Goodbye to my Royal Tresses. :(

[Dementia1013]

Shed a tear for me my lovely long hair ladies and gentlemen.

I'm going back to school in March which I'm very excited about to study to become a Medical billing technician. Unfortunately that means that I have to go back to my natural hair color. :(

There's nothing wrong with my natural hair color, it's just that I've been purple for 10 years. Quite literally since last wednesday. Now I have to change my hair and it feels like I'm losing a part of me. :wail:

Any reccomendations ladies? what dye should I use to return to Dark brown/ nearly black hair?

[Euphony]

I have no suggestions - but wanna ask...is it mandatory you get rid of the purple? I love your purple! I also notice you're in WA - not sure why I'd never noticed that...or perhaps I did and forgot. Where in Washington are you? We should have a purple going away party!

[GlassEyes]

Couldn't you wait to dye it over until you're finished with school? o-o

[Magdalene]

Awwww....can't you keep it? Who's going to see your hair?

[Wavelength]

Noooo! Please keep it! :(

[Dementia1013]

I wish I could keep it. To prepare us for looking professional or some such other nonsense. I asked if I could wear a wig and they said yes, but I have Tailbone length THICK filipino hair.. I'm not sure if I would want to endure the torture of shoving it all under a wig cap everyday.. if I even could get it all under a wig cap...





I have no suggestions - but wanna ask...is it mandatory you get rid of the purple? I love your purple! I also notice you're in WA - not sure why I'd never noticed that...or perhaps I did and forgot. Where in Washington are you? We should have a purple going away party!

I'm in Bremerton. :D
How about you? where are you at?

[FrannyG]

I'm not clear as to why you need to de-purple. :confused: Have you looked into this fully?

What method do you use to achieve your purple shade? Knowing that would be helpful in advising you if you really do need to change your colour.

Let us know. :blossom:

[Dementia1013]

I'm not clear as to why you need to de-purple. :confused: Have you looked into this fully?

What method do you use to achieve your purple shade? Knowing that would be helpful in advising you if you really do need to change your colour.

Let us know. :blossom:

I dye it with 'deep purple' raw color.
The whole De-purple thing is part of the school's dress code.

[HildeMV]

For a moment there I was scared you were going to chop your hair off.

I've never tried to change color from something like that to brown. Maybe talk to a hairdresser?

[little_acorn]

:( nooooo - I love your purple hair!

[Magdalene]

I still don't get it- I've worked in the corporate world with people with very colorful hair- it doesn't make them any less professional!

Can you wear a scarf or something over it?

[Longlocks3]

I completely understand, most profession programs(especially health care related) have a very strict dress code. It doesn't make sense, but that's what they demand.

I too will miss your cool purple hair. No advice on how to go back to your natural shade but good luck!

[christine1989]

Can really make you change it legally??? If you really do then look on the bright side; you will save money by not having to use the expensive purple dye plus your hair will be healthier too. Bright dyes are way more damaging so returning to a natural color will be good for it. You hair is long and thick so im sure it will look awesome and get noticed regardless of the color :)

[jaine]

Oh no, that is sad! :(
Natural colors are pretty too though ... dark brown / almost black is a lovely color if I do say so myself (not that I'm biased! :D I am biased...)

I wonder if henna and indigo would make dark brown over purple hair... I used henna and indigo to cover up my highlights and I got a very close match on my natural color with no damage. I would do a test strip though just in case.

[Wavelength]

I hope they're not gonna try to make you cut it, too. That would make the situation go from upsetting to tragic.

[talecon]

I've had my hair purple before and I noticed that when I let it fade it goes to a reddish tint. Maybe you can just go for a deep red and it'll cover it up

[JenniferNoel]

Nooooo! :wail: I loved the purple.
Either way, it's for the better. I'm no expert on massacring purple hair dye, but it can't be too hard...

[Akiko]

I love purple....

Well, I wonder the same thing. Two step henna indigo might work. I bleached my hair and went back to my natural hair color with hennindigo. My starting color is just reddish brown, though. I would strand test first to make sure...

Some say indigo fades. But mine did not. It's been almost a year since I applied hennindigo. I don't see much demarcation. Maybe it will work for you, too.

[saskia_madding]

Aw, I'll definitely miss your purple hair. I love it! But your hair itself and the thickness and length will remain, so that's still pretty awesome. And I think you're going to look gorgeous with dark hair. :)

[SunshineHair]

I really feel for you....Try henna as it was mentioned so that you will not have to put anything harsh on it!

Part of me understands why they want you to dye it as it gives off the wrong image, and part of me thinks that if your attitude is professional why cant they be happy with that?

I hope you enjoy the job!!!!!!!

[rogue_psyche]

I'm really sorry you have to get rid of the purple. I've been admiring it since I joined. I hennaed over faded magenta punky colors and got a nice red. Maybe a two step henna+ingido will give you the dark color you want.

[ZaBasDa]

I would try henna and indigo if you want something more permanent. If you didn't mind dying your hair as often as you did with the purple, Manic Panic makes two brown colors one is a light brown and one is a very dark brown and they also make a black color. Other brands might also have black or brown colors, but that is the only one I know of.

I have henna'd over several different colors and fade levels of green, red, pink, orange, blue, and purple and almost every time the henna covered up the color completely. With the green, I ended up with a red brown color, and with the blue I had more of a red with a slight blue tint. So henna and indigo might work for you.

[Roseate]

What about headcovering? There are many lovely ways to tie a scarf (http://www.tznius.com/cgi-bin/tying.pl) that hide your hair completely; many religious professional women wear these every day!

[catkin]

No suggestion, but i just wanted to say that i loved your purple hair, it is beautiful!

[dagny]

How about using a temporary dark dye for the weekdays? Then you could be purple on the weekends?

OF course, henna+indigo would be a nice dark shade and look pretty and glossy with your long hair....

[NiAosSi]

Hope you can find a way around that. Otherwise, goodbye purple, you were beautiful.

[Carrie Ingalls]

Dementia, I have been thinking of you a lot recently, because one of the professors at my school has purple hair, though nowhere near as gorgeous as yours. I have also noticed a handful of women ranging in age with partially purple hair.

I would also recommend looking into the head scarves as previously mentioned. But most of all you need to be completely confident and comfortable with your decision, what every it is and we will support you in your choice.

[Sabayon]

Oh, that really is so sad. :(
Your purple is a truly beautiful color.

I would try lifting some of the purple before henndigo. Maybe color oops could help. I once tried to henna over magenta at about the same saturation as your purple and it pretty much still looked magenta.

[Luckysock]

I'm kinda upset for you. I don't think there is anything unprofessional about your hair, and it wouldn't make me uncomfortable as a patient, client, whatever the situation may be. I'm a little bitter that they are forcing you to change...

[Nyghtingale]

So sorry you have to change it. I love your purple hair. It is beautiful. Change can be exciting though.

[Wicked Princess]

The whole De-purple thing is part of the school's dress code.



Your school's dress code is lame! :boohoo: :sad :(

After you're finished with school, what are the odds of you being able to get the purple back in the future?

I'm so sorry you're going to be losing your purple! I've loved the pictures you've shared so much and have been admiring your hair for awhile now. :flower:

I'm sure whatever natural-color you end up going with will look very good on you, too. I hope you'll share the new color with us when you get it. :)

[Demetrue]

Hmmmm - If I were in your shoes, I would just dye the top part of your hair, from roots to nape of neck a semi-permanent auburn brown. I would leave the length purple, bun it and wear a brown bun cover over it at school.

