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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Once you go black you'll never go back

I risk assigning such a provocative title to this post. If you even knew the meaning to that phrase up there.

Fear not, this post has got no kinky connotation at all.

After going long, straight black for quite a long time, I've decided to change my hair colour/ style/ whatever you call it.

In case you've forgotten how I really look after all the Halloween make up and all, just click on my recent posts or look at my profile picture on the right side bar.

Yes, I used to sport un-black hair since I was 15years old. All shades of brown, blonde, golden lion tamarin, red with blonde streaks, any colours that did not require bleaching, all sorts of length, rebonded, permed, natural, with bangs, side swept, long, I've tried them.

Been spotting a light brown hair phase for the longest time ever with varying lengths and bangs.

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I don't have digital photos of those from schooling days so yes, you don't get to see the red and the streaks.

2006 was the year I tried everything, totally spoilt my hair and got depression. Yes, only bimbos can fall into depression because of hair. lol

I dyed the lightest shade of blondish brown I've ever tried which led to people calling me golden lion tamarin. Actually those people were so wrong coz a golden lion tamarin has fur which is not golden but reddish like this.

Hubby Kh love my long blondish brown straight hair with bangs back then coz it matched my tan a lot and he loved it when I tied it into a ponytail.

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And then when he went overseas, I got it permed the old fashion way and totally spoilt my hair. He hated me with curls but I didn't care coz it's MY hair. That was the time I got hair depression. lol... coz the perm plus recent colouring was so damaging, my hair was breaking mid sections. Moreover the curls weren't as lovely as the tonged kinda curls you see in top left photo of the collage below. They looked bad like the bottom ones.

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That year, I also got accepted into a new company which once again entailed teaching and the bosses were initially unsure about my hair colour. However, I must say my inner teacher persona outshone some physical ah lian hair colour. Students loved me not only for being their cool teacher but for my teaching itself.

By the end of 2006, I got so sick of my dry-looking blondish brown that I dyed blue black. (I think... I can't really remember which black came first)

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My friends were so used to my non-black Chinese hair that nobody could quite imagine how I looked like with black hair and advised me against dyeing black then. They thought I would look really weird. Even after I dyed blue black and subsequently ash black, the black would just fade like crazy on me after some time and I would wind up with coloured hair again and people would ask, "I thought you said you dyed your hair black?"

It seems like black isn't the way to go for me back then.

Here's how the blue black faded... and then I rebonded my hair and cut bangs coz I was sick of my curls.

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I didn't know what went wrong but the straightness did not last and soon my hair became like this. Needless to say, I fell into a hair depression again. My hair then was neither straight nor wavy so I just had to wear my hair in a self-twirled manner or tong it during special occasions. The black also faded like crazy and I wound up with non-black hair again.

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More black roots growing which still looked fine. I hated black roots back then but I found these acceptable coz at least my hair looked healthier then. Had bangs, grew them out, had bangs again.

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Then I itchy fingers went to perm my hair once more. This time digital perm. I dunno why my hair looked brown in the bottom left picture. I think I dyed an ash black here.

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I stopped colouring my hair after that and began to embrace that black is the new black.

I didn't look too bad in black hair with side swept bangs right?

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After that I rebonded my hair again and sported blunt bangs. During this time, more people from friends to relatives started saying I look like Fann Wong once more. Yeah, Fann Wong also spotted the ugly blunt bangs look that year so I took that as an insult. lol... On normal occasions, that would be a compliment to which I always reply, "Yeah, I'm the uglified version of Fann Wong." The last time someone said I looked like her was like in year 2000?

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Then I had to colour my hair again for my bridal photoshoot as all the people at the bridal studio asserted that brown hair looked better in photos. I didn't wanna go back to my blondish days so I opted for a darker shade of brown which I liked a lot. I'm done with dumb blonde days.

Kept a side swept fringe for the photoshoot...

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but cut them again  for my actual wedding day. I didn't exactly like my bangs on my wedding day but I like it when they grew out as seen in the other pictures below.

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After many years of not using DIY hair dye, I decided to give Liese Bubble hair dye in ash brown a go and I absolutely LURVE the way it turned out! It's exactly the kinda brown I like. Check out all my NYC travel entries.

But after a few months, it faded to orange which I absolutely detested! I didn't include the ugly orangey shade photos here but you could click on beginning 2010 to see pictures of the ugly orange.

