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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at C of C chapter.

I don’t know about you but I had really strict parents. Like REALLY strict. Meaning I wasn’t allowed to dye my hair until I moved out. So what did a mature gal like myself do three days into college? I bought a box of platinum-blonde hair dye. 

I can hear the moans already. This was a very VERY bad decision. But how was I to know? I watched about three YouTube videos and was positive I was a hair color expert. 

Spoiler: I was not. 

The color I got was super yellow and dried my virgin hair out to no end! But, that wasn’t even the worst part! My hair was decently long at this point so the one box only covered the very top layer of my hair. So, not only was it gross, it was half gross which according to my math is double gross.   

Pro-Tips:

  • If you are going to dye your hair blonde, make sure you use a toner or a blue/purple conditioner.
  • MAKE SURE YOU COVER ALL OF YOUR HAIR.
  • Start at the end of your hair rather than your roots if you have natural hair!

But back to my story, in a botched blonde panic, I cut bangs. These ended up not being a terrible decision but didn’t make my hair any less screwed. 

Next, I dyed my hair dark brown in an attempt to regain some sense of normalcy. However, the brown didn’t last long before I cut 9 1/2 inches off and dyed it all black. At this point, I looked like a walking “it’s only a phase”.

I smartened up and bought two boxes of hair dye this time, but then I ran into the problem of tones. I have a very warm undertone and I dyed my hair blue-toned black. Because my tones were conflicting so much it looked extremely fake and very very very dead. 

Pro-Tip: If you have cool undertones, get a blue-toned black. If you have warm undertones, get a red or purple-toned black. 

Several months later my hair had somewhat grown out and faded. So, what did I do? Continue to take care of my hair and not dye it again Nope. I Kool-aid died it red. The DAY BEFORE Thanksgiving. My grandma was very proud when I showed up for dinner. I actually really liked my hair fire truck red but beware because once you go red, you never go back. It took about a year to really get all of the color out. 

I did once decide to play around in with temporary color. I went blue, pink, purple, green, in a matter of months. If you are anything like me then temporary color is the way to go. I can never make up my mind and this lets me live my best life every day and for every mood. 

Otherwise, GO WILD!

Tori McDowell

C of C '21

Originally a San Diego desert native but quickly found haven in little Summerville, SC. I am a Junior at the College of Charleston ( I didn’t have to frolic too far from home for college), I am double majoring in Creative Writing and Dance. I love sliding on hardwood in socks, eating far too much bread, turning in assignments at the last minute- and most of all I love Jesus.Some might call me a writer. I prefer the term professional word vomiter. I am constantly captivated the ability of aesthetics to capture emotional validity. Movement and syllables are so fundamentally synonymous, in my opinion; I enjoy being able to express their harmony with pencils that are mostly erasers and loose-leaf paper. (usually found at the bottom of my bag)May this be almost as great Jesus Christ Superstar and be a glimpse into a collection of 8-am classes, wobbly headstands, half memorized bible verses, and the simplicity of a girl learning to love herself with the same fondness she does walk-in closets and water slides.
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