[Avalin]

First of all, you have the coolest hair I have ever seen and it is soooo sad to see it go!


How about using a temporary dark dye for the weekdays? Then you could be purple on the weekends?

OF course, henna+indigo would be a nice dark shade and look pretty and glossy with your long hair....

I think it would be a bad idea to use temporary color. Those are super damaging, I think even more so than regular dyes.

I agree with going for the henna+indigo. Maybe you can make it blue-black and that would pass as professional? That way you still get a slight hint of unique color.

[Dementia1013]

Thank you. All of you for all of your support.
I told my Choir director for the BSCC and she's absolutely livid. lol. Everyone in my choir thinks that's it's silly and want me to look into it.

I've mixed feelings on the subject. On one hand, I love the color and it's really an extension of myself. So I'm brought to tears with the thought of going back to my Dark brown.

On the other hand. It is damaging to keep coloring. I know this, and I've always treated my hair like silk because of it, but I guess with going to a natural color I can just let my real hair grow out and it will be faster to get to my goal. Also, then I would be able to go swimming with my hubby. I've always avoided because I didn't want my hair to fade to grey or a sickly green.

*sigh* I suppose it's for the best, I was just not ready to let go yet... you know?

[celluloidwings]

As you mentioned, keeping up with coloring is damaging but would it be possible to dye it dark black and layer the purple over it. You'll have a purple tint but it won't be very noticeable under incandescent lightning. I've done this in the past and it was effective enough. It's still not the same but you'll still get to retain a little bit of your long held purple locks.

[share801]

On a related note, my former college (a public state university) requires a dress code for "certain" majors these days. I don't know if they have any "hair" rules.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

can't you dye your hair a purple-darkred shade (which i saw on most women) i mean, it's red but not an orange-red, more like blue red. Do you have to be brown?

[eternallyverdan]

That's really a shame! You were talking about the possibility of a wig upthread, and I think that might be something to try. You can get a pretty realistic looking wig for $30-40 dollars, and I've managed to get all of my hair under a wig cap. It's not as thick as yours, but I think the length difference means we probably have about the same amount of hair. You could try it for a couple weeks, and if it's too much of a hassle you can just dye it.

I say just do whatever makes you happiest. Good luck with your schooling!

[GlassEyes]

Well, Mira-chan has thick hair, and she has an article on getting to fit it under the wig in the Articles section. It might be uncomfortable, but I'd explore the option.

...also, and I may die for this, but there IS the option of cutting it to about BSL/waist and then using a wig...>.>;; I've been thinking that if I ever needed a corporate job, that's what I'd be doing.

[tamif27]

It sucks that individuality is quashed, but that's how life works. Get used to it.

I can't stand a wig for very long, even with a cap.

Do some strand tests, but I would concur with the suggestions that henna and indigo in some combination will achieve a pretty colour. Go for a bright red, there's a nice compromise

[FrannyG]

I really don't have any safe advice for you, regarding removing your colour; others have more experience that way.

I'm just popping in again to say how sorry I am that this dress code is making you change your identity. :grouphug: It just doesn't seem right.

At least you don't have to cut your hair. :flowers:

[Dani]

I'm in Bremerton. :D


Sweet, I grew up in Seattle. :D I never realized you were in Washington before! I've been in DC for 10 years now, urg. I've been dying to go back home, but we've been here so long to save up for our dream log cabin in the snow... we're almost done though- finally! I still remember every square inch of Seattle, and all my immediate family lives there.

My best friend here actually just moved to this amazing house in Friday Harbor. I'm alone with my own wonderful family, here on the dreaded (for a west coast girl) east coast *shudders* ... please save us. Save us now!! ;) It's alright... almost done, like I said. And the journey is what counts, the journey is what counts, the journey is what counts.......

As Genie from Aladdin says, "Enough about you! Let's talk about her. She's smart, fun. The hair, the eyes. Anything. Pick a feature." My little brother and I watched that a million times when I was a kid... thought you might've too. :p

I can't believe your purple has to go (only for a while, hopefully?). You have the most beautiful color I've ever seen. I haven't purple-d all my hair yet, just the section in front, but it's still in the back of my mind, being crowded by all the more important things going on in my life lately. :p Hey, at least you know exactly how to go about getting that perfect, amazing color! So you'll be able to do it again one day. I have no clue what kind or color dye you should use though...

I can't believe in 2010 people still have to conform to some version of "normal." Normal is a myth and fake and freaking boring beyond all reason. Humans aren't going to be around long (so it seems), and we should all be able to live how we love to live. Freedom comes at a price of one head of pruple hair, I guess. That's much better than most people get. Are you going to school in Bremerton or Seattle? If you went to school on Capitol Hill, I bet you could have your purple forever. :cool: And you should still post in purple forever, says I.

[Madame J]

First of all, I've always loved your purple hair. Purple's my favorite color; I just don't have the guts to bleach my hair to get it purple enough, so I lived vicariously through your updo album.

I just want to say, if you want to go back to purple again at sometime, don't use henndigo to get back to dark brown! If you let the purple fade a bit, and dye over it with a permanent dark brown dye (I've used L'Oreal Natural Match -- it came out darker than I expected, so you probably just need dark brown), you should be able to leave it alone as your hair grows (maybe a little glossing with a color gloss now and then) and then you can re-bleach it in the future to re-purple.

Good luck! I hope the people running your program appreciate that you're being so accommodating instead of protesting a kind of ridiculous rule.

[spidermom]

Oh, that's too bad. Your purple does look stunning.

[halo_tightens]

I just wanted to express my deep and sincere sympathy to you! I've always loved seeing your lovely purple hair, mostly because I used to have a very similar color myself! (Mine was only about APL at the time, though, so yours is way cooler, never fear! :D)

Your hair will be beautiful no matter what color it ends up being. :flower:

[young&reckless]

I'm very sad to she your color go, it always makes me smile when I see it. I would not suggest useing henna or indigo to cover it unless you are sure you will not being going back to a lighter color as it will never go away. Pre LHC I liked Herbal Essences Hair color. It always seems to damage my hair less then the other brands.

Try to think on the bright side, you now have a chance to buy hair toys in new colors that may not have been purple friendly before but will match you new color now.

[melrose1985]

I havent read all the repsonses... but cant you just say it's your natural color! Okay i know that it probably wouldnt work... but it looks good on you. I mean as soon as you're done you can always god back. IS there a dye from the brand you can use to dye with? maybe you can keep the under part purple or keep a couple of strands?

[Xandergrammy]

I'd go to a different school. I don't see where purple hair is any less professional than dyed black, brown or blond hair. That's not fair!

[Beesweet]

Awwww, bummer.

But look on the bright side -- change is good. Change, with the exception of amputation and a few other things, isn't permanent -- you can go purple again someday when your schooling is over. Consider it a temporary sacrifice to reach a goal that could affect your life in a very positive way ( yay future jobs and paychecks!). Just visualize yourself sitting in the middle of a large pile of money -- throwing it up in the air, or more moderately -- sitting at your kitchen table with a nice cup of tea, easily writing out checks to pay all your bills.

