audrey Hepburn pulled it off in Roman Holiday. Then Mia Farrow, Twiggy, and even Goldie Hawn got in on the action. All of the ladies of the day wore a Pixie, so it made sense that my straggly hair would be well-suited to the popular cut.
About my brother
You may recall that I mentioned having a brother. He is two years older than me, and he’s incredible. He travels the world doing important things with his job, he has an amazing wife who is a blogger like me (check out zonacooks.com), and he has one grown son and two ridiculously adorable Bassett Hounds. But spin that DeLorean back to the 70’s when we were kids, and you’ll find that my brother didn’t have all those fantastic things. What he did have was clothes that he’d outgrown.
When you’re making ends meet on a shoestring budget, you tend to hand clothes on down. So yes, I wore a fair share of my brother’s old clothes. And it made perfect sense. The neighbor kids were almost all boys, and in the carefree days of my 70’s youth, we ran the streets ‘til the streetlights came on, climbing trees, playing ball, and running our skateboards up and down the middle of the road. I certainly didn’t need fancy clothes for all that.
Another great read and some childhood experience all grown up! Dogs are Gross
Are you sensing a theme?
If you put all of these clues together, the name, the hair, the clothes, you might start getting the drift of what was happening in my child’s brain. I was having a wee bit of an identity crisis. I remember being mistaken more than once for a boy. If memory serves, I had multiple opportunities to point out, “I’m a girl.” Perhaps it only happened a handful of times, but those times stand out clearly in my mind and, behind the scenes, wreaked a little havoc on my identity.
Around fifth grade or so, I demanded that my name was no longer “Roni” and that I would now be called “Veronica.” Surely that would help people understand that I was a girl! Most people complied, and the first step in finding my “girl” identity was coming together. I have not been called Roni for many, many years. The only exception here is my dad. He has retained his right to choose what to call me for all of these years, and to him, I am Roni and always will be.
The Teen Years
As I grew into my teenage years and began choosing my style, I found myself selecting the girliest of girl colors, pink, for my wardrobe and making efforts to grow my hair out. Thankfully the only way to wear your hair in the ’80s was BIG, and even my baby-fine hair held up to the big standard with enough Aqua Net in a purple can. I would imagine all of this identity rebellion must have been a bit unsettling to my parents. In retrospect, I can certainly understand why when one day, in an exasperated tone, my dad informed me, “you know, not EVERYTHING you wear has to be pink!”
Always Trying to Please
Like many young daughters, I did not want to disappoint my dad. I am now over 50 years old, and I still don’t like to disappoint my dad, so as a teen girl, that one comment had me wondering if I was doing the wrong thing and upsetting my dad by wearing pink. I began to associate wearing pink as maybe “too much,” but I did it anyway, even though I had a bit of conflict about it in my mind. The funny thing is, I bet if you asked him today, my dad would not even remember that phase of my life or the commentary about my pink clothes. Either way – I know without a doubt that he meant no harm to me at that moment.
Back to the future of Pink and Purple Hair
The battle to find my identity raged throughout my young adult years and into motherhood. I just never felt like I was being seen and heard as the person I really am. My hair was not long and flowing like that on other beautiful women. I had already given up on long hair, and following the wisdom of my mother, had returned to a pixie cut a few years ago when I wanted an effortless style. But I was still wondering who I am really and am I too much with all the pink?
Now, zoom that DeLorean back to about two years ago, when I met my incredible friend who encouraged me to be brave. Even though I had worked through much of my identity crisis and had begun pushing aside my own negative thoughts with the help of good therapy, I still felt something was missing. I mean, I like to stand out, not blend in, so why was I trying so hard to blend in with my hair? Gone are the rules of my youth when hair color was taboo and non-natural color was only for circus people.
Off to the stylist I went, where she applied my one foil in the front and center of my head.
A Surprise Effect
The day I walked out of the salon with that sweet spot of pink, I felt like a new woman! I was not at all prepared for the response I would receive. Beginning precisely that day, I started receiving compliments from total strangers, and all centered around my hair. But the most meaningful compliment of all came from the most unlikely of suspects.
I stopped in to visit my parents at their weekly Thursday morning coffee time with friends one day. Both mom and dad greeted me with warm hugs and happy smiles. But my dad, after his hug, tipped his head back, took a good look at my hair, and simply said, “I like it.” After years of wanting to make my dad happy, it soothed my soul in ways only those who have had a moment like this can understand.
A Little Braver, A Little Brighter, and A Little More Loved
That moment was enough to affirm for me that the pink hair was ok. Not only ok but great! After that day, I walked a little taller and smiled a little bigger, and the compliments have rolled in regularly ever since. Rather than doubting those compliments and wondering if they were really veiled comments about how “weird” I looked, I started to hear that people were applauding not only my look, but my bravery. Rarely do I go out without receiving praise from a total stranger. It’s amazing, and it’s good. Small wonder that each time I receive a compliment like this, I feel a little braver, a little brighter, and a little more loved for who I am. As time rolled on and the compliments kept coming in, I would return to my stylist and request a little more pink. Then I added purple. One foil turned to two. Two turned to several. Several turned into… You get the idea.
Each dose of pink brought more compliments, and each compliment brought more pink. Around and around the cycle has gone, ‘til one day I looked in the mirror and noticed that I had a full-blown pink and purple hair in an ombre fauxhawk!
The Journey
At this point, I have no plans to lose the pink and purple hair. I envision myself an old woman (many, many years from now) with pink still peeking from the top of my head. But in the meantime, the gift of pink and purple hair has been a pure delight.
My pink and purple hair has taught me:
- I really like to be noticed!
- Compliments are so powerful, especially from strangers
- Women doubt their own bravery
- I am braver than I thought
- I LOVE my pink and purple hair, and what I think is the most important thing
- Standing out in a crowd invites people to talk to you
- Ombre hair is cooler than plain hair
Another great read: 10 Amazing Truths About Seeing a Counselor
FAQ
Common questions I receive about my hair and the answers that I give:
What kind of hair dye do you use? I use Overtone Hair Color, a color-depositing conditioner. Learn more HERE
Is it hard to make the purple ombre? Nope – I simply happy the purple hair color conditioner to my roots and then add the pink hair coloring to the ends
Do you have to get it done often? I have my stylist bleach my fauxhawk and add permanent color a couple of times per year. The rest of the time, I use my own product at home. It takes about 1/2 hour a week to keep the color bright.
What does your husband think? He loves me and loves my hair because it makes me feel confident. A confident wife is an incredible wife!
What do your kids think? My 14-year-old likes it, even though his friends occasionally give him a little ribbing. We have talked, and I tell him that I like the way I look and that what they think of me is not my business. He agrees.
For more hair color ideas, including pink purple, blue-green, blue hair, and all kinds of other hair colors, check out Overtone.com. Overtone carries pastel colors, bright colors, and shades of blonde, grey, brown, and black; beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so the sky’s the limit! Be the light and show your real personality in the world!
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