Back in the states

We had the absolute best time in Mont Tremblant, Quebec last week. It has always been my favorite vacation spot, so I was thrilled to be returning after seven years.

The kids had the best time. They kayaked, paddle boarded, swam in a freshwater lake, and tried a variety of new foods. It was awesome.

With my son's life threatening allergies (peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, legumes), and my daughter's dairy restrictions (and allergy to bananas, pineapple and latex) it's always a bit stressful when we go someplace new. But with a supportive family, it can be done.

My husband's uncle, is an incredible cook. Everything he creates tastes like a bit of heaven. I will forever be grateful and thankful for him in our lives, not only for his sincere kindness, humor and genuine, welcoming behavior, but also for making an effort to make sure my children felt included when it came time to meals. Not many people have the patience and skill to plan a dinner for a family with food restrictions and allergies, but he took on the challenge and won. I highly recommend checking out his page, as it has quite a few recipes and talks about his love of cooking and life. Trailside Larder Honestly, he inspires me to continue trying new recipes.

Aftercare

I swear by Pureology products. They are the absolute best in keeping my hair soft and healthy. Given how much I've dyed my hair in the past two years, I can attest that Pureology works. At least for me, their products work.

A secret to maintaining my hair's softness and health, along with using Pureology products (including their conditioner), is the occasional pre-shower hair routine I do as part of my "first time washing my hair after dying my hair."

It's super easy, cheap, and easy to find. What is it? Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. No joke, it's the best. I also use this stuff in my homemade night cream. But right now we are talking about hair care.

Now I know what most of you are thinking. It hasn't even been a week, and I'm already washing my hair after a dye and bleach treatment? Crazy! Well, here's the thing: I've been working out six days a week, so trust me, my hair needs to be washed.

As Vida Boheme from 'To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything' once said, "I want you to believe in yourself, imagine good things and moisturize, I cannot stress this enough." Wiser words have never been spoken.

The first step to moisturizing your dry hair using coconut oil (Extra virgin. Don't go cheap and buy something else!) is to take a handful of it and comb it through your hair using your fingers. Since the bleach didn't touch the top of my head, I only put the coconut oil from ear-level and down to the ends of my hair.

Now wait about 10 minutes before hopping into the shower. Things to do in ten minutes? Call your representative about the state of the US and demand a change. Find your representative Trump is destroying this country one piece at a time. It can be overwhelming to watch the news, but trust me, sitting down and doing nothing is NOT the right thing to do. If you don't want to speak to a human, then send out an email to them, or a tweet. Honestly, this day and age there are countless ways to be active. If you aren't outraged, you aren't paying attention. And if you are choosing not to pay attention, wake the fuck up.

10 minutes passed? Yay. Now hop in the shower, grab your favorite sulfate-free shampoo (I've already mentioned my fave: Pureology) and wash the coconut oil out. There is no need to add conditioner at this point as that'll be overkill.

Once it's all washed out, finish your shower, dry your hair (towel, hair dryer, etc. whatever you usually use) and Voila! You're all set with soft, healthy hair :)

You're welcome.

Blue out

Day 1 can be found here: Day 1 http://julieta-blog.blogspot.com/2018/07/changing-colors-ie-memoir-of-removing.html

The saga continues.

Day 2:

After Color Oops transitioned my hair from blue to green, I decided to try eliminating the green through the magic of Dawn Dish Soap & Baking Soda.

The mixture consisted of Dawn, baking soda, regular shampoo and a few drops of tea tree oil. Once I covered my green hair with it, I covered it in plastic and waited 20 minutes.

The results? Absolutely nothing. It was a complete waste of time.

So after that, I decided to pick up some bleach. I mean, at this point, why the hell not? It's already green. So I used a paintbrush and painted my green strands with the bleach. After twenty minutes, I took a shower, washed the bleach out with regular shampoo and conditioner, and then checked out the results:

Boom. Much better. There were still some light green strands, but the majority was a light brown or blonde. So now it was time to do something with the top of my hair. My roots were pathetic.

Using Feria's hi-lift blonde, I coated the top of my head first and, after ten minutes, added the dye to the rest of my hair. Twenty more minutes later, it was time to wash it all out and check out the results:

It's getting there. My final step was using the left over bleach powder I had. I ran my fingers through my hair from my roots downward with the bleach in hopes of lightning it up a bit more. 10 minutes later, I washed it out, conditioned the hell out of it, blow dried it, and checked out the results.

Honestly, I think this is as blonde as it is going to yet without going to a professional. But I like it! It isn't my original plan of being a platinum blonde, but it's a fun summer 'do and that's really what it's all about :)

changing colors (i.e. Memoir of Removing the Blue from my Hair)

This weekend we are driving up north to Canada. I can't wait. I haven't been back there in the past seven years, can you believe it? I'm really looking forward to it.

One thing I really want to do before arriving in Quebec is to re-color my hair. The color I want? Platinum Blonde. Also known as "ice blonde." But I did the research...blue is a bitch a remove from your hair. Who knew? I certainly didn't.

I spoke to three different stylists and they all told me that the process would take between 4-6 hours, that I might need to have two sessions, and that it would be at least $300.

Given that I am not a Kardashian, Jenner, or Paris Hilton, I sat there defeated.

I decided I would go back to my red-purple combo. That would be okay, right? SIGH :(

When I told a co-worker my new plan, she gave me the pep talk I needed to just try taking the blue out myself. And really, why not? I have enough coconut oil to heal my hair if the color removal starts any damage...

Part 1: Color Oops.

As you can see, this product is meant to remove hair dye. Now I was specifically looking for "Splat Color Hair Remover" because I have been using Color Splat to color my hair. But guess what? All the places in my area that sell Color Splat, do NOT sell the Splat Color Hair Remover product. Go figure.

So I tried Color Oops. FYI, it smells like Nair. If you like that stuff, you'll love this. If you gag over the smell of Nair, well, heads up. Another FYI: the bottle squirts insanely easy once you cut it. OMG, the liquid shot out like a bullet train once the scissors finished cutting the tip of the applicator. It hit my bathroom wall and ricocheted straight to me! Luckily, I have pretty quick blinking skills and saved my eye from pain and potential blindness. Go me! So, yeah, heed the warning.

After keeping it in my hair for the designated time, and then rinsing it for 20 minutes and repeating the steps again and again, I finally added some conditioner, washed and dried my hair and...:

Definite progress.

I'm going to let my hair rest for a bit, and then tomorrow morning I am going to try the "Dawn Dish Soap + Baking Soda" mix. Wish me luck!