I don't know if I am allowed to mention another forum on here but on henna for hair forum there is a stylist named megumi who does amazing things with henna, amla, cassia and indigo. Lots of pics. Lots of nice color varieties. Maybe you could pick around there and get some tips for getting an equally regal red/brown.

I guess the only thing with red tones would be dealing with roots once your natural color comes in.

Sorry about being forced to color, but like my husband says, life is a game and we have to play by the rules if we want to win. (yes, he's a sports coach!).

Keep us posted.

[Yayasmurf]

So sad for you :( :( :( I have always admired your beautiful purple hair.

I too have no advice for you concerning changing colors but just wanted to say I will miss your lovely hair color. I hope you will take some comfort in knowing that no matter what color your hair is.... it's very beautiful.

[redneckprincess]

cant you just fade it out?

[JamieLeigh]

Aww. I don't have any advice on coloring, but I wanted to weigh in and say I'm sorry you're having to change your haircolor to fit someone else's parameters. That's just ludicrous. :mad: While I do always appreciate natural color, I have always loved looking at your purple hair here on the boards. Wishing you much luck in whatever you decide to do :flower:

[Euphony]

I'm in Bremerton. :D
How about you? where are you at?
I'm north of Bellingham. There's some of us in Seattle and Whidbey as well :D

We should definitely do a get together soon!

How bout if you wear it up in a bun all the time at school with a scarf?

I work in a professional setting - I was teasing my boss one day that I might color my hair some less than natural color. He told me he didn't care at all. I know schooling is probably stricter on such things since feel you should be able to appease to a more varied demographic once you graduate.

[p3_Arme]

Where or Who makes the hair dye, as I've been wanting to dye mine purple for awhile, and not found anyone yet...

[Vivien']

Sorry about being forced to color, but like my husband says, life is a game and we have to play by the rules if we want to win. (yes, he's a sports coach!).


No, definitely no. That's not the rules of life. That's the arbitrary rules of a school. Live by your own rules!

I encourage you to give the wig solution a try.

By the way, I wonder what they would say if you chose to shave your head...

[burns_erin]

I can empathize about having to change your hair for school as I had to do the same. As far as it goes, if you do not mind the permanency of it, henna over the top of purple should make a nice burgundy color. There is likely no rule that you have to have your hair color, merely a natural one, and burgundy is natural to some people. And if anyone wants to argue with that then they are welcome to make all the bottle blondes go natural too. Good luck with your schooling and a hair solution that works for you.

[elina333]

Aaaww Im sorry to hear that... But be thankful they didnt tell you to chop it off ;) (have to stay positive :))

Good luck with school and hair coloring :D

:pegasus:

[camirra555]

That sucks! I love your purple hair

[Rhiannon7]

Awww! so sad to see your beautiful purple hair go away, but if it is for work and you absolutely and legally must change the color then i would reccomend a salon, a specialty long hair salon that will be as gentle to your hair as possible. one who can even use indigo or some other more natural product to darken the color. have you tried a strand test and see if Indigo can do the job? anyway you can always get a few strands of purple in your hair and hide them when at school. good luck on whatever you do and hope you do not have to cut the length too.

[mellie]

Aw!! I'll miss your amazing purple!!

[NiAosSi]

Touché! Don't shave your head, though!


No, definitely no. That's not the rules of life. That's the arbitrary rules of a school. Live by your own rules!

I encourage you to give the wig solution a try.

By the way, I wonder what they would say if you chose to shave your head...

[Liave Ekeli]

Oh no... I'm so sorry you have to change your hair color :(
I'll miss the refreshing cool purple...

[Lixie]

No reccomendations, just wanted to chime in with my sympathies. I've been admiring your lovely purple ever since you arrived here. On the bright side, when you retire any grey/white hair should be much easier to dye purple, right? :D Like a previous poster mentioned, I don't suppose you could get away with a purple streak or two?

Also, good luck with your new career! :flowers:

[shadowclaw]

Oh, how terribly sad! :( Your hair is such a beautiful color! We will all mourn its loss should you choose to dye it.

I've never heard of a college having a dress code that involves hair. In fact, the only schools I've heard of that even have dress codes are Bible colleges. I've been to a few colleges, one public state university and two private colleges, and none of them had any sort of dress code at all. My friend went to a Bible college and she had to wear nice clothes to class, but I never heard anything about hair. However, I'm pretty sure it is perfectly legal to have a dress code that involves hair, especially if it is a private school and not a public one. That doesn't mean it's fair, though!

I think if I were in your situation, I would just pick another school :) However, that's me and not you. I recommend buying an inexpensive wig and trying it for a little while. I would imagine you could probably get it under a wig with little difficultly if you did a crown braid.

If you do decide to dye your hair, I wouldn't go with henna and indigo if you plan on going back to purple anytime soon. You'd have to grow it all out first before you could bleach your hair again. However, if your program lasts a few years, you could hendigo your length now and then let the rest grow in naturally. Then by the time your program is done, most or all of the hendigo will be grown out to a reasonable length that you could cut off. If you would rather go the commercial dye route, you should probably use colorfix or something similar to get the purple out. I'm not sure how well dye will stick on top of dye. You could always strand test to see if dye will take on top of the purple.

Beware, though, colorfix and other color removers are harsh on hair (I know from experience) and will take a lot of babying to get back into good condition. Your hair is probably more resillient than mine, though, so I doubt it will be as bad for you. I do recommend one thing, though. If your hair does feel bad after the dying process, try giving it a henna gloss. It shouldn't alter your hair color if you go dark and you can bleach over it later. Alternatively, you can use cassia. Both will strengthen your hair and make it feel much much better.

[Bellalalala]

I understand how deeply connected you are to your colour. Your hair is so striking, it can easily become your identity.

I used to have white hair, and it was such a huge part of my identity. When I finally dyed it dark (due to the crippling damage) I felt naked and extremely exposed. It was definitely hard.
It took a while to get used to. The way you look never defines you, but when it comes to hair, sometimes it feels that way.

That said, I am positive that any woman who can rock purple hair for 10 years is strong enough to be fabulous no matter what her hair looks like!

A previous poster mentioned looking into wearing a head scarf.
If you are really committed to keeping your purple hair, this is a fantastic idea, and there are thousands and thousands of beautiful hair-coverings available.

[Fractalsofhair]

NO!!! Your hair look amazing!

I know you've said you bleach your hair before you dye it purple, so maybe a one shot with a permanent dark brown might be good? I know you can fade colors by using a harsh shampoo repeatedly for a few days, so that might make the undertones less noticeable. I'd personally suggest the wig solution!

[BelleBot]

I know how you feel. I had to loose my bright pink tailbone length hair to study nursing. I used a dark chocolate semi to get rid of the pink. Feels like I've lost a limb, I miss it so much. At least I've still got my lengths, I'll concentrate on getting it as healthy and long as possible now I can't have my bright colours.

It's a shame to see the purple go, it looks fantastic.

[klcqtee]

Check out maybe a hendigo or a henna with amla (or alma? I can never remember).

So sad you have to lose it! Could you wear a head scarf (such as the religious kind, or like they do on http://www.tznius.com/cgi-bin/tying.pl)? Hah, I know we're all grasping at straws here. Good luck!

[BrightEyes]

Oh I'm so sorry! I absolutely love your purple locks. But I'm sure that whatever color you decide to use, it'll be just as pretty.

