So much for not talking about my hair!

So I've realized over the past week or so that my hair has grown! :D I think it's thanks to those vitamins. I think they are actually working. Because it looks like I have close to half an inch of growth since I dyed my hair which was roughly two weeks ago. That's really good! Usually hair grows half an inch a month. So it's pretty much growing at twice the rate if my estimations are correct! I'm guessing if I keep taking vitamins and it's growing at this rate I can have it grown out in like 8 months maybe? Probably 6 would be acceptable. I don't mind if there are a couple inches at the bottom of dark hair cause that may look pretty cool.

So with my hair growing, that means my layers are growing out on top. They were starting to look pretty weird. So I cut them. I actually cut off a lot of hair. I had about a fistful in the trashcan when I was done. I gotta say, it's probably my favorite cut so far. I was a little scared last night cause when I showered to get all the hair off I could feel a very obvious difference. I thought I cut out too much, but I actually didn't.

I bought some manic panic in vampire red. I'm scared to do it. I did a strand test with some of the hair I cut off...wow. It's pretty red. If I do do it, I'll have to do it on a day when I don't have work for a couple days so I can fade it some. I left it on the strand for like 40 minutes. Some people say to sleep with it in your hair and it will stick longer. I would do that if I didn't have a job. Actually I'm thinking about applying at Sally's. I think it would be really fun for me. I don't know if they're hiring or not, but it's worth a try!

I was looking up stuff about bleaching, and it seems kind of risky. I actually just did more research and am considering doing something called a bleach bath. It's adding bleach to a shampoo and working it through. I would only apply it to the bottom of my hair since I don't need the top lifted at all. I'm hoping it will lightly lift it and balance out close to my top color. It's supposed to be a lot less damaging than straight bleach. I'm not sure if I'll do it or not yet, but I am considering it.

I just read about another thing which is crushing up a bunch of vitamin c pills and adding them to shampoo and letting it sit. (http://kimmikillzombie.killer-cosmetics.com/2010/02/home-remedies-for-the-removal-of-hair-dye-do-they-measure-up/) Apparently it works really well. I may actually try this one first, since it's probably the least damaging. I'm really excited about all these methods I'm learning about! It would be pretty cool if I tried this and it ended up an ombre color! That's probably possible. Actually it would be reverse ombre :/ probably still cool though. Ah I want to go buy some vitamin C now! I need to get a processing cap too. If I do this and it gets the red out, I may consider buying some toner or toner shampoo and seeing if it gets blonde.

I think I'm gonna wait on the manic panic for a while. At least until I do the vitamin c thing. I may actually do that a couple times depending on how well it works. It sucks how I always get really motivated at night when I can't do anything. Also I have work and school tomorrow so I don't think I'll be able to. Unless I go to walmart after work. Then do it to my hair tomorrow night after school. I guess we'll see.

.,/,/.

I really need to buy some soap. I've been using my old shampoo, and I think it's breaking me out. Either that or I'm just really dehydrated (probably it). I notice a strong correlation with how much water I drink/soda I drink and the clearness of my skin. So why do I drink soda? It's my addiction :'( But yeah I need body wash.

I think it's funny how accurate astrology can be. My sign is Taurus. We're known to be very patient. It's funny because I don't really consider myself patient, but I guess I am. I just complain along the way. For example, my hair. Most girls would've bleached their hair by now. But no, I'm growing mine out. I have thought about it, but just can't bring myself to since I don't have any experience with it. I also don't want to destroy my hair. Second example, minimalism. I haven't been able to just get rid of everything at once. It's taken a lot of time. I think I'm going on 3 years now. And am still not where I want to be. I think it's taking me so long because I am still in my young years and haven't had the time to accumulate that much stuff so I'm already fairly minimal compared to other people. Although I do feel like I had more than the average person my age when I first started doing this.

I feel like I should feel more minimal than I actually do! I really don't have a ton of stuff, but it looks and feels like I do. Maybe I just need to organize my crap better.

