This is Why I'm Hot!!

Okay, I know that's one of the most irritating songs in the world, but I thought it worked as a great title for my post. (For those who have never heard the song, take the opportunity to loose a few IQ points and YouTube this sucker. Then, for giggles and kicks, YouTube the parody, This is Why I'm Fat.) I colored my hair with the stuff I posted about a few days ago. The box arrived via snail-mail on Monday afternoon and I was too excited. The color on the box is quite pretty and I couldn't wait for my hair to be this color. I didn't have time that afternoon to do it, but then I messed up and washed my hair Tuesday (you should always wait 24 hours after washing your hair to color it).

Tuesday afternoon, I took a closer look at the box to see if there was a color guide. Low and behold, it said what I feared; since my hair was sort of a burnt red/medium brown, it would only make my hair redder. What?! Not what I wanted at all. So, out of frustration more than curiosity, I began searching the web to find out why you can't have the color on the box. I found my answer. Indeed! You can have the color on the box. My research told me that I needed to "lift" my hair before I colored it to get the color I really wanted.

So, I researched products and saw some names I trusted I also figured out that I could purchase the items from Sally Beauty, which was convenient (there is a location about a mile away from my house). Thankfully, I already had some Pure White Creme Developer (30, although the box suggested 20). One less thing to buy. Here's what I did purchase:

1 2oz (59ml) bottle of Clairol Professional Instant Whip Creme Hair Lightener
2 .05oz packets of Clairol Professional Lightening Activator for 7th Stage, Instant Whip, Ultra Blue & Born Blonde
1 Sally's color mix bottle with slanted tip

I set to work, washing the dishes as the creamy concoction sat on my head. I would check in the mirror every few minutes to see what it was doing. Holy cow! I was red, orange, than yellowy gold then gold. If I'd left it on a bit longer, I believe it would have gone platinum or white. The idea was to "lift" my hair a few levels, in order to make the hair porous enough to receive the new color (a clean palette for the paint, if you will). After the lift (about 30 minutes), I rinsed my hair and dried it off completely. Wow! Every strand of hair was gold. I mixed the color from the Creme of Nature box and applied it to my hair. Almost immediately, I saw my hair absorbing the new color...a pale, dusty gold/blonde. Beautiful!

Jumping in the shower, I added a bit of water to begin the shampooing process and washed the color out. Then, I applied the Creme of Nature shampoo included in the kit and washed my hair again. Finally, I showered while a thick layer of my conditioner (hopefully) restored the moisture I had just zapped from my head. I came out of the shower and wow. What an amazing color!

Hubby was mesmerized...seriously! I can't believe how much he likes it. This morning while I was getting ready, he called and was asking about whether it had faded any or not and, "Why don't you just go ahead an buy up the rest from the eBay store you got it from." He's really digging it! The babe likes it too, and made sure to comment to the daycare lady that, "My mom "blonded" her hair." Not many have arrived to work yet, so no one has really said anything. I wonder if anyone else will be as enchanted?