Things in Erin’s Brain 
OR today… the things ON Erin’s head!
Let’s talk about my hair.
I was 17 or 18 when I got a very distinctive itch to be rebellious. The safest way I could scratch it (without getting written out of the will) was to dye my hair. My girlfriend and I selected grocery store boxed hair colors – I chose an auburn red and she selected a raven black.
My friend did a great job of applying my color to get it to come out even. However, my dirty blonde hair soaked up every teeny pigment and the color came out, well, very… very… pumpkinesque.
As for my friend? She was a natural brunette you could barely tell she did anything at all to her hair. (The story of my life).
Even though I looked like Ichabod Crane with a ball of flaming pumpkin sitting on my shoulders, I dug it. It made me feel… like me. But with a little edge. Fun. But still within the confines of being socially acceptable.
Over the years I played with different looks. I permed my hair. I played with Sun In. I cut it. Then I grow it out. Then cut it again. There have been bangs (guys… what is it with our obsession with bangs?).
Eventually I turned to professionals to color my hair. Highlights, lowlights, red, light on top, dark underneath. I enjoy giving hair stylists some creative license with my locks, but always living in the corporate world I never went too crazy.
Then overnight the pigment in my hair vanished (yeah huh it was too overnight). I decided I wanted to see what would happen if I did nothing. I stopped playing with my hair.
My locks went through a super cool gray streaky phase that coincided with the recent gray hair fad. People thought I did it on purpose. I felt good about it. Sassy. A little trendy. “Embracing my aging.” Then more gray started to fill in, but in an uneven, looks like I’m wearing a grey knit cap on my skull kind of way. It started to make me grumpy. I don’t do grumpy.
I decided to jazz it up.
Last week I got the cut cleaned up which always cheers me up – do you love a good haircut too << Test First Name >>?
Then. On Monday. I went for the pizazz.
I got Fairy Hair.
Beautiful, sparkly, shiny strands of tinsel individually tied to individual strands of hair. The stylist wanted to go with silver, which I understood, but it felt so dull. Typical. Predictable. Like a Christmas tree. He opened up a drawer full of sparkle and fanned out sleeve after sleeve of unicorn magic. Blue. Hot Pink (that glowed in the dark). Gold. Green. Purple. There was a silver, but these were no Christmas Tree icicles. These delicate strands had a mystical rainbow shimmer to them that made me bounce a little in my seat, “Oh, yeah! THOSE!”
And guys.
He had fuchsia. Iridescent FUCHSIA.
Let me tell you, my head is now something that’s borderline otherworldly. It catches the sun like a disco ball over the dance floor at 2:30am. When I spin? It’s like a Pantene commercial on steroids. Happy, joyful, sparkly, disco worthy steroids. I love it.
I’ve been out and about for about 48 hours with the Fairy Hair and so far have gotten three “I LOVE your hair” comments from total strangers and one “What did you do to your hair?” ALSO from a total stranger, but I beamed (BEAMED) and replied, “It’s FAIRY HAIR – isn’t it amazing?” He started laughing, either at my excitement over the fine strands of metal tied into my hair, or my crazy “Run Away Bride” eyes, or me stopping to pose and fluff my hair for dramatic effect. But then I converted him. I converted him with, “We all need a little sparkle in our lives, don’t we?”
He nodded, “Yes, you’re right about that.”
Because it’s all about love…
Ridiculous photo of said red hair. It actually faded into a nice color, but this was the rather shocking pumpkin head look fresh from the box.
P.S. Don’t ask me about what mischief I may or may not have been up to here, because I’m not going to tell you. 😉
Massage Minute brought to you by
This year I celebrate ten years as a massage therapist. TEN YEARS. It feels like a blip in time. I actually went back and checked the calendar, and yes, it’s true, I’ve been manipulating soft tissue for a decade. I love my massage work. I love helping clients with their chronic pain. I love peeling people off the ceiling. I love aromatherapy. I love creating massage sessions suited to every body on my table. I love learning. About you, about me, about massage.
I have plans for additional investments in my massage business (I’m not goin’ anywhere y’all!). I like to choose training that excites me and brings value to my massage treatments. I’ve completed hands on training in reflexology, trigger point therapy, cupping, Ashiatsu Deep Tissue, myofascial release, manual lymphatic drainage, and reiki energy work. And this fall I’ll have something all new to offer you – so stay tuned!
Local clients – if you missed Monday’s email, please check your in box, promotional tab, or <GASP> junk folder. It includes some additional details on booking, rates, etc. It’s more fun reading it from your inbox, but you can click here to view the email in your browser.
Cheers!
Erin
