Doctor, Doctor, Shall I Dye?

Ok I admit it. I cannot let a month pass without a trip to the salon or a DIY session at home to color my hair. Yes it's vanity. And yes, it's a necessity.  I don't deny my age but if I leave the grays alone, mukha na akong lola, I swear!

I remember the time when my mom started having her hair dyed (must be around my age now I guess). She told me of  this tale about a woman who had to undergo head surgery. When the doctors opened up and lifted her scalp, they saw that it's all black underneath! Black. From years of dyeing! Yikes.

I've heard a lot of horror medical stories (of cockroaches slipping into the ear, of basins of pus being squeezed out from a boil, kuto under the eyebrows, larvae in the eye...hehe) but this black scalp story just left a big *imprint* on my head ;) I don't know how bad that woman's head looked like, but I just imagined ink-black layer of skin beneath a mass of black and gray and white hair roots. Parang pusit. Eeek.

My mom said "Nakakatakot, di ba?"  Despite that story,  up to now,  at 71 years old, she still dyes her hair. Wala kasing choice eh!

How does a dye work, anyway? I'm writing here without even bothering to research. But I know Hydrogen Peroxide in the chemical dye sort of strips the hair of its natural color first before coloring. Correct me if I'm wrong. So does this mean that with regular dyeing, we will eventually lose the natural color because of regular "stripping" ?  Kaya ba sinasabi ng mga matatanda, na once you dye, the hair becomes whiter? Hmm...

Dry and brittle hair as a result of long-term dyeing is another issue. This is why salons always sell hair treatment packages for an after-color session, of course aside from the fact that they make a lot of money with those French-sounding "professional" hair products.

Oh and let me add. Does hair color eventually make your hair fall?  This is an even scarier thought. Images of a bald customer after Fefita Fofonggay or Facifica Falayfay poured some chemical over her head are still vivid in my memory. Though that scene was for a perm, still, I get bothered with the thought of getting bald because of a monthly dose of hair chemicals.


So... what's my choice now? I think I'd rather risk with that pusit story. Until someone invents a really safe and natural hair coloring that will cover the grays. Not make it orange-y like henna.

Dye na lang until I die.