Welcome to the January 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Green Confessions.
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month our members have written posts about areas of their life where they aren’t as “green” as they may want to be.
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Confession Time: I get highlights in my hair!!!!!!!!!! Is the dye natural in any way? NO!
I have been getting highlights in my hair since I was in high school. I have dyed my hair once, but mostly I get some highlights on the top and sides. In the last three years I have added lowlights, so it alternates between light and dark.
Foil highlighting is the process of using foil to separate strands of hair which will be lightened from strands of hair which will remain its natural color. The process is done by applying lightener to the hair that has been woven and separated using an applicator brush. The foil is then folded to protect the hair and surrounding area during the “processing” time. This is the amount of time required to achieve the desired results. In highlighting hair, hydrogen peroxide mixed with pigment is used to change the color of the strand. This process is also used in applying “lowlights” to the hair. In this process, hair dyes are used to create strands of hair that are darker than the natural color.
~ SOURCE
So not only do I get chemicals put in my hair every three months, but I use up a bunch of foil in the process!
One thing I have to mention is that my friend does my hair, and she does it for me in her garage. She used to work at a salon, but now she does it on her own for some friends. Her dad set up a sink and she has a dryer {which I don’t use} and chairs that swivel and recline. She found this stuff when a local salon closed. Anyways, I love that it is in her garage because there is no nasty chemical smell lingering in the air. I am the only person their with the chemicals, and although I can slightly smell them, it is not nearly as bad as being indoors with a ton of people getting their hair done.
I actually just went and got my hair done, and I was thinking about all the chemicals seeping into my scalp…not sure what to do now! I like the way that highlights look in my hair, BUT at what cost am I willing to keep this up? I need to look into alternative, natural hair coloring. I strive in many ways to live a natural and green lifestyle by keeping parabens, dyes, and toxic chemicals off my body and out of my home, but yet I continually insert chemicals right into my scalp!
Truth be told…not sure if I want to change anything….*gasp*
Like I said, I like the way highlights look in my hair, so I am not sure if I want to stop getting them. My next step will be to look into natural hair dyes and see what is available. If you have any suggestions, let me know!
Do you have any Green Confessions?
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Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival!
Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:
Twitter: greenforu
says:
I used to highlight my hair before I had kids. It was not really a green decision that made me stop it was more time and money! We do not live in a society that embraces green as much I would like to see so it is hard to do all the things we know we should.
Leigh recently posted..Green Confession: Cloth Diaper Fail
Twitter: jubileereviews
says:
Your post made me laugh:) I hope your hair isn’t green. Now that is one area that I can say I am completely green and hadn’t even given it any thought. I killed my hair once dieing is so blond I looked like I should be a street walker. Had to go to the salon to have it fixed to the tune of over $100. I decided that I was going oh’ natural after that.
Maybe get outside more in the natural sun for highlights? I know when I am outside early in the spring I get them easily in my hair. Or try lemon juice, like we did when we were teens.
Twitter: greengrizls
says:
I’m guilty of still dyeing my hair as well. Although, when I was younger it was like every couple months or so and now it’s more like once every 6 months or a year because I keep it pretty close to the now-natural color.
Twitter: attachedmoms
says:
So true! I actually don’t usually do any hair coloring but last week i did a “make over” on tv and i like what i got… uh oh!
amanda recently posted..I ruined my child – Modern parenting hinders brain development
Twitter: stblessings
says:
I know it! This past year, after getting my hair dyed, I thought about the chemicals seeping into my scalp. So, I don’t dye my hair anymore, but I have these highlights that are half grown out. It looks really bad, but I just can’t do it. And my MIL is a salon owner, so she does it for free. She is looking for natural hair dyes though. That would be great!
Mandi recently posted..The Baby Steps Continue
Twitter: jaimeweis
says:
I didn’t even think of including it in my post, but….pretty sure I don’t use natural makeup. At all. And I wear makeup daily! (Covers chemical-laden face in shame)
Jaime recently posted..Green Confessions: I Compromise – A Lot
Twitter: PistachioProjec
says:
I actually gave up hair dye and highlights about 3 years ago. Thankfully it wasn’t a hard transition (probably because I’m so cheap that I only would dye my hair every 4 months!) I now like my natural hair color (although I think no ‘pooing brought my hair to a different natural color…it’s real natural color) However, I know once I start going gray, I’ll be looking into natural dyes!
Brittany recently posted..Cloth Diaper Giveaway Coming Soon!
Twitter: emegburg
says:
I used henna when I was a teenager, but that just made me have bright red hair, which is cool, if that’s what you want. I stopped dyeing my hair when I was pregnant and haven’t started again. I wanted to be natural and stop putting chemicals directly on my body. And then I got my first grey hair. And my second. And my third. Ahhhh! I need to know about natural dyes too! I think it’s safer to go dark than light, because you wouldn’t need hydrogen peroxide, right? I’m not sure about the ammonia though.
Elisebet F recently posted..My Green Confession: Paper or Plastic?
Twitter: vagabondstudio
says:
Oooooh, I’m the queen of hair-dye! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my blog has tons of photos of me with teal, purple, blue (sometimes all three, like a peacock!) colored hair. Most definitely *not* natural! lol.
Shai Smith recently posted..Community Service: Not Just for Criminals
Twitter: callitnatural
says:
I have put off getting my hair colored for years due to the chemicals. Then, I got some henna and did it myself at home and I really like it, but I really disliked the process of doing it! Sooooo… 6 months ago and went to a salon and got it done. I do feel a little bad about it, BUT I’m done having babies and I don’t have to nurse anyone anymore, so I’m only hurting myself. lol
Nicole C. recently posted..Simple Egg Salad
Twitter: growingslower
says:
Oh boy! I have a ton of confessions. I wrote a whole post on it last year, and after I wrote it then I thought of a whole bunch more. We’re all in the process of becoming more crunchy, but we’ve never quite arrived I guess. My favorite confession: I love Ghiradelli brownies out of the box!
Shannon recently posted..37 Easy Ways to Save Money
Twitter: crunchyfarmbaby
says:
I’m really enjoying these crunchy confession posts! I think it would be really funny to see the reactions of a totally uncrunchy person!
Leah at Crunchy Farm Baby recently posted..Spring Cleaning – Green Style *Bathroom*
I’m not quite ready for my shiny pre-mature white hairs that periodically show up, so a little hair color when I think about it shows up on my person.
Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children recently posted..A Vow To Compost
Twitter: cr
says:
I used to get highlights, but gave them up 6 years ago for both cost and chemical reasons. Luckily, I gray well, so it is all coming in ok. My green confession would have to be that I buy Starbucks daily and throw out the cup.
Becky recently posted..H2O at Home Review: Green Cleaning Your Home