While you should predominantly focus on the right colour – for you – when you decide to alter your natural hair status quo, there are other factors that will come into play. If you believe in preventative measures as the avoidance of regret, guilt and self-blame, this blog is perfect for you.

I had been a platinum blonde before. I knew it suited me. People who complimented me told me the colour was flattering. I loved it. While it lasted. And it lasted a very short while. The reason for abandoning the blond side of my hair affairs back then was simple: I couldn’t afford the upkeep of the crowning glory. Twenty something years later I abandoned the pearl blond for a slightly different reason – I was lazy. In addition, I could imagine spending money in much better ways.

Do I miss my lighter than light pearl blond hair? Oh, god, yes! Every day. I loved how I could wear bright greens and actually look appealing. I have acquired 5 gorgeous bright green / emerald green garments that I wore as if they were my uniform for the summer. My entire colour palette brightened instantly. I couldn’t have been happier.

But there was a price to pay and I don’t mean the monetary side of the matter only. Being artificially blond is hard work. That’s the part I didn’t like. At all.

Here are three main reasons why I made the decision to transition from a striking blonde to a, shall we say, not so striking current colour situation that I still consider temporary.

Money wasn’t the biggest reason this time around but I did include it in this short list because it was a deciding factor.

What I mean by too high maintenance is the actual care for blond hair. I have already written another blog on being blond. You can read it here. Let’s face it, being chemically blond is demanding. It’s a lot of unnecessary work – for me that is. I am sure that there are ladies who don’t mind blow-drying, curling and styling their platinum manes every time they wash their hair. Well, I am not one of them. I love having my hair ‘done’ but I genuinely hate doing it myself. And I feel it’s borderline child abuse to keep asking my youngest to do it for me.

In all honesty, I would much rather vacuum my entire car, clean all the surfaces inside and polish the leather, the vinyl and all the rubber parts than do my hair. As a matter of fact, I just finished the 3 hour detailing while contemplating on who will do my hair this time. I have been fortunate to have decent quality hair – fine but a lot of it. It is mildly wavy after washing and it looks okay on the second or the third day. (Then it doesn’t.)

I have never truly appreciated my natural hair before I turned blond. While I absolutely loved the pearl blond colour my talented hairstylist Sandy managed to achieve, and I dare say, the colour loved me back, I hope; the constant work around it got on my nerves. Despite the phenomenal products I learned to use, thanks to Sandy’s recommendations, the hair didn’t feel soft like my natural hair does. It felt coarse like a cat’s tongue at times. Moreover, it looked like a blond volcano in the morning. The colour-filled hair stood up more, ergo created the illusion of more hair volume on my head, and when left unattended, it looked like a dry hay.

I didn’t mind the products I had to use (still have to) but I hated the labour required to look presentable – blow drying, flat iron, curling iron or, god forbid, rollers. When I was lazy to style my hair, which was most of the time, my hair looked ratty. Which brings me to the next reason:

My natural hair created a big colour contrast with the pearl blond. When it started growing it gradually (and too fast for my taste) created that dark halo around my face. It looked very strange and I didn’t like it.

I would have much preferred a balayage style where the roots are visible but the blond is blended in so the transition doesn’t look as forced as it did in my case. My hair was too short for balayage though, so I went full colour. And didn’t like it. I did but only for about the first two weeks after each appointment. Why was my hair short? Don’t ask. I wrote about it here.

The more it grew the less I liked it, the cheaper I looked, no matter how I styled my hair. I wanted to have that Marylin Monroe blond (she was dark naturally) but recently I learned that she coloured her hair very often. Allegedly every week or so. I refused to put my hair’s health on the altar of vanity and risk being bold before I reach 60. No matter how high quality the bleach is, it’s still bleach and I could tell it did affect my hair.

Let’s say I would have been vain and would bleach my hair every week. It would cost me… …let’s see. $10,000 annually! Imagining about a hundred other things I could have for that amount – no way! I may splurge here and there but my inner frugality and common sense screamed and loudly protested inside me. This was the final point of my decision making process.

I had practically only two options:

1. to maintain my hair to MY desired look, which meant visit the salon every 2-3 weeks – at least – ergo spend nearly $7000 dollars a year (including haircuts and tips), which is not much but it still included my labour in between appointments to look presentable. Labour was the main reason I wanted the change!

If there is one thing I genuinely wish for it’s a hairdresser at my disposal. Like Kate Middleton has. One that either lives in or works nearby and can come over or I can come to her or his studio at a short notice a few times a week. Many people hire chefs or cleaners or other domestic staff. I can cook, I can clean, albeit reluctantly, and I am not particularly fond of the idea of strangers in my house. A hairdresser is a completely different story. That will be a clear sign that I made it! Having a $30,000 annual budget for a hairdresser for 10 hours weekly and never having to attempt to do my hair again.

2. to live with a hellish looking halo most of the time, style my hair by myself and only enjoy those few precious blond days when I could present myself as intended. I created a table based on the price and frequency of salon visits. Even if I went every 4 weeks, it would still be too much considering the dark hair frame around my face would still be there and I would still have to bloody blow-dry my hair twice a week. Nah! Not worth it, not for me.

I could have bought a few natural hair blond wigs for every other colour service I received. An excellent quality ones cost about the same as 1.5 or 2 of my hair colour appointments. Thinking about it now, I should have. My hair wouldn’t be categorized as damaged (that’s depressing), I wouldn’t have to use restoring shampoos and I would have gotten a chic haircut and a toner to even out the unappealing graying hair. And wear a wig whenever I would feel like it.

Oh well, we all learn as we go, don’t we?

On the other hand, perhaps, you won’t have to learn from your own mistakes and can consider all the pros and cons of going blond based on my experiences before you make the big decision.

Let me know, if this article helped you. If not, there is one more detailed about what it really takes to be blond.