Like the multiplicity of girls, artifice (in regard to appearance) was encouraged and even applauded in my household. My grandmother, after bearing three children with raven hair, yearned for a kid with bleach blonde tresses.

So, at the tender age of four my “Grammy” started putting hydrogen peroxide in my shampoo in hopes the makeshift potion would lighten my locks.

While this home remedy worked for a couple of years, eventually my already damaged hair required professional strength lightening. So, when I was approximately 6-years-old I received a bleach highlight from my hairdressing cousin, Mary.

While Mary fulfilled her duties in transforming my dirty blonde frock to platinum locks, the health of my hair and my self-esteem in regard to my natural looks was severely compromised.

I was molded to mimic Malibu Barbie when I should have been content being Bliss- the kid with tawny brown hair.

I was known to all in my hometown as tall, blonde Bliss. My artificial hair color was part of my identity.

Very few people knew my hair’s true nature. I was embarrassed to admit to friends, to boyfriends and even to distant relatives that I was not a natural blonde.

So, every month or so I had my hair mended at a salon. It was a long, laborious process to cover my roots, but if I failed to do so, I feared people would discover my secret and hence brand me a phony.

After more than 15 years of putting my hair through unnatural processes, I decided to turn back to my roots, literally.

“I am having nothing to do with this,” shouted my mom as I took a bottle of dark blonde Sally’s Beauty Supply hair dye to head.

Something odd snapped in me that fateful day as I went to buy my usual Khaleesi-esque blonde coloring from the beauty shop.I decided to try using a color five shades darker than my usual purchase.

The result was… AMAZING!!! While the initial shock took a strong dose of adjustment and reassurance from my closest friends, I am really loving the new, (original) me.

It turns out the way a person is firstly designed to look is pretty spectacular.

I now do not have to worry about my roots showing or little blonde pieces of broken hair covering my sweater.

I AM A FREE, AU NATURAL WOMAN!

Not only am I saving thousands of dollars in hair bills, but I also have a sense of natural beauty, which has provided me with a newfound self-confidence.

So, if you are like me and have been living in a false, blonde haze, free yourself from fakedom! (This also applies to all other forms of hair, skin or nail alterations.)

BE YOU!

Because it really does look better...