I really want some of these things for my closet. I'm starting to not like transparent storage things just because to me it still looks like visual clutter. These things would be nice for practically everything. I would probably use it for shoes, belts, handbags. Scarves in the winter. I actually didn't really even wear any scarves this year. It never really got cold enough.

This picture is really inspiring to me. It's from Miss Minimalist's blog. It's her and her husband's bedroom at one of the houses she lived it.

Right now

What sounds like what would be super amazing is just to lay on a mattress in an empty room (besides the mattress.) Emptiness is so rare and hard to achieve. Maybe that's why I love it so much.

The last few days I've been thinking about the empty room minimalism I guess I'll call it.

It sounds so appealing right now. I'm not sure if I would love it long term or not, but at this moment it seems awesome. I know it's not practical though. Especially since my bed is so high off the ground. Right now I have a bedside table with a lamp and my iHome on it. I use it for my glasses at night so I don't step on them in the morning.

Man sometimes I feel like such a boring person. It sucks because I can't just become interesting. Maybe I'm just boring to myself and not boring to other people. Probably not though. I should read a book. It really sucks being a loner sometimes. I don't know...I was happy and now I'm feeling sad.

Stupid digital sabbaticals

My favorite blogger, Miss Minimalist, is taking a two month long digital sabbatical and I've gotta say, I've actually really missed her posts. She won't be back until March I'm assuming. I've got to wonder what she's doing with her time. Her blog is how I found out what minimalism was.

I've been enjoying another blog though, http://lifeshouldbethecatsmeow.blogspot.com/. It's pretty good, the woman is from Finland, an artist, and she's a minimalist (all three wins in my book). I really love her photography and her daughter is really cute (that's a lot coming from me since I don't even like kids lol.)

I think I'm kind of over my sudden make-up obsession. I'm still interested in it, but not obsessed like I was before.

I am so fricken excited for my 21st birthday! I have quite a heavy load of things I want to do on that day. I want to 1. go to a Jamaican restaurant for lunch with my mom and Daniel 2. go to a shooting range 3. go to a bar called the brick store in Atlanta. I'm more excited about the day itself than the gifts lol. I haven't even thought of anything to ask for. I think I want a funfetti cake with skinny candles. I can't decide if I want to get my tattoo or not yet. I think for my b-day, ideally I would like a camera, but I know that's kind of unrealistic.

I can't believe my hair is already super faded! Has it even been 2 weeks? I've been washing it every other day with shampoo for red hair and rinsing it in semi-cold water. I guess I need to use actual cold water. It's rather disappointing. I'm almost wondering if I should just try manic panic. It would probably last about the same amount of time, but not damage my hair. It might be worth a try and I've always wanted to try it. Haha I should try not to talk about my hair on my blog. Since I talk about it wayyy too much. That'll be difficult! lol

I can't think of anything to write about. All I keep thinking about is how I want things to be perfect. I want my hair to do what I want it to, I want to be skinnier, and I want my room to be where ever it will be that will satisfy me, oh yeah and I want to be able to wear contacts again. I don't know why I was able to for like a week and then suddenly couldn't. I really wish I wasn't a perfectionist. ..sigh..  OMG my shoulder is so noisy!! It's making all the popping and grinding sounds. It's really gross :/

Hardcore Minimalism

I remember back in the day, probably midway through this blog, I thought I could get pretty close to being a hardcore minimalist (less than 100 possessions). There's no way I could do it now. I'm not exactly sure what changed, but something did. I guess I just realized I was bored with what I had. So I bought things, and honestly, they have made me happier. People say possessions don't make you happy, but I believe they can. I mean obviously, they're not the most important thing in life, but they can make you happy.

I guess I just really wanted to eliminate the excess and things I don't like. I feel like I will always have excess unfortunately, because I change my mind so often. I just need to get better about buying things that I know for sure I will use instead of assuming I will like them (nail polishes :(( ) if it weren't so obnoxious I'd just give them to someone.

