Red is Rad

The truth is, I've secretly always wanted to be a red head. My natural hair color is a medium brown with a redish highlight. When the sun hits it just right, it has a shimmery flickr of auburn- its pretty, but...

My hair was black for years. Most of the time I kept it in a classic Bettie cut, occasionally experimenting with shorter A-lines, but... for the most part, I kept my hair the same. I always felt comfortable with the Bettie. I felt like myself.

This past fall I saw a picture of myself, and wondered who that washed out older gal in the photo was. Oh ick- it was me! The black had to go. It was time for a change. I took myself down to visit my favorite stylist here in Abilene, Miranda, and we gave me a layered cut loaded with highlights to lighten things up. I left the salon that day crying, partially because I was in the middle of yet another identity crisis (babies and toddlers, kids in general I guess, will do that to you), and partially because I thought I looked like more of a "mom", than I did "Tia". I played around with it and within a few hours I loved it.

I meant to get my highlights touched up before Christmas, but when we found out I was pregnant again, it got put off. And then at our first doctors appointment, our doctor gave us some interesting facts about the new studies done that link hair coloring (while pregnant) to autism. By this time, my highlights had grown out for over a mile, the blandness of my natural brown was taking over my entire head, and I was approaching my self esteem low, quick. Maybe a trim would help?


I bet a trim would have helped, had I gone to Miranda, my hair BFF. Instead, I just sat down in the chair, without really thinking, explained what I wanted, and then cried for an hour that night over the loss of my 4 inches of length, and lack of layers. I spent awhile on the internet the next night, trying to demise a plan to fix it.

The plan? ... I'd go red.

On Valentines Day, I went down to the salon bright and early, and was the first one there when they opened. I knew about the studies done that linked hair coloring while pregnant to autism, but I had colored my hair with both of my kids, there was no proof, and... "Make it red?", I asked. Miranda's eyes lit up. She had mentioned something about wanting for me to go red back when we had put in the highlights, but at the time, I was just too scared. She showed me the brightest red they had, and I nodded. If I'm going to go red, I might as well go red, right? While I waited for my color to turn (I'm never going to forgive myself if baby number 3 ends up to be autistic, but the likely hood of that is...), I kept my nose in my book, and constantly glanced up at the ticking timer, waiting for my 30 minutes to be over with.

*Ding*, it rang.


...would it be ok for me to say that, maybe I'm a natural when it comes to being a red head? If so, I'd like to give credit to those highlights hiding between my boring brown strands. Without them, I'm not sure I would have been able to pull it off.

I love my new hair.

Unlike all of the times I've attempted new hairdos at home (I only recently started going to a salon), there was no crying, there was no "adjusting" (grabbing the scissors and snipping away at random strands day after day, because it still isn't right), there were no regrets. For the first time ever, other than when I would get a fresh Bettie cut... I love my hair.

**Oh, and that cute headband that I'm wearing? Its courtesy of Etsy seller/fellow blogger- MammaTown. The pictures in her etsy shop don't do any of her adorable accessories justice though, so don't turn away, take a second look won't you? Visit her blog here, and her Etsy shop here.