Monday, May 28, 2012

Hair

Hair is definitely our most important accessory, it goes everywhere with us.

I strongly believe that a good haircut will do more for you than any dress ever could and even very expensive haircut will have excellent cost-per-wear ratio.  It is also the easiest but also most dramatic way to change your look.  Did you notice how, on makeover shows, they always save the hair and make up reveal for the final transformation?

What color is your hair? Are you blond, brunette, redhead, or rocking the silver?

baby ajc
I cannot remember what exact shade my natural hair color is. When I was little, it was dark blonde but it got darker brown as I entered puberty. Shortly after, I died it chestnut brown and has been coloring it ever since.

natural texture 


That said, I was never very adventurous and usually stayed within reddish browns range. I went platinum blonde at one point but the maintenance proved impossible and my hair very quickly resembled straw, both in color and texture, not a pretty sight. I also had an unfortunate highlight job when I paid a fortune for firework of multicolor exploding on my head.  That scared me from attempting highlights for a long time.
 
But last year I decided  to get highlights again. I got many compliments and since everybody liked them I kept them for almost a full year, but I never felt like myself.

My year as a Blonde (almost)

It was pretty, but just not me. I think for some reason, I could not get used to being an almost-blonde. I have nothing against blondes, I just always felt that I am a brunette. My hair also got too long and I needed a change. So I decided to go back to shorter and darker.

  





   


I have to say, it feels more like me.  Funny thing is I first got a very similar haircut in my twenties and I was going back to it every few years. 

 in my late twenties with a very similar haircut
My scanner only transfers to black and white (or maybe I don't know how to use it) but the color was also almost identical. 
 
So additional benefit of going back to my usual color is that now more of my closet work with it and my make up looks more coordinated as well. 

***
How about you?
How important is your haircut to you?
Do you color your hair and if yes, do you choose close to your natural color or do you like to experiment?
Do you think your hair color (natural or man made) affects the way you feel about yourself?

In case you are wondering, when you don't see my phone in the frame, the pictures are taken by my 9yo. She enjoys being my fashion photographer and I think she is becoming quite good at it.   

16 comments:

  1. Oh Gosh - you look like a model! Love this cut and this hair colour! I think our hair is very similar! I am a medium-dark brunette. I have been rocking auburn for the last year and gladly so, as I found I needed a pick up and as I age, my hair colour was not helping. I have hardly any grey hair at all - it was the texture that was driving me crazy - it lacked lustre...

    I like the bob - always chic!

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  2. I love your latest cut, it's very chic and perfect for summer. I was born a redhead and it has lightened gradually over the years to strawberry blonde. If I'm out in the sun a lot it gets really light and more blonde than strawberry. It's definitely part of who I am, from being called "red" and teased about it as a child to being desired (or so I have been told) for it as I got older. In the blog photos it's usually up so I can cut off my head and not show it but once in a while it is there...

    You look so serious in the late 20's photo.

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  3. You look lovely with the darker, shorter hair style!! It's true that a hairstyle can have a huge impact on an overall look. I had the same dull hair cut for many years until I went to Taiwan in 2001. My aunts took one look at me and carted me off to a hair salon straight away. I got a radically different hair style and it completely changed how I looked.

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  4. I love your new cut and color! You are beautiful!
    I spent many years as a highlighted blonde and went dark a few years ago when the upkeep became too hard time wise. I like my new color, but I miss my blonde hair.
    Enjoy your new cut:). Great hair makes such a a huge difference.

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  5. The darker hair brings out your features much better than the almost blonde. You know what you're doing. Keep doing it ;).

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  6. You look beautiful as a brunette. Secretly I'd love to go all blonde surfer chick - just one win my life it would wreck my already dry and frazzled mop.

    LOVINg that shift dress above, must get my mittens on it at some point, I could summer in that for years to come.

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  7. What a lovely portrait of you! it's a great cut, but as my (recently deceased) former hairdresser would say, it helps to have something to work with - meaning great cheekbones and lovely features like yours. I had wavy blond hair as a child, the it turned browner and darker as time passed. After years of Loving Care, I had too much gray and moved on to professional coloring, several disasters later found a great colorist. if anything happens to him, I won't be able to leave the house.

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  8. It's so true about the hair being the most important accessory, and it's always my nemesis. I love your recent cut and color, it looks great! I got my hair cut about that length recently too, but my natural texture is wavy/bendy (plus I have a lot of hair) and I don't have the styling skills to make it work. I hate the fuss of longer hair, but I think I'm going to have to go back to it. I don't really know how to style my hair when it's longer either, though. So I never look put together because the hair is never right. Maybe some day I will figure it out!

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  9. AJC, your "new" cut and color look fabulous - you are definitely more of a brunette than a blonde. I was bald until I was a year old, and then my hair grew in with the exact same color and texture that it is now. It has no *natural* anything, and it has refused to grow more than 2 inches past my shoulders for my entire life. I think I have genetic "boy" hair. Every morning I have to heat it into shape. I do like my color - it's a chestnut that is very similar to your current color - and I've never dyed it apart from an 8th grade Kool-Aid experiment. No grays to bother with just yet, thank goodness.

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  10. Your new cut and color is fabulous and so suits you. You do have such beautiful facial structure, this cut really highlights that!
    I am resigned to wearing my hair in a messy bun on top of my head shoved into one of those JCrew tortoiseshell clips. When I see pictures of myself with my hair down, no matter the length, I don't look like myself, a messy bun is like having short hair but not. It's super-easy. I have my roots colored to match my natural dark brown haircolor. I only have gray hair in the front just like a skunk!

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  11. I love this haircut on you and the colour just makes your skin look radiant. This really suits you . I also have a bob and have always wanted long hair but unfortunately I have baby fine locks. This looks so chic on you and the tunic is perfect !

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  12. Love the darker shade with the bob cut - very flattering!
    I have dark brown hair with a "conservative" strip of bluish-purple that I can tuck behind my ear to hide if need be - just something I wanted to do a few weeks ago for the sheer heck of it.
    Anyways, a decade or so ago I had blond highlighting put in my dark brown hair which my then colorist said would be "face-framing" and "refreshing". Meh. I looked washed out & kinda matte flat blah instead of refreshed. Lesson learned.

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  13. I think your new 'do makes you look younger, plus your hair looks shinier and healthier.

    My hair cut is really important to me because I don't have the patience or talent to really do anything with my hair when left to my own devices, so I need a good cut to keep me looking presentable. I just got a bob too, but it sure doesn't look as sleek and shiny as yours!

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  14. Thank you ladies for all your lovely compliments!!!

    I am happy with my cut and color. Of course it does not look as great when I style it myself and there were several humid or rainy days when I just let the curls do its own thing, but even then the shorter length makes them more bouncy.

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  15. i just saw this post and i must comment. you are so chic and gorgeous. it doesn't look like you've aged one bit. i really love your hair smooth and dark. you are just beautiful!!!

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