I also had the most expensive bangs and sides cut in my life. USD$30 not inclusive of tips yet but I absolute loved it. None of my SGD$2.50 -- $5 fringe cut salon could imitate the same cut I did at a hip Japanese salon in New York.

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From end 2009 onwards, I stopped chemically treating my hair and allowed my natural black hair to grow without rebonding or perming and I love the state it is now.

Now that I've been sporting a full head of naturally black hair, every group of friends who met me would comment on how they like me with my healthy black hair and how this look suits me so much, using flattering adjectives like "posh", "classy", "chic", "elegant", "mature" etc.

All the past positive adjectives  used to describe my un-black days like "sporty", "fun-loving", "cool", "beach babe" etcs have since been replaced by "You used to look like a/an __________________________." [Fill in the blank with SPG, ah lian, wild child, unserious playgirl... wtf is a playgirl?]

Ever since my god daughter Charmaine's passing, I made a pact with cyn mommy to go do our hair together. She was really in dire need of prettifying and pampering herself after 2.5 years of looking after Charchar and never leaving her side.

Doing our hair together was something which we've always planned to do so we're both really excited about it. Cyn mommy has already booked an appointment for us tomorrow afternoon and we simply cannot wait for tomorrow to come. Jase has been going round telling everyone that mommy and godma are going to do hair together and leaving him at home coz he would be bored at the salon. lol... Jase had promised us that he would be good and would not mind waiting even 5 hours at the salon for us. What a sweet gentleman! There would be so much to catch up on just within a span of a few weeks of not meeting.

Kh loves my current look a lot and asked if there was really a need to change something. In fact, all the friends I met up with recently except for a clique were in the same voice as kh.

To quote somebody close, "I love your current straight black hair with bangs look to match your bitchy but smoking grey eyes."

Bitchy? Thanx ah. Smoking grey? Yeah!

I wonder what would be my decision at the salon tomorrow!

21 comments:

  1. Haha omg hair transitions throughout the years!! I've been there too babe. It was blonde, dark brown, blonde, dark brown, every 2 seasons. I destroyed my hair! I kept it black the last few years till my recent trip to Singapore and dyed it again. But I chopped off my hair into a bob after graduation. So glad my hair grew back quick!

    Can't wait to see what change you'll have next!! Pics please ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, Jo! Thanks for showing us all pics of you and your hairstyles...I loved it. And seriously, you do not age!!!! And when I first started reading your blog, your black shiny hair caught my eye! So pretty! Mine's pretty dead from rebonding and multiple hair dyeing attempts...

    Can't wait to see what you get done though :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Once you go JO, you...ah, um, need no 'mo???

    LOL, just a quick comment before work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Haha wow, your hair has gone through a lot over the years, Jo! And I love that you were able to document all of your hair transformations over the years. I loved your digital perm days! You looked so pretty with those curls! I haven't tried getting a digi-perm, I am a little bit wary of how I'd look with curls, so yes, all these years I've been getting rebonding treatment for my hair to keep it straight. But with regards to the blonde-brown hair, I prefer if you keep your hair jet-black, the way it is now. Have fun at the salon, my dear. Your friend truly deserves some self-pampering time after the whole ordeal she's been through, and so do you :)

    Cheers,

    Wi
    A Single Girl's Musings

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Jo: feel like long time no talk. I have been so lazy with blogging and commenting lately so please excuse my temporary absence. You are quite adventurous with your hair. I enjoy seeing your hair history.

    I think all guys hate curly hair, it must be genetic. My husband prefer me with straight hair but like you "heck it's my head and hair". I got my hair slightly perm when I went to Bangkok this year and colored it too. I would like to dye my hair with rich chocolate brown color but always end up with orange/reddish tone, totally hate it. Hope you had fun in Phuket.

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  6. which salon and would you recommend it? (when you're done with your hair lah! haha)

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  7. LOVED looking through all your different hair styles and your coloring through the years.. i concur though i LOVE your natural black hair.. it's a really gorgeous glossy back color it's very chic and on you and looks very sexy!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. i cannot believe he didnt like your hair curled! i liked curled hair on you best. such a longggg history of hair haha

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  9. I love how you posted photos from so many years back Jo! I've always loved seeing how people change throughout the years, especially in terms of style. I have to say that you still look as pretty as you did when you were young, maybe even prettier now! All those shades look really nice on you, but I think I prefer the darker browns and blacks you've had recently. I was never a big fan of too light shades on Asians, but that's just my opinion :)

    I can't wait to see what kind of styles/colors you and Cyn mommy decide to get at the salon!