[Laylah]

I'm sorry about the situation :(

If you're still up for ideas, I'm completely for the scarf idea. You could just bun your hair and tie a scarf around it everyday. There are many Muslim, Jewish, and even some Christian and other religious women who do this.

simple style: middle of scarf on forehead, ends behind shoulders. Tie on the nape of the neck like a bandana.

another simple style: put the scarf over your head like a hood with the two ends in front of you. Cross one end to the opposite shoulder and wind it around your head once. Safety pin it on the side that it hangs down.

Good luck and I hope that you won't have to lose your purple hair!

[ZaBasDa]

Oh and products like Color Oops are not meant to be used on the unnatural semi-permanent colors made by Manic Panic, Raw, Special Effects, etc; that product is meant on permanent hair dyes. Color Oops might fade the purple you have a little, but don't expect it to strip the color completely.

[my2cats1]

Dementia1013, can you give us an update on your decision? Have you colored? Experimented with wigs? Scarves?

[Svenja]

Is it really legal to MAKE you change your haircolour? It'd be such a shame!!

[morguebabe]

Can you do what i do... dye it dark brown/black and then do streaks of color. I find employers are much happier with that and sometimes depending on how I style it don't notice it.

[Shermie Girl]

I am so sorry that your school is compelling you to change your hair colour. Your purple is so beautiful. So radiant and rich and rather than looking like a "funky colour" it has always looked natural to you and on you. As if it grew from your scalp. It's funny, I never get that impression from other heads of unusual colours. But I do from yours.

If you think that there is any chance that you would like to return to purple in the future, henna and indigo are simply not an option for you unless you are going to be willing to chop off all of your hair and start over. Henna can't be removed. Indigo is, I believe about as permanent.

Products like ColorFix and Colour Oops! will not work for your type of dye. Those products are for permanent dye. Not semi, demi or deposit only dyes. You could probably use your customary bleach then when you get the purple out, fill and then colour with a dark brown permanent dye. I would suggest lots of strand tests and/or seeing a professional who can do this for you without risking your long, beautiful hair.

Please let us know how it goes and post pictures, too. Good luck with your new hair adventure. :flower:

[morguebabe]

FYI I just tried to bleach out some RAW deep purple, and man... that stuff didn't bleach out... it just turned bright pink.

[GlassEyes]

Yeah, bleaching can be hard without damage. I bleached my hair twice with Special effects in--the first time, it turned blonde at the roots, and the Virgin Rose I had made the bottom look like a sunset. The second time, I had SE Sonic Green in (beautiful color--horrid dye job) and it turned turquoise.

I wound up having to just dye my hair black. That'll cover it up, but if you want something natural looking, you might want to see a good hairstylist.

[Dementia1013]

Ok, so here is the update. I played around with the idea of wigs... but with someone like me who is super prone to migraines having it up in a tight wig cap for 5+ hours a day isn't an option...

I asked about scarves, but they are only permitted if it's for a religious purpose and I have to prove I'm that religion.

My mother, who is absolutely excstatic that I'm going back to my natural color took me to Sally's today where we picked out my shade color basing off of my eyebrows and roots.

Tomorrow I bleach and will be Blonde for a few days before I dye it Brown.

I had myself a good cry and played with it like mad all yesterday.

I'm trying to stay positive thinking, you know, now I don't have to worry about bleach and dye every 3 months and now I can just let my hair grow and not worry about it. I can also now go swimming with my hubby which I dared not do with the purple for fear of it turning green or grey.

I can proudly say that In my crazy topsy turvey life that I was able to keep one thing constant for 10 years.. that's quite an achievement for myself.

Goodbye my beloved Royal Tresses. You will be greatly missed. :(

[Teufelchen]

Inspired by you, I got purple shades in my hair. But you just see them in teh sun, when I'm indoors, they look warm black.
I dye with Henna (mixed with Walnut leaf tea) and the next day with Indigo. After one or two sessions you get a warm black color with purple accents that only show up in the Sun.
Perhaps this is also an option for you.
I really love your purple hair, it's so sad you have to get rid of it.

[GlassEyes]

Again, just be careful that bleach will take care of it. You have had purple hair for ten years--I had trouble bleaching out a magenta I had for three months!

[krazycurlsmatt]

Why bleach and then dye brown? Can't you just dye it a dark brown, since It's darker than purple? or you could use a semi permanent dark brown for a few months so it will always wash back to purple.

Either way you choose if you are absolutely bent on bleaching try using a color stripper first ( like color oops) to pull out the purple, then you may not have to bleach.

[morguebabe]

Again, just be careful that bleach will take care of it. You have had purple hair for ten years--I had trouble bleaching out a magenta I had for three months!

Yeah this weekend I was trying to redo where my strips were in my hair, and I had a hard time bleaching out the purple

[freckles]

Sad to hear that your glorious purple has to go, but I'm sure your beautiful thick hair will look stunning in any colour. Good luck with the change. :blossom:

[shadowclaw]

Good luck with the bleaching and dying! Try pretreating with coconut oil... several people (myself included) have had success preventing damage during the lightening process. There's no guarantee that it will prevent all damage and whatever damage is caused with become evident down the road sometime, but it does seem to help!

We will miss the purple!

[lyria]

Can really make you change it legally???

If it's a public university chances are they can't make you change it legally because it would constitute a state action resulting in a deprivation of your right to free speech. However, if it's a private university, their actions don't have to comport with the right to free speech.

I'll miss the purple though!!! Please keep pictures up for us all to admire!:flower:

[Xepher]

I read that you've already chosen your solution, so I just came in to say that I'm so horribly sad that you have to say goodbye to your purple hair :(

I've dreamt of having shiny purple locks and your hair has always been an inspiration and a sort of 'role model' for me, so I thank you for that. Good luck with your new hair color and schooling!

[morguebabe]

Can you leave it untill you have to go on job interviews actually or no?

[naereid]

I've been a lurker here for a while now, but I just had to reply to this thread.
When I first stumbled upon this forum, one of the first things I noticed was your avatar and your fantastic hair. In fact, the very reason I joined was to see more photos of it. :oops: So... I just wanted to say how much I admired you and your hair. It gave me inspiration and hope (and still does!) that I, too, will be able to have beautiful long hair despite chemical dyes.
Good luck with everything. :blossom:

[gmdiaz]

I love your purple hair. . .maybe just tell them that purple is your natural color?

We'll back you up and provide letters of color reference.

IF you really feel that you've got to conform, maybe just put a brown GLAZE over the purple and just tone it down a little. Maybe they won't notice? : )

[Zindell]

I really have a hard time understanding this. Can a school really demand your hair looking a certain way?
I don't think that could ever happen here in Sweden.

Is there some law that says that you have to wear your hair like the "school rules" demand?

Please enlighten me. :)

If I were you I would just keep the purple hair and go about focusing on my school work. :p

[shadowclaw]

I really have a hard time understanding this. Can a school really demand your hair looking a certain way?
I don't think that could ever happen here in Sweden.

Is there some law that says that you have to wear your hair like the "school rules" demand?

Please enlighten me. :)

It would be wonderful if over here in the US we could finally lose our ideas of what is proper and normal and stop trying to make people fit that mold. But unforunately, I'm not sure that will happen for a long time. Too many people fall in line and follow the mainstream.

