Happy Friday, my friends!
I’m off to the salon later this afternoon to get my hair color touched up (hence the corny post title). Can you believe it’s been 6 weeks since I went red?! (I feel like it’s not fair to call myself a redhead since it’s not my natural color… will I get over this? Would I offend natural redheads by doing so? I’m probably over-thinking this, right?)
(hair is clipped back and unset because obviously, why bother when I’m going to the salon)
I’m really impressed at how well the color has lasted, given how we all know that red is the color quickest to fade. Of course my roots are getting silly, as you can see below, but the color is really strong still! Not as lustrous, but hardly horrifyingly faded. And that’s what I was really worried about… pretty much my primary worry about going red. I’ve seen so much badly-faded red that I was genuinely concerned that mine would do that really fast. Thankfully it hasn’t!
It’s turning out that 6 weeks out is the perfect time for me to get it all refreshed. My stylist had said I might want to come in after 2 or 3 weeks to get the color toned if I found it was fading quickly, but I never had to!
No secrets to what I’m doing, either… this has been my red care routine:
- Since I set my hair regularly, I only wash it once a week. For real. It should be said that if I didn’t set my hair, I think once a week would be tough for me as my hair tends to get oily, but it’s much easier to deal with when you do vintage hairstyles. When my hair is just left normal, it pretty much looks like crap after 3 days unwashed. Only exception was this week since I’m getting it colored, I washed it twice so it wouldn’t be dirty.
- When I do wash my hair, I wash it in cold water. I keep it up in a clip while I’m showering, and wash it last. When I’m ready to wash it, I switch the water to cold (and try to keep as much as my body away from the spray, although I imagine this will be less than peachy in winter).
- I use a UV-protecting hairspray. L’Oreal Elnett Super Strong with UV protector… smells like grandmas but the unscented one doesn’t have a UV filter so I suck it up and just spritz my perfume after.
- I use a leave-in conditioner after I wash my hair. There’s just a bajillion of them, but I use the one my stylist recommends and hey, working for me so far! I use It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In. It’s a small bottle but I think it’s going to last quite some time. (No affiliation with Ulta btw)
Really, that’s it. That’s all I changed in my routine! ‘They’ say you can wash your hair after it’s colored after 48 hours, but I waited 3 days just for good measure. Figured it couldn’t hurt, right?
So let’s talk about my outfit for a minute! I keep meaning to do more outfit posts that aren’t just showing off something I’ve newly made, so here’s one for you. 🙂 This spring, I droned on in my Dublin outfits post about how much I love Cath Kidston, and I’m sporting two Cath Kidston items today!
This dress is one of my absolute favorites, except I ordered it a size too big last year (in the whole what-the-hell-size-am-I-really stage). I haven’t been able to psych myself up to unpick the bodice lining, take out the invisible size zipper and take it in, so I haven’t worn it a lot. Today I realized hello, immediate solution? Big wide belt.
I’m not usually one for really wide belts (I actually try this belt on all the time and think ‘ehhh’), although some vintage gals rock this look frequently and I always think it looks amazing on them. I can’t argue that it was definitely the right thing to make this dress work!
The second Cath Kidston item is my purse, which I bought last year in Cardiff. (That was the first CK store I visited in-person and I nearly lost my mind. I’m not sure what I’ll do when someday I eventually get to visit the flagship store in London. I might explode.)
I believe it’s made an appearance on the blog before, and certainly on Instagram. It zips at the top, it’s waterproof, it’s roomy, it’s polka dots on one of my favorite colors, kelly green. What more could I want? I love this style so much that I bought another in Dublin this year!
The accessories and bolero I built around the dress and purse. In fact, most things don’t technically match—what looks like red in the dress is pink (and my bangles, earrings and nails are various shades of red), and there’s no bright greens in the dress. I pulled in orange (also not in the dress) in my bangles, tying that in with my hair and orange-red Besame lipstick.
I like a challenge sometimes in putting together a cohesive outfit even if some of the elements don’t technically jive! I suspect the boho side of me will be doing that a lot this fall and winter.