Right now what I want to get rid of/use up is:

1. shampoo and conditioner with chamomile in it (I'm gonna use that for soap when I run out of what I'm using now)
2. nail files (I have like 20 probably)
3. eye shadows
4. 3 nail polishes
5. teeth flosser things. Call me obnoxious but I really want the cranberry vegan dental floss from whole foods. It takes up a lot less space.
6. 2 or 3 of the body sprays I got at bath and body works (I've been using them to spray my clean laundry since the detergent we have doesn't have any scent to it)
7. I have that physician's formula make up, but I'm not that worried about that since I don't want to spend money on the mac stuff right now

I think that's pretty much it. I have some soft lips chapstick I bought. It's basically garbage. I'm thinking of just throwing it out.

I went to the mac store again today!

Hehe! So I decided to just go ahead and buy that powder. It's called studio fix and I got it in NC15. It's supposed to be foundation and powder. I will probably still use it with my physician's formula foundation. I'm really excited about my blossoming make-up collection. I found out something cool that I didn't know about. For every 6 empties you bring back to mac, you get a free lipstick! I don't even wear lipstick, but if I found the right color, this could be pretty cool. And since I plan on completely switching to mac, it shouldn't be hard for me to get 6 empties. Well maybe like once a year. Because it takes me a while to go through make-up.

I'm hoping I can see it through with this conversion thing. The economical part of me is like "no don't do it." but the minimalist and quality part of me is saying "yes, it's a lot of money, but it's worth it." I think the mistake for a lot of girls is that most of the time, girls who buy mac have make-up addictions. They buy tons of different types of make-up in addition to expensive mac products. I know myself and I know if I do this, I won't want anything else.

My next buy is probably concealer. Ahh. Why am I so obsessed with this?

I can't believe Apple stopped selling my line of macbook. Now the cheapest one you can buy is the 13" macbook air. Which I would never buy. So I guess my next laptop will be a macbook pro. I was kind of planning on that anyway. I don't plan on buying one though for a looong time. I bought mine in 2009, and it's still running as well as it was the day I bought it. It was definitely worth the money.

It's kind of ironic how I consider myself a minimalist, and yet I lust over products so much. I do love design. And I do love things. Before I pretty much only really wanted clothes, but now it's evolved into make-up. I still want clothes though. At least some jeans.

I need to take a "digital sabbatical" like all the minimalist bloggers do to focus on real life and experiences. I often get sucked into my computer for hours on end. There's just not much to do, but I can't help but wonder what I could come up with if I stayed off my computer for a few days.

I need new glasses soo bad! :( mine right now are in really rough shape. one of the details broke off one side, the anti-glare coating is peeling, they fall off my face all the time and fit my face worse every time they fall off. I have no idea what I want my next pair to look like. Not like I have insurance or anything :/ ugh... They'll have to be out of pocket I guess.

Fashion World

I hate how easy it is to get caught up in fashion and make up. One person pins something and you're like "ok, this must qualify as fashionable." But when you look at what it really is, it's rather ugly. Like high-waisted straight-leg pants with loafers and a mustard yellow shirt tucked in with a big hat. I mean seriously? A girl cannot wear that and be like "this is definitely getting me laid tonight." It's like the picture tricks you into thinking it looks good just because of how it's shot.

I kind of wanted to experiment with the whole "throw whatever together and have it be 'fashionable'" thing, but I realized it was dumb. I should only wear what I like. Which is what I do now for the most part.

Make-up is the same way for me. I don't really think bright pink and neon green eye shadow is actually that good looking. Maybe for a fashion shoot, but besides that, no. I think guys think it's probably scary.

What I was really getting at though, is that feeling you get like "I HAVE to have this." That's how I feel with the mac eyeshadows. All the girls on youtube use mac. I really want a pallet or two. You just get like obsessed with wanting it. Which is unfortunate. I decided to make two "fantasy palettes." lol. Pretty much what I would like to have. I made a neutral palette based on the colors I always see people using in tutorials. The second one has golds, purples, and greys.