That aside, I don't think there's an actual law that says you have to do anything that a school tells you to. However, the general rule is that a private school (meaning one that doesn't receive state or federal funding, but is funded purely by student tuition and donations from citizens) can have any requirements it wants of its students. Sometimes they have dress codes, if it is a religious school they might require theology classes, things like that.

Generally speaking, public schools do not have such things. Just basic dress codes and course requirements This isn't always the case, especially when it comes to public elementary and high schools. Some of them do have strict dress codes that involve hair styling and color, especially on boys. The college level is typically more relaxed, but I'm sure it does happen.

I assume that Dimentia is going to a private school, and therefore they can demand a dress code, which includes the hair. It may not be fair, but unfortunately it's the way things will likely stay. I believe someone once took a case to the supreme court reguarding hair color or length as part of a dress code, and the court basically told them not to bring such trivial matters before them and wouldn't hear the case.

[kwaniesiam]

Ok, so here is the update. I played around with the idea of wigs... but with someone like me who is super prone to migraines having it up in a tight wig cap for 5+ hours a day isn't an option...

I asked about scarves, but they are only permitted if it's for a religious purpose and I have to prove I'm that religion.

My mother, who is absolutely excstatic that I'm going back to my natural color took me to Sally's today where we picked out my shade color basing off of my eyebrows and roots.

Tomorrow I bleach and will be Blonde for a few days before I dye it Brown.

I had myself a good cry and played with it like mad all yesterday.

I'm trying to stay positive thinking, you know, now I don't have to worry about bleach and dye every 3 months and now I can just let my hair grow and not worry about it. I can also now go swimming with my hubby which I dared not do with the purple for fear of it turning green or grey.

I can proudly say that In my crazy topsy turvey life that I was able to keep one thing constant for 10 years.. that's quite an achievement for myself.

Goodbye my beloved Royal Tresses. You will be greatly missed. :(

I highly recommend against bleaching the purple. You should be able to use a 10 volume developer and permanent dye to deposit the dark brown color over top with no troubles. It will be far less damaging and easier to work with. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[morguebabe]

I highly recommend against bleaching the purple. You should be able to use a 10 volume developer and permanent dye to deposit the dark brown color over top with no troubles. It will be far less damaging and easier to work with. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

i second this as my purple didnt bleach out.

[spidermom]

Dropped in to see what you decided. We want to see pictures of the change, but you knew that.

In programs where there is a lot of competition to get in, you have to conform yourself to whatever the school requires, or they'll skip over you and put somebody else in your spot. It's like that in the nursing school in my area. They choose the highest grade point averages and have a dress code.

[TiaKitty]

Health Sciences programs demand a certain conformation in looks, to teach standards of dress and personal hygeine that will be expected in the workplace.

Chances are her coding and billing program, while not direct patient care, is in the same building and under the same professors care as the nursing program, so uniformity in dress is important.

That being said, I too went to a Health Sciences school and rocked the teacher's idea about the dress code! The dress code said one pair of earrings; it did not say that they had to be worn in two different ears. I wore two earrings in one ear and none in the other. I know! What a rebel. LOL! It doesn't compare to purple hair, but, rocking the boat, nonetheless...

I would like it if you would tell us specifically what the dress code says about hair. I'd be happy to help you think of a "work-around" for this situation.

And, as I have recently been looking into education for coding and billing in addition to my current position as a medical transcriptionist, and I have to tell you, that school is not your only option!!! There are hundreds of schools on-line or that you could attend on weekends that will not limit your choice of hair color. There is even one in Las Vegas that has power weekends, and when all is said and done, the weekend costs about the same as going into a program.

I hope my information doesn't come too late to save the Royal Purple tresses. They are absolutely gorgeous!

[Lorien]

I'd choose a different institution or profession, but that's me. I don't do 'dress codes', only when I fly because it saves the inconvenience of extra security checks.

On the plus side, nothing I want in my life has dress codes, or any codes for that matter..

I hope you find what makes you happiest, purple-haired girl :)

[enfys]

I'm glad you're able to see the good of this and not just that you're losing the purple. You're gaining the health and after ten years I'd say your purple had a pretty good innings.

Now I'm just waiting for the pics.

[Dementia1013]

All of those asking why I couldn't dye over the purple. I couldn't have any remnant of purple left. No highlights, no streaks nothing, and dying over it would run the risk of the brown dye fading and the purple shining through.

It's done. I hate it. It's drying now and looks horrible. :(
It only looks semi good when it's pulled up so I'll be joining the wear your hair up everyday challenge. I've been S&D'ing like crazy, but I've exctremely thick hair and it's a challenge. I'm hoping that it looks so dry and horrible because it's a fresh dye job and not that it's just my hair now.

I cried like a little baby for a while now I'm just going to wear it up until my Natural hair grows long enough to chop this disaster off of my head. :(

I'll post pics sometime today. Right now it's drying and I'm a little too emotional to take pics at the moment.

Thank you, all of you for your support.

Also surprisingly the Bleaching wasn't that bad. I'm sure it's the cause for the majority of the damage, but I didn't bleach it several times or anything. I did one application over all of my hair followed by a toner and that by itself got me pretty blonde. I was shocked.

I used a Dark Ash Brown by Wellia from Sally's and a 10 volume toner. ration 2:1. The first time I did it My hair was a sickly caramel! And although it would have looked good on some... not on me. My complexion demands that I have dark hair. So, I gave in and dyed it again leaving it on longer than the last time. Now my hair is very close to black, which doesn't look good, but is much better than the caramel. And like I said I'm going to be wearing my hair up now everyday, so as long as it's shiny when pulled up I'll live until my virgin hair grows long enough to be on it's own.

With the help of Biotin and DE I'm past my tailbone now and am getting some good growth. I'm hoping by the time I reach my Knees My natural hair will be about tailbone length so I can chop all the damaged hair off in one fell swoop.

That's the plan anyway... :wail:

[Gypsy]

All of those asking why I couldn't dye over the purple. I couldn't have any remnant of purple left. No highlights, no streaks nothing, and dying over it would run the risk of the brown dye fading and the purple shining through.

It's done. I hate it. It's drying now and looks horrible. :(
It only looks semi good when it's pulled up so I'll be joining the wear your hair up everyday challenge. I've been S&D'ing like crazy, but I've exctremely thick hair and it's a challenge. I'm hoping that it looks so dry and horrible because it's a fresh dye job and not that it's just my hair now.

I cried like a little baby for a while now I'm just going to wear it up until my Natural hair grows long enough to chop this disaster off of my head. :(

I'll post pics sometime today. Right now it's drying and I'm a little too emotional to take pics at the moment.

Thank you, all of you for your support.

Also surprisingly the Bleaching wasn't that bad. I'm sure it's the cause for the majority of the damage, but I didn't bleach it several times or anything. I did one application over all of my hair followed by a toner and that by itself got me pretty blonde. I was shocked.

I used a Dark Ash Brown by Wellia from Sally's and a 10 volume toner. ration 2:1. The first time I did it My hair was a sickly caramel! And although it would have looked good on some... not on me. My complexion demands that I have dark hair. So, I gave in and dyed it again leaving it on longer than the last time. Now my hair is very close to black, which doesn't look good, but is much better than the caramel. And like I said I'm going to be wearing my hair up now everyday, so as long as it's shiny when pulled up I'll live until my virgin hair grows long enough to be on it's own.

