Going Blue for Dysautonomia Awareness Month

So there I was sitting in a chair at my local hairdressers having a long overdue chop and I had a thought. And, as usual, my brain filter was turned off as I turned to my hairdresser, Jayde, and asked,

So how would you go about dying my hair blue?

Mr Grumpy was with me, and he went with his trademark

Whatever, go for it 

And so plans were made, blue dye was picked out and an appointment booked in, before I could have a,

Are you really sure about this, Michelle? moment

(Who even knew there was such a thing as vegan hair dyes? 

I do like where it says "Tested on celebrities, not animals.")

Of course I didn't ask the big questions like,

How long will it take?, or

How much will it cost?

Who needs details?

That was a few weeks ago. And yesterday I found myself sitting in a chair as Rockabilly Blue was applied to my locks. So how does one go about going blue? Well it's a rather long process. It worked out as 7hrs over two days, with a few days in between where I learnt that I am not a blond.

Of course it was a rough morning the day I'd booked in. My body wouldn't have it any other way. I may even have lain on my bed curled up in a miserable ball of pain and nausea, with my phone in one hand and salon's card in my other on the verge of cancelling. But as luck would have it I was a slurring mess thanks to low blood pressure, and couldn't speak to call. So instead, I sucked down my vomit. Medicated myself with the odd extra tablet or three. Peeled myself off the tiles of my bathroom. And by the time Mr Grumpy came home I was ready, to pour my well-medicated body into the car and head in.

I may have been a little worse for wear while I was there. I may have been having a lot of trouble coordinating my leg muscles, but I made it through without a face plant. So a win really.

And four hours later I had gone from a brunette to a blond.

(Flash backs to last years abysmal tequila sunrise home dye incident)

 (And then I was blond)

A weekend of being blond told me that blond and I are not friends. We tolerated each other in the short term, but I was glad to see the back of it.

More toning was undertaken last night. And then colouring. And three hours later I was electric Rockabilly Blue!

I think we were all a bit exhausted by that time. Lovely Jayde stayed late, as did one of the other stylists, Erin, to help with the application.

 (The lovely Jayde from Elva's who made my blue happen. I was a wee bit tired by this point)

Today I may be a little worse for wear. I may even have communed with the carpet in the lounge. I most definitely have taken a day to write this rather simple post thanks to a lack of hand eye coordination and a big dose of the vague. But I threw a dress on over my unshowered, bed-blarghed body. Whipped on some lippy and ran some styling goop through my hair and voile! It looked pretty groovy.

 (And of course I was photobombed)

Huge thanks to Jayde who didn't think I was a complete loon when I wanted to go blue and put in the hard yards to get it done. And to Erin who helped out with a lot of the applications, and Jo who also helped out with the long multi-stage process. Go Elva's Hairdressing, who made this possible and supported my Dysautonomia awareness activities. And most of all a big Thank You for making it fun. It's really nice to go somewhere where the staff know you're unwell but don't make a fuss and just simply check if you need another drink or a rest. A balance very few places get right.

So Dysautonomia Awareness Month, I'm ready. Bring it on! (Well after I've had a nanna nap and recovered a little.)

Tomorrow I'll start sharing the Examining Dysautonomia through the Arts project. So many amazing talented folk in the community. I can't wait to share all the submissions with everyone.

Michelle

Remember to head on over here to donate to my Clicking My Heels For Dysautonomia, raising money for the Greg Page Fund for Orthostatic Intolerance and Dysautonomia research, at The Baker IDI. Thanks to the generosity of many we've already raised over $2,600, keep donating and hopefully we can reach $10,000.