You know what? I'm done with maybelline. Their products actually suck pretty bad. At least as far as eyeshadows go. All the shades are incredibly sheer. I have to get so much on the brush and even then it's not that pigmented. I don't know why I always buy that brand. They suck! I guess it's because it's cheap. The physicians formula stuff actually sucks too. Well I'm going to TRY not to buy drug store brands anymore anyway, if I can. I should be able to if I stick to essentials. My goal is to use eye shadow every day so I can use up the crappy stuff I have. At least until I can buy better stuff.

I really wish I could get into jogging or running. Back in high school I actually really enjoyed it when we did it in PE. I need good shoes though. the only tennis shoes I have are really worn out keds. I really need to watch what I eat. I usually don't try to eat that well. For breakfast I do. If I do try to watch what I eat, I usually end up feeling deprived and then end up eating more. Soda is definitely my weakness. Although I feel like I've been somewhat better about it lately. Now I just need to get really good about it. I also have been getting back into the fast food habit again. Maybe I'll do some yoga tonight. Probably not, but maybe. Like right now, I'm inspired to eat well, but I know I won't be tomorrow. You just gotta make the first step. Cause usually once I see that I start losing weight, I tend to make healthier choices to keep it that way, but I always end up gaining it back :(

I feel like writing

I haven't thought of anything to write about though. The last few days I've been feeling a lot less anxious. It's kind of weird, like now I'm working 6 days a week and have been going to my other class that I wasn't going to before, and I'm somehow less anxious. I'm not complaining though, I'm very happy about it!

Oh yeah I bought that folic acid vitamin stuff. I've only taken it once. I really hope it helps my hair grow. I think it will. I just need to remember to take it. It's weird my hair feels the healthiest is has in a really long time. I'm not exactly sure why it would be that way. I'm happy though.

I wish I had more to write about, but I really don't have anything exciting going on right now. Ahh I'm so bored!

Stuff

I decided to go through that stuff that's just been sitting in the closet waiting for me to go through. I pulled out like half of it that needs to find another home. What I put back in the closet was two reusable shopping bags full of clothes that I still need to think about. Also, two of the small vases my mom gave me. I was thinking that maybe I could use them for something else, such as a make-up brush holder or pen holder. I pulled out this bento box thing that I just can't seem to let go. It was $20, but sooo tiny! So much smaller than the picture made it seem. Definitely not enough for a meal. I'm trying to think of other uses for it. Earrings maybe? That could work. I pulled out an old halloween costume that I want to sell on craig's list (but I don't actually want to keep it, but it's with keep stuff for now). Then one clear vase which is bigger to be used for actually flowers on the rare occasion when I get them. lol. I believe that's it. I'm pretty satisfied with that for now. I still have that lamp, the media shelf and this bamboo shelf thing in my closet that I'm not getting rid of (atleast not now). Of course they're all big things that take up a lot of space in my closet. I'm having a really hard time with the clothes. One step at a time!

I've come so far since I first started doing this! I'm so happy how much I've accomplished! Sure I've bought some stuff, but it's stuff I've been wanting for a long time and use. If it was an impulse buy then it was most likely a consumable and has no real long-term impact. I've got so much better about buying things just to buy them. I really do consider every purchase and only regret maybe like 2/10 things that I buy. Not horrible! There's still things that I wish I didn't have. Ex. when I first moved in to Daniel's I wasn't making that much money at all and bought a big pack of disposable razors. They've lasted me a really long time, but I still have like 4 or 5 left. Also laying around is a venus razor with a suction cup holder thing for the shower. I'd much rather be using that one, even if the replacement blades are expensive. I just haven't had money for replacement blades until recently. I also bought this pack of nail files that had a crap load in it. I should've listened to Daniel, yet again. He told me just to buy a single one. I didn't listen, and now I'm regretting it. I have my old shampoo and conditioner that actually isn't old. I added chamomile to it, which is supposed to fade hair. Since I'm trying to do the opposite of that now, it's useless so I guess it becomes shaving cream or soap or something. I also bought these flosser things. There's this "vegan" cranberry dental floss at whole foods I really want instead. That's really all I'm wishing was gone now besides the stuff I mentioned earlier. So basically all consumable type stuff.

