Britt Lawrence

20th Century Fox

Confession: I have been a brunette, a blonde, and a red head. For the past ten years, I have been rocking my natural dark tresses. Now, it feels right for a change, and I am about to take the plunge so that I can have lighter-appearing locks. Why? Part of it is because life as a brunette is not great, and secondly, it is the “Legally Blonde” fan dying to get out.

From the minute I went from being a blonde to a brunette, nothing has been the same. It literally changed on a dime. Would Elle Woods rock the world in the same way if she went from being “Legally Blonde” to “Legally Brunette”? It is a thought for a sequel. Back in the real world, I went from someone that people would not bump into in stores to having someone sit on me in a movie theater.

“I did not see you there,” they said. Right.

Long story short, it has not been fun. To answer the age-old question for folks -- blondes do not have more fun, but they definitely get more attention. By nature, I am not an attention-seeker, so I embraced my natural return to life as a brunette. Being utterly invisible is another story I doubt anyone wants to live.

Another Confession: It has been ten years since I last highlighted or colored my hair. Before that, I had been a blond for almost another decade. When I was 12 (yes, 12), I became a blonde. It was an easy decision to make. After all, how could one not be enamored by Reese Witherspoon’s irrepressible Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde.” She became a personal hero who inspired this viewer in more ways than one.

In “Legally Blonde,” Elle Woods’ blonde hair makes her the punch line in others’ ridicule, and she refuses to be bent or broken by it. Her courage, resilience, and determination easily place her as one of (if not) my favorite movie heroines in movie-dom. Hoping to bottle Elle’s ability to bubble through life and identifying with her so strongly, I begged to get blonde hair.

It took some convincing, only to finally happen. As it became more and more upkeep and finances made it harder to keep up with, my inner and outer blonde was beginning to waver. After a lot of at-home bleaching, my hair waved its white flag: it began to break -- horrified, an appointment was made, and the verdict was startling.

I would later learn the dire proclamation made by the hairdresser was absurd. Little did I know that then, though. The hairstylist proclaimed that she would have to test to see if my hair could even hold color. If it did, she would dye it back into its natural brunette state. Thankfully, it “held” the color.

The bad news was my hair would have to be cut super short to help keep the weight off the struggling strands. From shoulder-length hair to rocking it chin-length, it was a huge transition. I embraced the change because, as a Sagittarius, I think we need it. Ten years later, I am ready to bring some blonde back.

To clarify, I will not be blonde rather a brunette with blonde in it. It should be able to grow out naturally without any further follow-up. The expensive upkeep of being a full-blown blonde is too much for this wallet to rock. Having spent money on haircuts sparingly over the years, it is time to finally invest in it a little bit.

Or at least, I think so. Sorry if this was a rambler. Hair is a huge part of anyone’s identity, so I hoped it might help someone relate. Here is to hoping that I am making the right call! 

Thanks for reading, and until next time, have a great day!