On Wednesday, I went for a sponsored hair color change and it caused quite an uproar on my Facebook page. I’ll just let pictures do the talking, ya?
My ‘Before’ and ‘After’ Pictures:
Some of you are probably thinking “Who in their right mind would…” and I don’t blame you.
I got all sorts of comments on Facebook, from “fiery” to “Tts crazy!!” to “looks more like a wig”. (@_@)
Here are some more:
And yes, you can be absolutely honest with me. ‘Cos frankly, I hated my hair after that. But you know what, it just failed to turn out the way I wanted.
Here’s what I requested for, versus what I got:
Unlike what some may have thought, I did not crack under “stress” or lose my marbles. It is just that my perception of what is beautiful hair differed a little from my stylist’s.
Still, you know what people say – all things happen for a reason, right? So here are 5 life lessons I learnt from my disastrous hair color change aka “hair job”.
Life Lesson #1: If it’s a tough job, only engage someone you trust, then hand your life hair over to him. As the Chinese saying goes, 用人不疑,疑人不用.
I didn’t really trust the stylists there to do a good job as their boss was away in Melbourne and I could tell that they just wanted to get this over and done with as quickly as possible. How did I know that? The “Senior Stylist” named Christina just kept saying “no” to all my requests – “No, we don’t have these colors”, “No, I can’t work on your hair just yet. I have a customer coming by in fifteen minutes’ time”, “No, I only have standard colors” – by standard colors, she meant black, dark brown, and probably black again. She claimed to not even have red.
Two other bloggers requested for simple highlights and they got what they wanted very quickly. I had thrown the stylists too big a challenge – or one they did not care to accept. Hence, the results are *ahem* less-than-satisfactory.
The stylist who worked on my hair is Bryan and I found him to be more friendly than the other one, but the colors just didn’t turn out as he’d promised.
I really should have let only a trusted stylist work on my hair. And, as you already know, with free stuff come certain risks. 
I had let them work on my hair despite the bad attitude from the lady because I had gone all the way to Holland Road JUST for this salon review and I felt it would be a waste to not get what I wanted there and then, instead of waiting for the boss to get back to Singapore in a couple of days’ time.
They left much to be desired. In the old neighborhood salons my mum used to get her hair dyed at, customers would be given little plastic pieces to prevent stains on their ears/skin. But look what happened to me *haiz*:
Life Lesson #2: A small change can make a BIG difference.
First of all, if you had seen me directly before and after my hair color change, you would have noticed that I looked like I had aged 5 years in just one day. The golds and browns made me look like the Monkey God, Sun Wu Kong.
But there was some good out of that. Because my hair color became so WILD, I started behaving differently, to suit my hairstyle. I became a lot more vocal, loud and fun-loving. The very next day after my crazy hair color change, I went for the bloggers’ preview to the Navy Open House and had a blast! It was such fun! I wore a hot pink tee, hot pink shoes, and had neon pink nails to match. I became known as “Pink” to the officers showing me around – they thought I was hilarious and the feeling was mutual. 
So guess what, every little change in your life can cause huge ripples in other aspects of your life.
Even after I re-dyed some parts of my hair (while keeping the pink strands), I was more “loud” in terms of my dressing. For the National Achievers Congress today, I wore a white top with pink jeans and hot pink Nine West heels. I’ve never worn those jeans since purchasing them in Kota Kinabalu last year!
So, if you are an introvert like me, or you just want to be more confident, more expressive, more daring, do consider a small change in the way you look!
Life Lesson #3: You Cannot Please Everybody!
I’m sure you already know this. You just cannot please every single person. But don’t we try so hard to do that? You put on that new outfit you bought, and everyone says it looks good on you, but just one person says it makes you look fat/old/frumpy and it affects you so much that you can’t remember all the previous compliments you got. Does that happen to you? It sure does happen to me. I give those nasty people my most evil stare every time.
Just about everyone on Facebook said my hair looked awful, some more tactfully than others. But guess what, at the Naval base, two ladies from MINDEF came up to me (separately) and asked me where I got my hair colored ‘cos they liked it a lot. To say that I was shocked is an understatement. I had spent the entire day hiding my hair under a cap, leaving only the shocking pink parts sticking out.
And…
Local entrepreneur and 77th Street’s Founder, Elim Chew, actually shared my photo on her Facebook wall, writing “More Ideas For Colors !!!!” apparently having taken a fancy to my new hair colors. Seriously??!!
Hers was the one and only ‘share’ I got for this picture! LOL!!!
So, you see, no matter how disastrous you think something is, there will be someone who appreciates it.
Life Lesson #4: A Cover-up Works But It’s SUPER Uncomfortable
I spent the whole day after the “hair job” wearing a cap over my hair. The first half of the day was unbearably hot, as I toured the Changi Naval Base. My hair stuck to my scalp because of the perspiration and it felt like a sauna under my cap.
No one pointed any fingers at me and started laughing away at my crazy hair but oh how I longed to remove the cap!
Anyway, the point I want to make is that cover-ups work but be prepared for some discomfort. It’s never easy when you have something to hide. So live in such a way that you don’t ever have to hide anything.
Life Lesson #5: All’s Not Lost Even If Things Look Really Bad
Don’t despair even if things seem hopeless.
My fiance actually advised me to get a wig. I was almost inconsolable when I showed him my hair. I desperately wanted to get it re-dyed, but he, afraid that too much hair dye/bleach would damage my hair, advised that I get a wig instead.
I thought it would be such a joke to get a wig so I headed to Watsons and bought a DIY dye pack instead. And I’m certainly thanking my lucky stars that it turned out alright. I kept the pink parts but re-dyed the browns and golds to a dark copper (almost black).
I hated the rest of the “hair job” but I liked the pink ends so, like in many situations, you can definitely salvage some things, and rectify others. Not all will be lost. 
Don’t worry about things you can’t change. Just change the things you can, and move on.
I’m looking much less crazy now, and I have to thank Bigen for the wonderful dye pack being sold at Watsons (for S$16.90) and Pantene for sponsoring the shampoo and conditioner from their new ’6 week color protect’ range.
In case you are wondering, I got my hair dyed at Eden Salon, 293 Holland Road, Cold Storage Jelita. And no, you probably do not want to head there unless you are an angmoh, because as Christina will tell you, they only “cater to expats” and some bloggers, if I may add.
In conclusion, if you are thinking of making a BIG change in the way you look, always always always look for someone you trust. And if something costs nothing, don’t ask for too much!