With the help of Biotin and DE I'm past my tailbone now and am getting some good growth. I'm hoping by the time I reach my Knees My natural hair will be about tailbone length so I can chop all the damaged hair off in one fell swoop.

That's the plan anyway... :wail:
Awww.:(
I bet it actually looks pretty, you are just shocked at the loss of the purple and seeing a new color on your head.
Maybe after you have time to get used to seeing it, you will like it better than you do right now- not as much as the purple, of course, but it won't be so..... "foreign" to you.:)

[Xandergrammy]

Hugs to you, sweetie. I'm looking forward to seeing your new color.

[VenusHalley]

Wow, this is sad. Of course, your hair will look even with normal color, but I love love love your purple.

[morguebabe]

I'm so sorry, but they at least you had nor trouble getting it out. I have to bleach more than twice and it never comes out...

[Fiferstone]

Hi Dementia, got nothing to offer save for :grouphug::flowers:. You're making a real sacrifice to pursue your education, and that definitely counts for something. The world's a crappy place sometimes.

[halo_tightens]

I knew it was coming, but.... Sigh.

I hope so, SO much that it's just the initial shock that's making it look bad in your eyes! Brown will never be purple, but it can still be very pretty. Sending lots of hugs your way!! I know how hard it can be to have your exterior be so at odds with your inner sensibilities. :grouphug:

And, of course, you do already know how badly we'll all want to see pics as soon as you feel comfortable. I can't imagine your hair NOT looking gorgeous, actually, but it will be something different!

[Isilme]

so so sorry! they seem to be very nit picky and not at all willing to work with you:( I just wanted to say that you inspired me to do a purple streak and even people at work complimented me on it. Focus on pretty hairtoys!

[kwaniesiam]

I'm sure its not as bad as you think :) The alkaline base to the hair color swells the cuticle, in a few days and some gentle treatment it will feel mostly back to normal.

[Dementia1013]

I'm sure its not as bad as you think :) The alkaline base to the hair color swells the cuticle, in a few days and some gentle treatment it will feel mostly back to normal.

OH i'm so glad to hear that! My hair is sooo POOFY right now... I managed to rope braid it into submission for a rose bun, but man I looked like cousin IT!!!

I'm looking for my camera. I know some of you really want to see the end result. Handsome man cleaned the living room, so now I don't know where he put my camera. When I find it, I'll take pics of it down and up so you can see the full extent of what it is now.

[shadowclaw]

It will be ok, I promise! Things will feel normal eventually, and your hair will grow! I once did a bleach and colorfix job to return to my natural color from black, and that was no walk in the park. My hair felt horrible for a while and I couldn't comb it when wet (it was too tangly) and when I brushed it when dry, the ends all broke off. But I gave my hair a lot of love and care, and eventually it became healthy again and I was happy.

I bet your hair is in a lot better shape than when I did that, so I'm sure your hair will better in a few days. Plus, I had no LHC knowledge at the time of how to keep hair healthy and I managed to get it back to a good state, so you should have no trouble at all with all of your knowledge!

:blossom: Feel better and I'm sure your hair looks beautiful!

[Robbin]

Loss is so very difficult. Bless you for your choice. Drastic change of this magnitude will feel unbearable at times. You have a wonderful community of caring people on your side... be patient and gentle with yourself as you adjust.

[-simply Venus-]

I'm going to cry! You can't! D; When your done with school, you should go back. >.<

But I have a question, how did you keep your hair purple? Did you bleach the roots? Or is your hair light enough to just dye it like that?

But I'm so sorry you had to go through with it. =[

[Canarygirl]

Someone I trust once said to me (during a rough patch),

"Things always work out for the best."

I had a hard time believing it at the time, but you know, it turned out to be true!

Good luck to you. :)

[Demetrue]

Just keep oiling and conditioning and babying your tresses and I am sure the beautiful shine will re-emerge. And stock up on pretty purple hairtoys!

[egreenleaf]

This is bizarre. I go to law school and they do not have stipulations about our hair.....

[Squeaky]

I'm so sorry you had to give up your beautiful purple! :-( But consider yourself lucky, since junior high I've wanted purple hair but my one attempt in college failed miserably. Now as a massage therapist working for someone else I can't do a darn thing about it. But hey, your hair is still a lot longer than mine so :p! Hehe. Good luck with school!

[walterSCAN]

I am so, so sorry!! I feel so awful for you... It's hard to even express it, which is bizarre of me considering I don't really know you...

I felt the same back in high school when my mother revoked my permission to have dark brown hair and forced me to a salon to have my natural (and terribly unflattering) color dyed back in. I had to help the woman doing it to hold the foils... :cry: It's so awful to have to lose something you love about yourself because someone else doesn't like it.

::hugs:: X6000

Hopefully when you are done with school you will find a job that doesn't care what you do with your hair!

::wishes incredibly fast-growing hair at you::

[MoonMaiden90]

That's too bad! Your purple hair was so beautiful! I don't understand why schools think they can do this sort of thing... If you're paying them so much money so they can provide a service (yes a service, they, like doctors, are not gods!) they shouldn't have a right to govern your physical appearance.

[Zindell]

It would be wonderful if over here in the US we could finally lose our ideas of what is proper and normal and stop trying to make people fit that mold. But unforunately, I'm not sure that will happen for a long time. Too many people fall in line and follow the mainstream.

That aside, I don't think there's an actual law that says you have to do anything that a school tells you to. However, the general rule is that a private school (meaning one that doesn't receive state or federal funding, but is funded purely by student tuition and donations from citizens) can have any requirements it wants of its students. Sometimes they have dress codes, if it is a religious school they might require theology classes, things like that.

Generally speaking, public schools do not have such things. Just basic dress codes and course requirements This isn't always the case, especially when it comes to public elementary and high schools. Some of them do have strict dress codes that involve hair styling and color, especially on boys. The college level is typically more relaxed, but I'm sure it does happen.

I assume that Dimentia is going to a private school, and therefore they can demand a dress code, which includes the hair. It may not be fair, but unfortunately it's the way things will likely stay.

I understand. Thanks for the answer. :)



I believe someone once took a case to the supreme court reguarding hair color or length as part of a dress code, and the court basically told them not to bring such trivial matters before them and wouldn't hear the case.

That court seems to have some common sense at least! :D

[Teufelchen]

Hi Dimentia,
I fell so sorry for that.
I can just give you a huge hug over the screen. :grouphug: :flower:
I'm sure you will still look god. If you wear up your tresses everyday, they will even get less damage and so they will look even more awesome. Perhaps you can get back to purple after finishing school.
I'm with you
Love,
Teufelchen

[TiaKitty]

Dementia! I know what we can do... after you are done with school and I have finished my schooling, we should start our own coding and billing company and only allow people with colorful, long hair to work for us! LOL! Teasing, of course...

I'm sad to see your purple locks go, but to me, you'll always be the girl with the purple hair, no matter what I see in photos...

[Armelle]

I know of schools that do this kind of thing. I guess we do what we have to when the economy sucks. :(
Lots of hugs!
:flower:

[WritingPrincess]

I seem to be late to the funeral. Anyway, I'm sorry you had to give up your purple hair, Dementia. I've admired it for a long time. I would never have the guts to go entirely purple, but I've toyed for a long time with the idea of purpling my ends. Congratulations on getting accepted to the school, and I wish you all the best.