    P.S. I noticed you mentioned the Liese dye turned your hair orange after awhile. I experienced the same thing when I dyed my hair recently with the Prettia dyes. I've found that using a violet/purple shampoo to counteract the brassiness really helps. I suggest using one if you ever decide to go back to brown or blonde shades in the future :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Jo, You were such a pretty bride! I think that picture and the 2009 w/Charmaine; 2009 w/glasses; and 2009 w/KH are my favorites. Oh, and the 2003-2004 peace sign picture--you really look like a baby in that one.

    It's clear that whatever you do at the salon, you'll look great afterwards. Probably.

    LOL, I meant definitely! =)

    ReplyDelete
  11. your hair has gone through a lot! and any way looks good on you.. =) can't wait too see your new look!

    -Macy

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  12. I think your hair looks great in any shade! You have a great skintone so many spectrums of brown to dark brown looks beautiful on you! Silver Linings can be purchased online and in select stores in the US. They do offer Intl shipping!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jo, this post is simply wonderful. It was amazing to see you from year to year. It's always fascinating to see the various changes in a person. Thank you so much for sharing this. I love you with darker hair!!! I had to chuckle when you said "hair depression". I'm currently going through that right now. HAHAHA Hope all is well my friend. ((HUG))

    http://sassyuptownchic.blogspot.com/

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  14. OMG! I am excited to see what you did with your hair. where's your next post jo? haha!
    the suspense is killing me. -_-

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  15. Dear all,

    I really enjoyed reading every single one of your comments. Heh.

    I didn't do a drastic change much to everyone's chagrin/ delight.
    [circle the right answer]

    I'll try to post up some pictures later!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am the anonymous who decide to call himself 'your fan' as you want me to name myself instead of being anonymous.

    This post is a good summary to all your different looks from young till now. You actually look quite different from the first few photo group 2003 to part of 2005. Getting more beautiful and mature.

    My favorite photo of you? All those without your hubby. kekeke. No serious. 2005 the one with something on your face. All the straight hair in 2006. 2007 when you reborn and have fringe. All of 2008 from the red cap down to the black hair minus the one with kh. kekeke. All of 2009 the one you with kh who look make up and holding m&m pillow. I think I like you in pony tail too.

    Oh wah, your fan really like so many pics of you. Please don't be scared of me. I'm a normal guy GODMA JOLENE.

    your fan

    ReplyDelete
  17. I may have offended you Jolene. I meant those part about your hubby kh as a joke. Please don't get me wrong. I'm sorry if I cause you any problem.

    your fan

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anon aka fan,
    "Oh wah, your fan really like so many pics of you. Please don't be scared of me. I'm a normal guy GODMA JOLENE."
    lol... I think I'm quite scared of you for being so observant and detailed. =P I had to open this comment boz and scroll through my post to look at which photos you were talking about. And no, I wasn't offended. No worries.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I think you have evolved beautifully 1 maybe I am biased but I think you really do look great with black hair... whatever you decide to dow with your hair I think you'll look great! Thank you for sharing though pictures!! I feel like do one too.. not just for hair too!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Nic Nic,
    I like how you used the words "evolved beautifully". I would LURVE to see your transformation over the years too!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Copied & pasted from cbox for remembrance:

    23 Nov 11, 09:47
    Reader: I very much like your current look ALOT. Your glossy black hair actually stands out and yes you do look a bit like Fann Wong at certain angles. In video probably? I wonder if you would end up like
    23 Nov 11, 09:48
    Reader: all other brown hair girls with dolly curls along orchard road now.

    25 Nov 11, 08:44
    Jo to Reader: Sorry, I totally missed this out! So you've seen my latest post? If I curl tong my hair, yes I probably look like all other brown hair girls along Orchard Road.

    ReplyDelete

I love reading sincere comments and hearing your voice. While blatant self promotion of blogs and follow for follow requests are not advisable, I would love if you leave a mark here with a trackback link so that I could connect with you. I reply to comments here or on your blog so don't forget to check back on replies! =)

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