The polka dot manicure happened yesterday and though it was a bit of a pain to do, I’m absolutely loving it! I’m channeling Jane and in a polka dot mood big time, but sadly there’s not nearly enough of that in my closet.
Hmmmm… maybe it’ll be one of my fall goals to correct that polka dot problem! 😉
Well, I’m off to the salon! Stepping out with one foot in summer, and one in fall. Have a wonderful (long, if you’re in the U.S.) weekend!
outfit details
dress – Cath Kidston
purse – Cath Kidston
bolero – knit by me
shoes – courtesy of Sven Clogs
1940s cherries necklace – Urban Recycle
Bakelite earrings and bangles – misc.
silk hair scarf – Retro 101 in St. Louis
Carla says
I can’t get over how pretty you look in green! And oh man, I think I need a Cath Kidson bird dress, oh no I need one.
I love love your whole ensamble! Have a great time at the salon.
Stephanie says
So cute! That bolero is fabulous with this dress! (And with everything else you’ve worn it with. Must knit green bolero asap!)
Anupa Gabriele says
Great! Really! Great!
Cherry Darling says
I love seeing your outfits that have your knitting in them. That is such a lovely bolero and you style it so well.
Knitting in Pearls
Béa says
Oh my stars! I’m in love with your polka dot nails!
Have you heard about the ginger discount card?!
http://www.scotsman.com/news/odd/scot-cashes-in-with-fake-ginger-discount-card-1-3522272
Rochelle New says
I think you make a brilliant redhead and it’s not about what your natural color is, but what color makes you feel the most natural! I know a natural redhead who “feels” most like a blonde and a brunette who swears she should have been born with pink hair lol. I’ve been almost every color under the sun but I don’t feel like myself unless my hair is red. …even though my natural color is dark ash brown. You get the idea. You call yourself a redhead if that’s how you feel!
p.s. super cute outfit as per usual 🙂
Julie says
As a redhead, well I guess kinda more pink lately I think you can be/claim any colour that makes you happy.
ps dry shampoo is also your friend
Jessica Cangiano says
You will, it just takes a while. I’d say I thought of myself as redhead after about the first two years of sporting crimson locks all the time. Interestingly, when I veered off the ginger path every now and then after that, I would feel like I was actually a redhead who coloured their hair another shade, almost entirely forgetting that my natural colour was a woefully unattractive mousy brown.
Love everything about this wonderfully fun outfit – right down to your fabulous polka dot nails.
♥ Jessica
Frances says
Oh goodness gracious, I love that dress. The skirt! The birds! And I think with the wide belt I would never have guessed that it isn’t really your size. You look absolutely fantastic.
Marina says
I have been a chosen redhead for almost 30 years. Sometimes purple, sometimes pink, sometimes grey, most of the time now, grey. Red suits me, my skin tone, and temperament. Don’t let anyone tell you that you too old to have whatever color hair you wish. Be whoever you feel you are. The only one who knows you aren’t a born redhead is you. (Unless you are like me and allow a racing stripe along your scalp.
Miss J says
I agree with you Tasha, polka dots are great.
I think your bolero is lovely, great choice of colour.
Thanks for the post,
Best,
Miss J
Helen Mae says
Well I wish my hair looked that good unset!
Cathy Brooks says
What a fun post!! Love the whole outfit, purse and jewelry especially. Thanks so much for sharing it all with us – Happy Labor Day!
Lynne says
Splendid outfit Tasha! Love those accessories.
Since my hair grows pretty fast, my colorist helped me out by telling me to do my roots using a root touch up kit by Clairol. It has worked great and saved me time and money. Maybe it would work for you too.
Silver Cat Tea Party says
How cute is your Cath Kidston dress!!! I love that it’s textured. It looks great on you. From the pics I can’t tell it’s a size too big at all. I love your green bolero too! <3 I'm looking forward to seeing more of your looks and more of you knitting and sewing projects in the future!
jessyka says
I just love your dress.. The colors are perfect..