I've definitely let up on my minimalism. I was somewhat "hardcore" about it before, but then I started getting kind of bored with it. I mean I still practice the principles, having only what you "know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." I'm just not trying to have as little as possible now. Still a small amount, but more than the bare minimum. I'd probably want to have the bare minimum if I moved a lot or traveled a lot, but for right now, it's not really important in my life to have the least amount of possessions as possible. I'm kind of glad my mindset changed, because maybe now I won't be as obsessed with it. I should probably go to sleep. :/

MAC

So I bought my first thing from MAC cosmetics yesterday! I bought a gel liner in "Blacktrack" (the one I posted the picture of in my previous post). I think it was $15. Expensive, I know. But mac is expensive. I figured it was a good place to start. I am practically out of powder (probably only a few days left). I would like to buy one from mac, but I don't want to use it with the physician's formula foundation. It seems weird to mix brands for that, and won't look like what they're capable of, so therefore, kind of a waste of a lot of money. The powder is $27 and the foundation is also $27. So when I run out of powder, I'll probably just stay out until I run out of my foundation. So if I decide to buy anything before that, I'll probably buy a pencil eyeliner ($15) or a concealer ($17).

One thing I'm confused about though is what I should do about eye shadows. I can't decide if I want to start building a Mac Pro palette (expensive! Case is $16 Each eyeshadow is $11.50. The case holds 15 so 16 + 11.50 x 15 = $ 188.50) or buy the naked palettes from Urban Decay (roughly $100 for both, for 24 colors). Obviously the more economical choice would be Urban Decay. However, if I did that, I would risk paying money for some colors I may not like. It's possible I'll like all of them. The other thing is that I tend to like buying only one brand, because everything matches and I'm just weird like that. Also, I don't really like anything from Urban Decay besides the naked pallets. So they would be the only things from Urban Decay I would have, and wouldn't match with any of my other makeup. So if I bought Mac, I could make a neutral pallet, and then a color pallet, and they both would be in the same packaging. For both though, I feel like they are worth the investment because, I know they will last me a really long time. I also know that once I buy them, I won't be pining over better quality products to replace them with (like I am now.) I will buying just about the best of the best, and won't want any other brand. (besides Chanel and Dior and stuff like that I'm not even interested in those though.) Another thing is that although Mac is expensive, I don't have to buy it all at one time. Two $11.50 eyeshadows a month isn't really that bad.

So if it isn't obvious, I think I've pretty much made up my mind. Yes Mac is expensive, but I know if I buy that I won't regret it. If I buy UD and spend $100 when I could've put that towards what I really wanted, I know I'll regret it. I'll spend the money and realize I want the other stuff and then try really hard to use up all the shadows, because that's what I do. For me if I don't use it, I don't keep it. I know with mac I can get just about any color I can possibly imagine and still have it be in the same packaging.

I'm kind of treating this as a hobby. It's something I've always wanted to get into. I'm not going to go overboard though. Some girls have literally like 8 or 9 of these things. Why needs that much fricken eyeshadow? I only want to buy what I like, not buy it just to complete the collection or whatever.

Pre-sleep Musings

I just spent more time than I probably should have deleting a bunch of pins of my pinterest that are at the moment completely unrealistic. I deleted pictures of rooms in houses I won't be able to afford within the next 20 years, pictures of accessories (such as bags or scarves) from some design blogs that have no source meaning I can't buy them, accessories that are wayyy too expensive, things I no longer find attractive (interior pics or fashion), pictures of outfits that were practically duplicates of another picture, just stuff that I really see no way of every bringing into reality. Call me pessimistic, but I just want to be realistic with myself. I'm definitely a wanter. Yes, a minimalist wanter. I get sad when I see these pictures of things that I can't do or have right now. I'd rather focus on what is actually achievable in my more nearer than further future. The minimalist part of me just wants to cut the bullshit and stick with the good stuff. For me personally, that's better than lusting over interiors that just aren't realistic for me right now then being sad about it. Instead I can work with what's possible. I know this seems silly or weird, but I really dig interiors. More than I wish I did.

