Day 76: BBCTG Task 3 (Radical Hair Experimentation)

On Tuesday I tried Yoga without mirrors, finding the experience to be both lovely and funny.  On Wednesday I enjoyed an evening with zero wedding planning (one of many that I enjoy each week).  Today, I tackled my third task (out of 37) from The Knot's Bridal Beauty: Countdown to Gorgeous.   Here were my instructions:

"Want to grow out your hair or try a new color or cut?  Talk to your stylist and start experimenting now."

This one proved to be a challenge.  First of all, I wasn't quite sure I wanted to do ANYTHING new with my hair.  This is what my hair looked like (on a good day) before I began my year with out mirrors.

FYI, I am the chic.  The dude is my fiancé, Michael.

This is a typical length for me, though it's been much shorter and much longer at different times in my adult life.  You're looking at my natural color and texture, enhanced a bit from a professional blowdry + shot of hairspray.  And, you know what?  I like my hair!  Other than times when I've messed with it in a stupid way (home hair-coloring anybody?), I haven't had many reasons to complain.  So... why start "experimenting" just because The Knot say's it's time to try something new?

And then I thought about it a bit more, and realized that I've really missed the small ways I typically experiment with my hair on a weekly basis.  As a shower-at-night kind of gal, I've typically woken up in the morning, peered into my bathroom mirror, assessed the state of affairs, and decided at that time whether it would be a hair-up day, a hair-down day, a messy bed-head day, a sleek and smooth day, or some other variation in styling.

My hair-styling habits have been based on this pattern of visual assessment.  Now that I can't see myself I've become fairly impotent with brush, dryer, and my various hair-gooks.  And so, this is what my hair probably looks on 95% of days since the project started.

If you're wondering, YES.  I drink wine constantly.
It helps me cope with the anxiety of not knowing
whether my ponytail is smooth or bumpy.

There's nothing wrong with this look.  I like it.  Simple and fast.  Yet, I've missed the "who knows what it'll look like today!" spontaneity.   Hairstyling (or, more accurately, lack thereof) has been one of the more mood-dampening parts of this project.

And so today's assigned task became more intriguing.  How could I experiment with my hair in a way that actually gave me some creative pleasure, without doing anything stupid or expensive?  I was wary to make my hair-styling situation any more complicated or mysterious, so getting new haircut seemed foolhardy.  New hair color was also axed, since I like my natural color and am not interested in making a drastic change just to have something to write about.  Simply styling my hair differently (or at all!) seemed promising, but sadly lacked the potential of enjoying my creative expression.  I was stumped.  

And then a friend suggested that I "try one of those online makeover websites."  AHA!  A quick google search landed me on www.taaz.com, and within minutes I had uploaded my plain ponytail photo and was experimenting away!  Risk: low.  Creativity: high!  Here are a few or my favorites, inspired by The Knot's suggestions.

1) "grow out your hair"

Okay, yeah.. you can't see how long it is, but trust me - it's LONG! 

Yeah, I could grow it out.  OR, I could just morph Ashley Tisdale's hair onto my face!  Oooh la la luscious!

2) "try a new color"

Ummm... I kind of love it!

I've always thought of myself as having a stereotypical fiesty redhead's personality.  Thanks to Tila Tequila (yes, you read that right), I got to see for myself!

3) "or cut"

Can I add the bangs, but keep my length?  Inspired...

Bangs!  Bob!  Platinum!  Anna Faris, you look good on me.

Yep, this was completely awesome.  Not only did I get a huge endorphin rush from all my creativity, but I surprised myself by developing a girl-crush on myself with Tila Tequila's coppery shade.  I decided to take her out on a date, so I added a dose of "tasteful yet sexy" makeup for a bit of pizazz.   What do you think??

Holy moly, THIS IS REALLY FUN! 

In closing, this was incredibly fun, and also informative and inspiring!  I especially loved how this activity brought out my creativity and self expression without even a blip of negative body talk.  I'm pretty sure I'll come back to www.taaz.com for a more serious stab when planning for bridal hair styles and makeup.   Fantastic!

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