There is no doubt that colorful hair is a major trend. Everything from pastel pink to vibrant blue to dusty lilac can be seen bobbing down the sidewalk, especially here in New York City. I figured it would only be a matter of time before someone within my own inner circle caught the color bug. Just as I predicted, one of my nearest and dearests, Jacq Kozak, decided to make the switch. She chose to forgo her natural dirty blonde for a rich merlot; dark enough to be mistaken for brunette in low light, but a silvery, shimmery purple in the sun. I was given the task of transforming her locks myself in her apartment’s bathroom, and (luckily) the outcome was just what she was looking for. Having had plummy locks for nearly a month now, I decided to check in and see how she’s finding being one of the dyed masses.
Interviewer (aka Me): Hello, Jacq.
Jacq Kozak: ‘Sup.
Interviewer: Overall, how are you liking having purple hair?
Jacq: I really, really love it. Every time I pass a reflective surface, I have a tendency to look in it now. I’m starting to lose the sense of what it was like not to have purple hair so that’s pretty weird. But overall, I’ve loved being a grape so far.
Interviewer: Do you find people treating you differently now that you have colored hair?
Jacq: I definitely notice people noticing me more. When I walk around campus, I can tell that people know that my hair is purple and they acknowledge it pretty openly. I feel like it matches my personality more and now more too. Like, people see me now expect me to be more forward, while before people were kind of surprised at how loud and sassy I am. Now it’s just “oh she has purple hair, she must be a wild card”. And they are right.
Interviewer: They are indeed right. From a maintenance end, how often do you have to update the color, if at all? Have you found that you hair is more damaged or healthier or different in any way?
Jacq: So the color system I used is called Overtone, which is a color depositing conditioning system as opposed to a flat out dye. Once a week, which for me is Friday, I use deep conditioner formula that deposits a extra boost of color to my hair that "reawakens" the purple. Otherwise, I just use a regular daily conditioner that has a little bit of tint so I don’t lose any the color while I wash it with regular shampoo. I’ve always had really, thick soft hair that wasn’t really damaged because I haven’t really touched it before this. Not to like product place anything, but this system is really great because it’s specifically meant to heal the hair as it colors. And since I didn’t have to do any heavy duty bleaching before because I wanted it subtle, my hair has stayed pretty healthy throughout the process.
Interviewer: Fantastic. Do you think you’d ever want to try a different color? Maybe full on bleach your hair and try, say, bright pink?
Jacq: Okay, for sure not bright pink. Not a pink girl at all. I don’t think I’d ever bleach my hair because I’m really happy with how strong and soft my hair is right now and I don’t want to jeopardize that. But, I would want to try maybe a dark blue or a navy blue. Something in that family. Something still dark, like the color I have now, but noticeable and different. Nothing to off the wall.
Interviewer: Alright. Well thanks. And happy 20th birthday. Enjoy adulthood.
Jacq: I won’t.
There you have it. Straight from the grape’s mouth. Colored hair will get you more attention and won't hurt your hair, if done properly. Also, to be noted, this is in no way affiliated with the Overtone company, Jacq just had a really good outcome and she is very excited about the whole system.
Here's Jacq one day after the first dye.