[Darkhorse1]

That's such a shame. It's gorgeous.

If the color is permanent, try doing a test strand/section with different products. Though, with something like that, you may need a good colorist to just pull the purple off, and then you will be back to you natural color?

Best of luck!!

[StephanieB]

Oh, Dementia, honey, I'm so sorry for your angst. I feel your pain.


To clarify some things I've read in this thread:

Yes, in the USA, some schools can mandate hair color... and to a lesser extent length and hair style. Yes, some employers can do the same. And yes, while it's often arguable in a higher Court of law - (1) there's no guarantee that you will win such a case, given precedent or lack thereof, and (2) it's very costly to pursue such a legal battle... and even if you 'win' your case, you often find yourself 'black-balled' in your profession.

When I went to school (1979-1981) at Hahnemann University Hospital | College of Allied Health Professions you could not have hair any color that was "not a natural hair color". That didn't mean you couldn't have dyed hair... but it had to be a shade of blonde, red, brown, or black (or silver, gray, or white - and only if you'd grayed naturally or due to medication or disease). Back then, you also had to have hair that could not touch the collar of your white uniforms - and IIRC it had to fit underneath your nursing cap. And even though I've been retired for some time, I'm pretty sure that no hospital will hire you (in a professional capacity with any interaction with patients) if your hair isn't reasonably short and/or put up or pulled back, and of a natural hair color, even these days. Some professional business careers are also the same... although some might not care so much about length or up-styles.

[Dementia1013]

Thank you so much everyone for your kind words and sympathies.

StephanieB - It's still the same. While I'm attending class, my hair cannot touch my collar. I don't have to cut it, but it must be pulled up and out of the way. I've already started the 'wear your hair up everyday' challenge, so I'm just going to use this as an excuse to have gorgeous updos everyday while my natural hair grows in. :) I don't know what I would have done if they insisted that I cut my hair.... I'd like to say that I would just not attend, but I would have my family to think about and they come before my vanity, so I probably would humble myself and cut my locks off. *shudders*

My hair looks better up now anyway, because of the condition that it's in. I'm still looking for my camera... I don't know what my handsome man did with it, it's not where I usually put it, so i'm at a total loss right now. I WILL take pictures though, as soon as I can.

[StephanieB]

(((Dementia)))

I understand.

Well, you had it "your way" (purple) for a long time; 12 years is a long time. A lot of people have never had that opportunity... or haven't taken it when they could.

[halo_tightens]

I'm still looking for my camera... I don't know what my handsome man did with it, it's not where I usually put it, so i'm at a total loss right now. I WILL take pictures though, as soon as I can.

Yes, please!

I've been dying to see your new look, if for no other reason than to be able to reassure you that it's not half so bad as you've feared. :grouphug:

[Gypsy]

I have to admit, I'm curious to see how it turned out!
I bet it's still lovely, just a different color lovely!:)

[saskia_madding]

Colour me curious as well. Every time I see your XBL avatar (with now brown hair), it makes me curiouser and curiouser. :)

[Dementia1013]

Okay, I finally found my camera. here are the long awaited 'after' pics.

Here you can see how much damage I have now. :(
I'm baby-ing my hair like crazy now, and wear it up everyday except for when it's drying. It's nowhere near as shiny anymore, and I S&D nearly every night. :(

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc224/Dementia1013/IMG_1172.jpg

Here is how my basic dutch braid looks now. You can see how much taper I have and how thick my braid will eventually be now that I'm going to allow my natural hair to grow in.

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc224/Dementia1013/IMG_1173.jpg

So honest opinions please. I know obviously that my hair looks better in updos, but the way it looks when down just brings tears to my eyes. :(

Sorry the pics took so long. I literally tore my living room apart looking for my camera when it was shoved in a box from christmas. :doh:

[RedButterfly]

Hi Dementia,

Sorry to hear about the forced color change. That must have been a tough decision for you since the purple was such a pretty color and felt like part of your personality.

I think the new hair color is a lovely shade of brown. It looks good both down and in the braid in the photos that you posted. It looks shiny and healthy. I would never know that you had removed color and dyed it.

Remember too that you still have royal tresses - royal brunette tresses.

[sneakybea]

Dementia---
I'm so sorry you had to give up your purple tresses. However, I really like this color, too. It looks particularly pretty in the braided picture; very shiny, and looks great against the hot pink!

[Arctic]

The colour looks lovely!!! I think your braid taper is quiite normal, if you compare it to other peoples braids. Those whose braid doesn't taper are quite few! The down photo does look a bit dry from BSL down, but hey you have the best wisdom on your fingertips right here at LHC and I am sure with time and continuing your pampering, and trimming regularly, it will be better soon! If you know how much your hair grows in a month, maybe Nightshade's method would work for you?

I'm sorry you had to give up your chosen colour but also congratulations on getting to the school!

[little_acorn]

The colour looks lovely!!! I think your braid taper is quiite normal, if you compare it to other peoples braids. Those whose braid doesn't taper are quite few! The down photo does look a bit dry from BSL down, but hey you have the best wisdom on your fingertips right here at LHC and I am sure with time and continuing your pampering, and trimming regularly, it will be better soon! If you know how much your hair grows in a month, maybe Nightshade's method would work for you?

I'm sorry you had to give up your chosen colour but also congratulations on getting to the school!

What she said :flower:

I think it looks fine down and some babying will bring it back to its former glory soon

[Gypsy]

Okay, I finally found my camera. here are the long awaited 'after' pics.

Here you can see how much damage I have now. :(
I'm baby-ing my hair like crazy now, and wear it up everyday except for when it's drying. It's nowhere near as shiny anymore, and I S&D nearly every night. :(

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc224/Dementia1013/IMG_1172.jpg

Here is how my basic dutch braid looks now. You can see how much taper I have and how thick my braid will eventually be now that I'm going to allow my natural hair to grow in.

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc224/Dementia1013/IMG_1173.jpg

So honest opinions please. I know obviously that my hair looks better in updos, but the way it looks when down just brings tears to my eyes. :(

Sorry the pics took so long. I literally tore my living room apart looking for my camera when it was shoved in a box from christmas. :doh:

Well, I actually love the color. I love how it has rich highlights and doesn't look flat which can happen when doing a dark color.
Honestly, yes, I can see the damage but really, it doesn't look like anything you can't handle and correct. It's well within your knowledge to take care of this and get things back to a more acceptable condition for you.
And now you have us drooling over your dark hair just like the purple!:D

[Melisande]

I always loved and admired your purple hair, and I'm very sorry you had to part with it. But I think you made the right decision, and you can still express your personality in other purple ways ;-)

I think your hair looks good. I can see it's not in optimal condition in the lower third, but I expect that it will soon recover. The taper looks completely normal. I guess you are more critical of your hair than others are, that's how we are ;-) but I really think your hair looks fine, shiny, and the color is very rich, nice and interesting. SMTs and TLC will soon bring the lower part of your hair up to the standards of the rest.

I wish you all the best for your professional future! And your hair is still beautiful and special and unique.

