Mane Attraction

It's my birthday today! I'm finally 19 (as you can see in my new Pantone-inspired icon on the sidebar hehe). Since it's a special day, I figured to skip the backlogs and post something current! (I also shoot my look today, but that's for some other time.) Anyway, here's one of the greatest changes I underwent recently. Enjoy!

Last September 7, a day before going back to school for another whirlwind term, I said goodbye to my long, all-natural locks. Now, I'll tell you guys about my new hairstyle, in Q&A style.

What did you do to your hair?
I had it chopped off to a medium length, and had it ombre-d.

What is ombre?
It's a French word. In hair talk, it means the gradual change of color. It looks a lot like dip-dye, actually.

Why the drastic change?
Well... I was so sick of the way I looked. I just wanted something different. This feeling has been going on for quite a long time already, actually. In fact, I said before, I will either grow my hair really long or cut it real short. Obviously, I went with the former. But then, I just couldn't take it anymore. In the end, my hair looked dull and lifeless.

Don't you feel sad about your then-long hair?
Honestly, no. True, having long hair is flexible; but the thing is, I didn't do much with it anyway. Yeah, having several inches cut off was pretty overwhelming, but it actually felt a bit liberating, I guess? It's like my hair has been weighing me down (literally and figuratively), and now the burden is gone.

Why did you go for ombre?
I went for ombre for two reasons: (1) I didn't want to be typical, and; (2) I was not yet ready to have my roots touched. The ironic thing about the first reason is, ombre is actually a trend. But then, it was only rampant among the celebrities. Not a lot of "normal" people go with it. So technically, I still felt quite unique hehe. (I jumped on the bandwagon quite late though!)

As for the second reason, the idea of my hair bleached was pretty frightening. I thought that, with ombre, at least only a section of my hair will be damaged. (In case it turned out really bad, I can just have it chopped off.) Also, I think I was not yet brave enough to sport an entirely-different hair color. (But come to think of it, perhaps sporting half-dyed hair takes a lot more courage than a normal, fully-colored one?) The idea of not having to worry about my roots growing out also seemed great to me.

Who was your hair peg?
Strictly speaking, I didn't have any. I didn't see a picture of some and said: "Oh I want this hair!!!". I did have an image in my head though; so what I did was, I looked for pictures of famous personalities that matched my imagination. I ended up with Laureen Uy's hair length (I didn't want very-layered hair anymore, so hers was perfect) and Aimee Song's haircolor. (Note: My hair didn't end up in the same color as Aimee's because they said my base was too dark-- since I didn't have it colored. But it's totally fine, I like how it ended up!)

Where did you get your hair done?
I went to Vanity Circle Salon at Robinson's Place Manila. They were a new salon, so I decided to try them out. Really cute place and nice service! (Not sponsored, btw.) They worked on my hair for three hours (which I think is normal protocol), although a big chunk of it was just waiting for the bleach to do its magic.

They actually asked if I wanted to make the ombre frame my face-- that is, put color on my bangs too; I said no because I actually wanted to skip having bangs this time. Therefore, my bangs were left untouched.

How do you deal with your hair daily?
Frankly, it's quite an everyday struggle. Due to the bleaching done on the tips of my hair, I make it a point to condition it daily (after shampooing, of course). (Side note: Dove conditioner wins!!1!) For the first few days, washing my hair felt like handling a broom. Combing afterwards was even harder. I felt like my hair was being pulled out every time I drove my comb through the stubborn tangles. The tips became really dry due to bleaching, so there. But once my hair's dry, it's all good. Now, everything is a breeze!

As for styling, I usually apply sea salt spray (from Lush!) on it, and either tie it in a bun or braid it in sections at the start of the day. I then let my hair loose after some time to reveal light curls.

Getting saiyan feels from this photo

What did your parents say about your hair?
My dad was furious lol. He said it attracted too much attention due to its peculiarity. On the other hand, my mom was very supportive.

(For my father's sanity --and as I usually do anyway-- I tie my hair up whenever I commute. I always want to keep a low-profile when I'm out and about on the streets. Don't want to attract the attention of evil people!)

What do you think of your hair now?
I absolutely love it! I think it made my face look slimmer, and my skin tone lighter too haha. I also feel like it matches my style perfectly. It's like an everyday accessory now! I'm also glad because it dries easier now. I definitely have no regrets.

What's next for your hair?
Oh, I don't know! Maybe I'll let it grow, but not too long. But then, the ombre parts will get shorter and shorter... Maybe I'll have it retouched? (I don't know how it works, really). Maybe I'll just go back to long hair (but as of now, the thought isn't so appealing to me.) Al I'm thinking right now, really, is that I hope my hair would just stay this way forever lol. I may have to chop the colored section off before internship though. Oh well, we'll see!

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this post! If you have some questions that I was not able to cover here, feel free to comment below!

x Erika Rosales

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