Do blondes have more fun?

Doubt it.

But, I sure did break in my new ‘do this past Friday with a rollicking night at Bouchon‘s 2nd Year Birthday (congrats!) and a wildly embarrassing yet deliriously fun nightcap at Bar.sito (Will- you’re a Ciroc-pouring genius devil). Several people thought it was a wig, a few didn’t recognize me, and there was a lot of cheeky “did you change you hair?” Aye, hadn’t heard that one yet!

As far as hair changes, I’ve done highlights, a slow increase to honey blonde ages ago, blue ombré, white sectioning, soft caramel ombré, jet black, lavender streaks, and sea-foam tips…but never had I undergone such a hair transformation as I did this past Thursday. It takes a lot for me to trust someone with my tresses. That isn’t to say I’ve gone the cheap do-it-yourself route with sad results or let co-pupils at the Gary Manuel Aveda Institute experiment on me during my time there.

For this transformation, however, I knew I needed some serious skill on my side to go from dark, dark brown to a pale, ice blonde into a warm dove gray. Of course, I went to Ryan at The Dollhouse.

I’ve never experienced the feeling of bleach on my scalp- but I’ll be honest, it wasn’t the most pleasurable of experiences. My pain threshold is high, so I didn’t leave the salon complaining like others about their tender, inflamed scalps- and once the bleach was rinsed I felt great. Just a word to the wise, it’s not a relax and nod off type of treatment. The Dollhouse team made every effort to ease my descent from dark, dark chocolate to orangutan (raaaanga) orange to Draco Malfoy slicked back platinum to a soft, ashy blonde. There’s still a bit of toning to do- but I’m thrilled with the overall results.

I was afraid of breakage- clumps of hair falling off as a bottle of peroxide did it’s work through my coiffure- but not only does it feel silkier than it did before it also holds curl better, has a bit of extra oomph, and I’ve now been told I look like a mermaid and/or Daenerys Targaryen (score!) more times than I can count. I’d say that’s a win. Ryan knows what he’s doing, works quickly and deftly, and knows what is and isn’t going to be achievable in a session. We’ve all seen some bad looks out there- oosh– avoid it and head somewhere trusted with expertise.

Ryan and I have continued to play around with a few colors here and there but ultimately will end up back to a soft ash gray and then let the grow-out process begin. At that time? Who knows. Maybe I’ll be ready for Ariel red.