Dye

Finally. My fifteenth birthday has arrived. The age where my parents let me dye my hair. They always say, “Rachel, you can’t dye your hair until you’re fifteen. You might end up doing something crazy like dying your hair green!” But I wasn’t the type of person who would dye their hair green. All I wanted to do was give myself some highlights! I had been watching tutorials of how to do it on the internet, and it didn’t seem hard at all. I also did some research, and most of the websites I had looked at said that you could get really good deals online. So, the day after my birthday, I bought some hair dye on the internet. It was just a simple blonde color, and it was recommended for highlighting.

It came the following week, and I decided to dye my hair on a Sunday. So I got everything set up in the bathroom, and I laid out all the products. I noticed that the instructions were in Japanese, but that didn’t matter, I knew what to do already. I started to dye my hair, and I noticed that the hair dye that came out of the tube looked really...well, weird. It looked pinkish, but maybe it was just the lighting or something. I had seen lots of videos where the hair dye looked weird, but it looked normal once everything was done. So I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and tried to focus on finishing my highlights.Soon, they were all done, and I was very excited to see what it would look like. But when I stepped out of the shower, I definitely did not have blonde highlights. I had neon pink highlights. I was in shock. I didn’t know whether to burst out laughing or start crying. It looked so terrible. Neon pink highlights. How was I ever going to live this down? Everyone was going to make fun of me! But then it dawned on me. I could just wear a hat! Not forever, but until I could convince my parents to take me to a professional. But I did have to show them. I went downstairs, and my mom absentmindedly asked me, “So, how did your highlights come — oh my goodness! Rachel, what have you done to your hair!” I explained that the instructions were in Japanese, and that I thought it would turn out fine. We agreed that I could wear a hat until she could get me an appointment with a professional. And I definitely learned my lesson, don’t buy hair dye off the internet!