Back to chocolate and hair history

I honestly never thought I would be the girl who always colors her hair. To me, there was no point, Why would you change your hair? But then one day I came to the conclusion that also, why not? It's fun, not permanent and way less harmful to your body than a tattoo or piercings. 

My bank account will forever regret me coming to that conclusion!

And in honor of a new hair color and cleaning out my computer, I thought this post seemed highly appropriate. My favorite walks are always down one memory lane (mostly because they involve a lot of awkward photos, which this post happens to be full of!) so let's dive right in.

A P R I L  2 0 1 4 // THE VIRGIN YEARS.

Here is my virgin hair in all it's wind blown, poorly-curled glory! For reference, I was blonde until about 10 or so. Then the dishwater brown came to town and it's been dull ever since. Fun!

O C T O B E R  2 0 1 4 // Chocolate!

Wow. What a webcam selfie to woo you with. (Also can't tell if thats a roll of wrapping paper or my clarinet in the background? Either way, I'd probably have more luck getting to the upper register with the wrapping paper because the clarinet was not my forte.) ANYWAY, we hit up walmart and got a box dye in a delicious shade of chocolate. Ironically enough, this was the cheapest and my most favorite hair color to date.

J A N U A R Y   2 0 1 5 // Dark, Dark, Chocolate

This begins the most dramatic year in hair history for me. Over winter break I got brave with the box color yet again and went for a super dark brown. It was basically black for a couple weeks and I actually loved it.

S P R I N G  2 0 1 5 // So many questions.

This is just to document my color fading. After all, $8 can only go so far in the hair color department. Right before we left for Europe (the second 2 photos) we tried coloring my hair lighter...it didn't work. At all. It was just a gross brassy brown for a couple months.

J U L Y  2 0 1 5 // Blondes really do have more fun.

Again with the webcam! But wow, I loved this color. I loved being blonde. I loved that summer so much. Instead of Malibu Barbie, I was the Melbourne Barbie and it was pretty dang fun. Also, first time getting my hair professionally done! The price hurt but you know what they say, Beauty is pain.

N O V E M B E R  2 0 1 5 // Platinum Party.

The next time I needed my roots redone, I didn't want to be like blonde ish. I wanted to be FRIED. The day I got my hair done we went to a black light bowling alley and let's just say my whole head was glowing the entire night (and for a couple months, honestly.)

D E C E M B E R  2 0 1 5 / / White Christmas!

Oh boy did I have a white Christmas alright! Except no snow in sight, just my overly bleached hair. And sand, I guess? #florida. The super white bowling alley light color faded nicely into a really light blonde. Which unfortunately now I associate that color with the worst week of my life, so it'll probably take a while for me to warm up to the idea of being that blonde again.

M A Y  2 0 1 6 // Graduation was as bad as this photo!

HAHAHAHA. First of all, my broken thumb. Second of all, totally looks like I'm wearing a Hannah Montana wig. Third, couldn't have picked a prettier background for this pic ;) Anyway, my hair was really long and really blonde for graduation. But not for long!

SUMMER SIXTEEN // THE GREAT CHOP!

Guys, if you're on the fence about getting your hair cut. GET OFF THE FENCE. And get off the fence as in, go cut your hair. It's thrilling, freeing and you wont have to use 1 1/2 bottles of conditioner every time you shower. That was easily the best part of this whole deal. I kept cutting it shorter over the summer and with every inch that fell to the floor, I felt more powerful.

I was going through a lot, okay?! Haircuts are way cheaper than therapy.

J A N U A R Y  2 0 1 7 // Growth and Roots

After a couple lame attempts to darken my hair (colored toners and such) my roots were very grown out (literally and figuratively) and I was ready for a change. I had this yellow, brassy, grown out blonde for about 4 months and ew. It was not pretty.

A P R I L  2 0 1 7 // Great...Gre(y)at?

Finally! A new color! It's hard to tell because I edited all these photos/deleted originals but you guys, my hair was actually grey for a couple weeks. My stylist put in low lights and then used a icy violet toner all over. The blonde turned to an ashy grey and it was GROSS. Well, honestly it was pretty! And had I not paid an arm an a leg for something that I didn't like/didn't ask for, it would have been fine.  It was also right during finals so I had no time to go back for a couple weeks.

 M A Y  2 0 1 7 // Chocolate, Ho!

After months of pinning and dreaming, the chocolate is back! And not full on chocolate, but like a good 50% milk with decadent caramel swirled throughout. It's lightened a fair amount in the sun this summer and in all honesty, this is basically my natural color. But I love it. Because even though it's only 50% chocolate, it feels 100% like me.

That isn't to say that I still don't want to go red or try pink hair or eventually be Melbourne Barbie again. But for now, being Karissa with chocolate colored caramel hair is pretty great.

From blonde to brown and all the questionable shades in between - I've loved it all. I think that's the beautiful thing about hair. We get too wrapped up into it being our identity and having a certain look. But let's be honest; we should never be defined by our hair or wardrobe or raccoon eyeliner. Which is why I feel totally comfortable and free with changing my hair and enjoying it! Because at the end of the day, it's my relationship with Christ and my personality and everything He's given me that defines me, not the color of my hair. What a flimsy, fragile thing to put any stock into! And while Christ knows the number of hairs on our head, I honestly think he could care less about what color they are, as long as our hearts are set on Him.

I'll update you when a new color strikes. But for now, I'm enjoying the chocolate color on my hair and OF COURSE, enjoying chocolate IRL. The more things (hair colors) change, the more things (my chocolate loving habits) stay the same.

or something like that.