[Fiferstone]

Hi Dementia: I think the color is lovely, and its very shiny, especially in the braid pic. I can see what you mean about the length being a bit more dry and fragile, but it's really not noticeable, and it definitely does not look like the 'fried hair' you see on people who are addicted to their flatiron :). I think it looks lovely.

[Madame J]

Maybe I'm biased, but I'm rather partial to the color :p.

Yeah, your hair does look a little fuzzy in the down picture, but I know mine does, too, and it's all virgin hair. Your braid looks amazing. It looks like if you maintain at this length for a while, you'll thicken up your braid easily.

[natt i nord]

Dementia, I'm sorry you had to change your haircolor. I always loved your purple. But this new darkbrown looks very good as well, I think :)

I'm sure you can get your shine back - I dyed chemical for years too and with the right treatment you'll get your shine back. My hair looked similar to yours now when I stopped dying in September 2008 and it really got better.

And I love how your dutch braid looks like, I completely don't care that it's getting thinner to the ends. My braid does that too, that's normal :)

[Sissy]

didn't read the whole thread but just wanted to say sorry you have to lose the color you love... :(

[Loviatar]

I said this in your photo album, hon, but I still see a purplish sheen on your dark hair. They didn't totally steal your royalty. ;)

The taper is completely normal, honest, and the damage is only near the ends. You know how to treat your hair - you'll be back to your healthy self in no time at all.

Your braid is like a club! It's so shiny and thick. Yes, there is taper, but as I said, it's normal taper.

:grouphug:

[Hana]

Even though you had to sacrifice your original purple, your hair still looks remarkably healthier than you think it does. Obviously, it will take your hair a while to achieve what you were used to, but thats natural. It'll just take a little time. The fact your hair is still so long is testament to how strong it still is!

Keep up the DT's and careful maintenance, and chin up! It's still beautiful! Promise.

[Peter]

I'm really sorry you had to do this. :( You know, there is some damage and from about BSL down it's not as shiny as the rest. That's my honest opinion when seeing your picture, but like everyone else has said, you know how to baby your hair. Take another picture in a month or two and I bet you'll be surprised at the difference.

By the way, I feel it necessary to point it that your braid doesn't taper much more than in your albums, before you had to get rid of the purple. See here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3125&pictureid=42685) and here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3125&pictureid=43615). I don't see a difference between then and now and I think your braid is beautiful the way it is. :flower:

[TiaKitty]

I think the damage definately looks like you can baby it and get it back to normal in no time! Your taper looks great to me. I don't think it's unusual looking.

[time_on_fire]

I'm still jealous of your hair.

[SurprisingWoman]

I am so sorry. I have wanted a purple streak in my hair for the longest time but I didn't know how it would look as it faded and I don't know I would want one forever.

When I colored my hair it took a while to start feeling "good" again. I am sure with some DT's and things you will be back to where you are happier with it in no time.

Your hair is beautiful and still amazing. I think it's lovely.

[Dementia1013]

Thank you all so much for your support. :o
This has been an extremely difficult time for me, and all of you being so nice and sympathetic really touches my heart. I've decided that even after my school I'm not going to dye my hair back to purple. The Damage BSL down is a real 'eye opener' for me, and true it's not as bad as it could have been, it's still the most damaged my hair has EVER been my entire life. I'm just going to pamper and spoil my hair then embrace my silvers when they come streaking in. :)

Again, than you all so so much. I feel like I have so many friends on here.:D:wail:

[Fractalsofhair]

Your hair does look a lot less shiny from shoulder/BSL length down(Shoulder-BSL is kinda iffy, but after BSL, it gets really odd looking). But honestly, I've seen way worse. It doesn't look THAT damaged, just not as amazing as it did before.

ETA-It still looks awesome.

[halo_tightens]

I agree with the general consensus here! Sure, there's some damage, but you know what to do! Lots of us originally came to the LHC with lots more damage than that, and we're coming right along!

If I hadn't seen the purple, I would think that your new color is amazing. It IS really pretty; it's just hard to live up to purple, come on! That brown has some big shoes to fill, lol.

I really do believe that it'll be fine after a little time and TLC. Big hugs to you! :grouphug:

[Wicked Princess]

Ah! I didn't realize you had given us updates. :o

I actually really, really like your new, more natural color! :flower: I've seen some of the pictures in your album and know you already have quite a repertoire of updos at your disposal.

I was in a similar situation to you...I didn't think that the bottom half of my hair could ever look nice again, even though I only dyed it twice. But all the advice I've accumulated from the LHC has really rehabilitated my hair. And if someone as hopeless as me could do it...then you certainly can. :D

[Teufelchen]

Hi Dimentia,
the taper you have is totally normal. We all have it.
Your hair does look a little bit more damaged now, but I am sure you can deal with it.
Enjoy the new challenge and make the best out of it.
Love,
Teufelchen

[Sisko]

Dementia, I like your new colour. The purple was striking, but you will have less dye upkeep now that you're letting your natural colour grow in.

As for the damage, know that your hair past BSL looks like my all virgin, non-damaged hair on a dry day. :p Moisture treatments ahead for you!

[Rentlle]

oooh, that's sooo sad!!
please dye it back when finnished school :)
i would go for black, because it's a darker colour then purple, it should cover it easily :)

[Xandergrammy]

Your hair still looks beautiful! I know it's hard to get used to the color, but it's still lovely hair. And your braid is very impressive! :flowers:

[restourceful]

I'm just going to pamper and spoil my hair then embrace my silvers when they come streaking in. :)


And then, Dementia, we Renegrays will be here and ready for you to join our party! Until then, your brown looks great. And who knows, maybe you'll want to be a Renegray with a purple streak!;):cool:

[rach]

In time you can get the condition back into it. Over this year i've managed to so, so there is hope.
hold in there and the thickness you have, even if it's a pain to do S&D on, looks fantastic in braid form.

[Wavelength]

Just repeating what everyone's already said. The damage doesn't really look too bad, and I'm sure it's correctable if you baby your hair for a little while. The taper looks pretty normal to me. The new colour actually looks great! It's not as pretty as the purple, true, but it looks shiny and very natural, not flat at all. If you'd showed me that pic and said that was your virgin hair before you coloured it purple, I would've believed you.

We all mourn the loss of your royal tresses with you, but your new look is better than you think. The Queen is dead, long live the Queen! :flowers:

[Shermie Girl]

I am chiming in here, too. Your new hair looks lovely. Yes, you have a little work to do to bring back it's condition but that is something that you can do in time. It still looks thick and shiny and full and your braid is wonderfully thick with a natural, normal taper. :D

We are always our own harshest critic and we often have trouble seeing in our own mirror what others see. :flower:

[Elphie]

Awww, I think your hair still looks beautiful, I'm just sorry for all the pain you've had to go through and the loss of something you cherished.

[shadowclaw]

Dementia, your hair is still as lovely as before, even though it's now brown. I like the color variations (or perhaps it's just the way the light is hitting it in spots). The bottom does look a bit dry, but dryness is easy to conquer! Like everyone else has said, you know how to baby your hair back to optimum health.

If you aren't vegan, I recommend trying a henna 'n placenta packet. They aren't for everyone, but I am currently trying them out, and they make for a wonderfully creamy and fantastic SMT, and protein tends to be good for bleach/color damaged hair.

[Demetrue]

Phew - it still looks long and beautiful (I was worried)! Keep babying it and it will be perfectly fine!