Make-up wishlist

Egh..

So yeah I decided not to take a picture of my stripped hair. I didn't feel like washing my face and all that since I had just woke up. I dyed my hair and came to a conclusion. Unless I bleach my hair (which I'm not going to do) I'm just going to have to grow it out. It actually seemed like it would take the right shade. However, after reading the reviews for the stripping stuff I think I know why it happened. The stuff shrinks the dye molecules, and when peroxide is added to it (which most hair dye does have in it, go figure) the molecules for some reason expand again...yeah. I also probably shouldn't have left it in as long as I did. I've been reading that after you strip your hair, the follicles are really open and absorb color way faster than usual. I didn't really have any way of doing that though since by the time I was done with the bottom half of my head, 10 minutes had already passed.

I'm ok with how it turned out. I like the top, but not the bottom since it's not light enough. I kind of feel like all that work was a waste of time. I mean the bottom took the red a little better, but not as well as it should have for all the time I spent on it. Oh well. What can you do?

I kind of want to cut my hair tonight. I realllllllly need to get the dead stuff off this time instead of being a wimp about it. I bought some heat protecting spray for my hair when I went to sally's. I'm really going to try hard to take care of my hair now. For all the time I spend on it, some of that should be spent making it healthy. I want to cuts the ends like and inch, take vitamins (folic acid and biotin), try not to wash it everyday and use dry shampoo instead, and then use that heat protecting stuff. I need it to be healthy so it will grow.

I'm a little nervous to go to work tomorrow. I'm sure everything will be fine since it will be like the same shade it was a couple weeks ago. I'll probably wear my hair in a high bun though.

So my hair is "stripped"

I just got done with my second round and right now it's drying. So I'm not sure how it's turned out yet. The first round went pretty well for the top of my hair. The top is just about perfect except for my roots (atleast after the first round). I'm guessing because I used dry shampoo yesterday and didn't get all of it out when I washed it.  So my roots were still a little red. It got a little of the dark out on the bottom, but not nearly as much as I wanted. Man this stuff smells like crap!! Like rotten eggs! Also I realized after I was already done that I don't know how to measure, because there was a lot more "color reduced" left over than the other stuff :( . If I had to be short on one end I would've rather it been switched. My hair seems it be in good condition though! I'm happy about that.

I'm kind of having second thoughts about the red hair. Not because I don't want it, but because of how bright it may be now that it's practically bleached. I'll probably take a picture tomorrow of what it looks like stripped. But yeah I'm a little worried. I guess i can wear my hair in a high messy bun at work so it's not as noticeable. I guess I'll just have to see how it turns out! I'm not even exactly sure when I'm dying it yet, maybe tomorrow, but I haven't decided. Man I can't get over the smell. It's just latched onto my hair. For the most part though, I think I'm just gonna have to let the dark grow out. I just checked on it and it doesn't seem much better than the first time. I want to try taking folic acid. I saw a video on youtube and the girl said it made her hair grow really well. I'm ready for this process to be over!

Not too much going on as far as minimalism goes. If it hasn't been obvious, lately I've just been trying to improve my looks. Something I feel like I've kind of neglected through my minimalism process. I hate how obsessed I get with my room. It's nice to try and forget it every once in a while. Ugh my stomach hurts right now. I was eating some salt and pepper kettle chips. They upset my stomach every time, but I still eat them.

