I finally did it! I dyed some of my hair purple! I made it a Thing because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but even when I was more adventurous with my hair, I never did a straight up purple or blue color. It was always mixed in with whatever auburn or black I was doing at the time so it popped in the sun, but it wasn’t a true color. And it worked out well because I’ve also been wanting to try balayage-style of coloring and I found a salon that does tons of vivid colors. (Follow their Instagram to see some of the fun things people do over at @katsmeowsalonhouston.)

I made the appointment weeks ago and I’ve vacillated back and forth ever since. And I nearly didn’t do it. I went to the appointment thinking that I would do something else. Because…reasons, mostly related to fear. Fear of judgment, fear of being noticed. But I got in that chair and I thought about all the times in my life that I’ve said no to something because of fear. Way too many times. And dyeing my hair purple is a small thing in the grand scheme of life. Hair grows and re-colors easily enough. So I told the stylist, Julie, to go for it.

Here’s how it went down.

Before: Hadn’t colored my hair in about 15 months, hadn’t cut it in 6.

Step One: Lifting the color and coloring the roots

Step Two: Adding the purple

Step Three: Cutting and styling (not pictured)

After: Happy with my new hairdo
(and also, my hair’s never been this long before in my life!)

I still feel very nervous about the likelihood of being more noticed and “being seen” when I’ve spent most of my life being invisible, or trying to be. But I really love the color and the cut so I’m telling myself that’s all that matters. Because it is!

And it’s one more Thing to check off my list! Woooooo!