is brunette the new midlife blonde?

a new midlife choice - going from blonde to bronde

As you may have noticed in my pictures from Saturday's post, I have been various shades of blonde for my entire life, and it seemed best to stay that way into midlife because the blonde bits masked any random gray hairs that popped up out of the blue. Every six weeks or so I'd take myself off to the hairdresser for a top up and trim and off I'd go again into the big wide world. But things have taken a detour into a new direction....

I think I'm getting a little darker with age (another one of the many midlife "surprises" that have come my way) and my main bugbear with blonde highlights on darker hair is that the blonde foils finish about about 1/2cm (1/4 of an inch for you American Imperialists!) on each side of my hair part line. That means that there is always a bit of a stripe from where the real colour finishes and the new colour starts. Before I've even left the salon I have 'regrowth'! If I had fluffy, wavy/curly hair (or if I used mousse to bouffe (my verb for bouffant??) my hair up) this wouldn't be a problem, but unfortunately I have dead straight hair that emphasizes this not-so-attractive GT stripe. It leaves me with a small kernel of resentment in my heart to think that I have paid good money to walk out with less than what I'd really (perhaps over-optimistically) hoped for.

doing my best to avoid the GT racing stripe

So, in my new even more frugal state of affairs (one of the side effects of leaving the full time working world behind), I have decided that it is time to ditch the bleach and head down the path of being a little more brunette and a little less blonde - I'm referring to it as "latte". I think it's the difference between highlights and low lights - where the blonde is put underneath rather than on top. That way I can have the mousiness vamped up a bit but not be back at the salon again before my chair has had time to get cold!

Amazingly enough, I've just found out that going "bronde" is the latest craze that I have jumped on board without even realizing that I would now be trendy! I saw this article from the UK Daily Mail and I felt quite empowered knowing that my choice could be more about being fashionable than about being frugal (I can claim it was fashion and no-one will suspect it's because I'm being cheap!) So I've just been to the hair salon and had a serious chat with my hairdresser to see if she could work a bronde/latte miracle for me - I didn't want to end up with peanut paste coloured hair that one of the women in the article described hers as. The top picture is the end result and I'm quite happy with the new "bronde" me - and my husband is okay with it too (phew!)

I've also considered adding in some exotic touches of colour but with the new job in the back of my mind, I might leave that for a while. I'm not sure whether employers look favourably on women with hot pink streaks in their hair but once I've settled into my next stage of life I can see a little purple or pink finding its way into the mix.

a purple stripe or two??

18 comments

Debbie3 July 2015 at 20:01
I love your new color (and think a purple stripe would be pretty cool). I too have been blonde all my life. I've tried going a little darker from time to time, bot the transition is difficult. I am lucky (I guess) that the gray of my hair growing in actually looks lighter than it used too. #BlogBoosterParty
Leanne3 July 2015 at 21:41
Hi Debbie - I'll probably lighten up again further down the track - I'm glad you think purple would be cool - it's definitely on my agenda! I do envy your blondness :)
Rena3 July 2015 at 21:43
I think it looks fabulous! I've been a brunette my whole life so maybe I'm just bit biased. I have to color the grays out, but I can't imagine myself ever going blonde. I think it suits you so much better than the blonde did!
Michele4 July 2015 at 01:08
I love it-Latte! Fortunately at midlife we can reinvent ourselves. I have let my hair go long and curly. Fortunately it is light, so the gray is not so obvious and I can wait longer between highlighting! It is fun to have a fresh new look for your new stage in life.
Plutonium Sox4 July 2015 at 06:48
Oh I like it! I never bother to dye my hair but I've got a lot of admiration for people that manage to keep their hair looking beautiful when it's not their natural colour. I only ever manage to get to the salon once every couple of years for a cut, I must try harder! You look fabulous.xx
Kathleen4 July 2015 at 07:12
I love your GT stripe analogy. It is fun to have a change. Generally as you get older for some reason the lighter colors have a younger look. Enjoy your fun with color. Thanks for bringing some fun and fashion to Fridays Blog Booster Party
Kathleen
The Fabulous Journey4 July 2015 at 10:38
It was interesting to read about your transformation because I have always had dark hair! Coming over from MBA FB group.

Shellie
www.thefabjourney.com
Sherry Macdonald4 July 2015 at 18:40
Fun to read! I love your new hair color I would keep it. However I am not a fan of the colored (pink Purple) hair. My daughter does this to her hair and I am not a fun. I always say Do what makes you Happy.
Helene Tragos Stelian5 July 2015 at 01:04
Hi Leanne,
I find myself looking to go a bit darker too but by summer am always going back to blonde! Still, trying to warm it up with more golden rather than ash colors. And I love the stripe of color so go for it!
Glad I found this on the MBA FB group too!
Helene T. Stelian (Next Act for Women)
Unknown7 July 2015 at 08:00
Hi Leanne,
You look absolutely FAB! It's nice to change the look sometimes, isn't it? Although I'm a little bit sad you left the Blonde Club:) xx Abby