Red

I decided to buy red dye. I know, I know, I'm the most indecisive person in the world. I just feel like I'll have better luck if my hair does turn out an orangey color. Red will cover orange better than dirty blonde will. Also dirty blonde hair will probably cover better on faded red hair (and my hair should all be one color should I decide to do that.) The only reason I really want to dye my hair it's natural color is because 1) I've been dying my hair since 6th grade and forgot what it looked like 2) want my hair to grow and not having to dye my hair will allow it to stay in better condition so i won't have to cut it as often 3) faded hair is really annoying and somehow no matter what color I do, it always looks fake. I feel "different" when my hair is red. I know my natural color is really boring. I know it sounds crazy, but I wish my skin was a little paler. My face isn't quite pale enough for red hair. But it looked right when I first dyed it. Maybe it's just because it faded. I guess we'll see.

I kinda want to convert to mac make up instead of physicians formula. I'm never satisfied with the make up I buy. Mac make up just seems like it works really well and it seems like it's what all the make up guru's on youtube use. I definitely want to for foundation and powder and probably concealer. Secondary, (that probably isn't proper) I'd like to do eyeliners (gel and pencil, maybe liquid if I don't like the gel) and mascara. Then eye shadow would be last in order of what I want the most. I really wish it wasn't so expensive. It will definitely take me a while to completely convert. I honestly think it will be worth it. Unfortunately, I feel like I'll go through the foundation and powder pretty fast. I just want good quality things instead of a bunch of crappy quality things when I'll still be wanting the better quality things.

I really, really need some jeans. I need to try looking for some. I kind of want to try pacsun. I usually have pretty good luck with them, but they are expensive. However, they do last me a long time. I've just been disappointed with plato's closet lately. I'm not going to buy anymore forever 21 jeans, even if they are cheap. They smell really bad! I have two pairs of black jeans from there are they just smell burnt!

Ahh I'm getting more excited than I should be about possessions. Idk, minimalists shouldn't be excited about possessions, but I am. Good quality ones anyway. I guess it's just something I've been wanting to do for a while, and never thought I could afford. It is expensive, but if I save up I can probably do it. I'm excited about getting the dark out of my hair too! I've been waiting for like over a year. (I don't know why I've waited so long, just don't want to risk it looking dumb I guess.) But now, my hair is like 50/50 reddish and dark, and most of the dark has faded a decent amount. So I think I'll have pretty good luck. Tomorrow after work can't come soon enough!

Sooo

today I bought a hair stripping kit. Along with a brush (for hair dye application), a bowl, and some deep conditioning conditioner. I'm going to try to strip my hair on friday. The stuff I bought comes with some conditioner stuff, but I'm not going to use it. I've been reading reviews on the stuff and apparently it makes your hair like 3 shades darker than it was when you originally used the stripping stuff. So I'm just going to use that deep conditioning stuff instead. I've used the stuff I bought before. I was trying to get my hair really blonde, so I wouldn't say it did exactly what I wanted it to. But this time I should have better results, because I don't want it as light. I'm just really, really tired of waiting. What I plan on doing is using this stuff, then dying my hair my "natural" color. If I don't like that, then I'll probably dye it red again and try really hard not to let it fade this time (I didn't even try this time around). I really hope it goes well. When I did it a long time ago I was stripping it from black. And man did it turn out orange. I wonder if I should try a toner afterwords. I'm really not familiar with it though. I may have to talk to one of the employees at sally's.

I'm actually pretty scared to do it. Because I'll be doing it myself. Last time I did it my mom actually did it. ( I think it was my freshman year of high school). I actually can't remember what exactly I did after that. I'm guessing I tried to dye it blonde. I remember my friend's mom was a hair dresser and worked on my hair and toned it after the fact. I'm really hoping it doesn't damage my hair. It doesn't have peroxide or bleach in it so it shouldn't. My biggest fear is that it will be orange and the "natural" colored dye won't take to it. I'm really wondering what it will do to the lighter half of my hair, since that's what's been dyed red. I'm going to do it on friday since I'll have that night off plus saturday if anything goes wrong. I really wish my hair didn't have an ashy hue to it. I'm scared it will look grey. But like I said, if worst comes to worst I can always dye it red again and it should look pretty good.