So My hair is purple - what of it?

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Dear most wonderful people in the world because you read MY blog, 

Small Disclaimer: It's My Birthday!!!  Read why that's awesome here.  Now because it's my birthday, I'm too lazy to write a new post, so I'm just posting a draft I had in waiting... a little ranty, but kind of à propos, as I'm currently dying my hair!

AHEM, So here's the post...

Today I'd like to discuss my hair.

You wouldn't think it would be a topic worth discussing, but everyone else seems to.  I've gotten an inkling of what it feels like to be a celebrity, where every body and their brothers think they have a right to tell you their opinion about you...  At least I don't have paparazzi following me.  (yet.)

Now, I grew up with an artist aunt who was allergic to hair dye and could only use one product, which came in  very limited colours, so her hair was bright red for years. I always thought she looked amazing, not to mention very very cool, and I thought she was fabulous.  So I guess it seems natural to me that I dye my hair all of these funky colours.

My very own hair gallery:

so right now its purple

But It has also been red:

And even every shade of pink:

Seeing as I've been doing this for about 10 years, I've pretty much gotten over the novelty, but most people still haven't.

People talk to me about my hair all the time, to the point where I wonder if they forget that I'm a real person underneath.  I'll be standing outside with friends and a stranger will come up to me and think nothing of completely interrupting our conversation to be like:

-Oh my gosh, I love your hair!
-Thank you!
-It must be a lot of work right?
-Yes, it's a lot of upkeep.
-Gosh I can't imagine!  How often do you have to do it?
-About every 2-3 weeks.
-Oh my, that's a lot of work!
-Yes, well I like it...
-Oh yeah, it looks good, but don't you ever want to try anything else?

Don't forget - this is from a stranger!  And not just one, several a day!  I want to be gracious, but it starts to get annoying after a while.  Plus, how rude is that?!

I don't go up to people and go: "Hey you!  I love your sweater!  But why don't you wear another one instead?"

The worse part is those are the nice people, some are just plain rude:
-Oh! You have Purple hair!
-Yes, indeed I do! (Look at you, being all astute!  You have a big nose... should I point that out too?)
-But why?
-Because I like it... (You f***-tard. Why don't you get your eyebrows tweezed?)
-Oh. I'd never do that.
-.... (what polite thing can you say here?)

Or:
-Is that REAL purple hair?! (no comment)

Of course, I also get many sincere compliments, but then there's also the men who gawk and the women who stare with disapproval.  Or even the people who sort-of know me, like co-workers or my neighbours, who'll give me the backhanded compliments, for instance right after a fresh colour: "Oh, now it looks really good..."  (Yes, I realize I let it go more than usual, thanks for pointing that out.)

I got so fed up with all the unwelcome feedback last year that I went back to my God given light brown:

It wasn't bad, I suppose, but it also wasn't me.  

As mentioned in my post about Nail Art, my body is just another canvas I've been given.  I've been into hair, make-up and clothes since as long as I can remember.  And I have spent many a-bored teenage evenings just playing with make-up and creating new looks from my existing closet.  (I also wasn't very rich, so believe me, being creative came in quite handy. The hippie look was in, and I made my own elephant leg jeans from a very worn pair of Levis, using the same material to patch the wholes as to widen the leg.  Man I miss those jeans, they were freaking awesome, and I don't think I even have a picture)

But I digress.

So the point to this whole post is I dye my hair purple / pink / red because I like it.  Yes it's hard work, yes it leaks, yes it doesn't always look the best when it's fading, but it's how I feel pretty, and I'm an artist, so I have every right to be eccentric!

So there!  (please don't unfollow me ;) ....)

I think I will refer all future questions from strangers to this post... they'll get the point, and it will generate traffic! ;)

PS: How To Dye Hair Purple

If you're interested, I use Manic Panic Ultra Violet semi permanent hair color.

It works best on pre-lightened hair, but beware: it leaks.

I used Fuschia Shock for a long time, it looked awesome, but the shocking part was how much it stains - Everything!  This ultra violet doesn't really stain anything, but it fades faster - I think it's a fair trade.  I also use dry shampoo to extend my wash days, which obviously helps extend the colour.

But the sky's the limit... whether you want purple hair, pink hair, red hair, blue hair or even green hair!  It's non permanent color, so what have you got to lose?!