A young Victoria in elementary school used to resent being Chinese American. I hated being different, always cringing when speaking Mandarin with my parents in public or despising going to Chinese school on the weekends. I just wished I could be a normal "American" kid who brought ham sandwiches and not some strange-smelling concoction of pig ears, stir-fry egg and tomato, and rice. However, very soon after, I came to terms with my bicultural identity, and in fact, became quite proud of my unique ability to assimilate in American as well as Chinese culture.
While I have come to terms with my cultural identity, the one thing I haven't quite been able to get over is my hair. Don't get me wrong, I love my hair. But, because of its dark color, experimenting with color has never really been something that I've been able to do. Anything trendy like pastel or unicorn hair requires massive amounts of bleaching, and thus irreparable damage to my follicles that I'm not willing to endure. Wigs and fake hair are always options, but not the most comfortable options.
The first I dyed my hair was the first year I left home after high school, where I experimented with some light brown highlights. Not satisfied, I decided to go full brunnette a few months later, a look on which my mom commented made me look like a Korean pop star, and I honestly didn't mind. I enjoyed the feeling of "difference" from my usual look of straight, black hair. Two years and much hair growth later, I was determined to grow up my damaged hair, leaving me with mostly black hair and some random, neglected bits of brassy, copper hair.
This is what "growing out" looks like.
Unable to bear the brassy bits but also unwilling to part with my length, I decided to give coloring one more shot. I was determined to find a look that works on Asian hair! So, I arrived at Hair Philosophy, a cute little salon in Little Italy in New York, where most of their hair stylists hail from Asian backgrounds, originating from Hong Kong and Taiwan. My stylist, Nicky, took one look of the picture I provided and said, "Okay, balayage. How light do you want to go?"
I told him, "Light, but still natural-looking for my natural color." After a lot of discussion over color swatches and processing my hair would be undertaking, we came to the conclusion that we would lighten my base ever so slightly, and then apply balayage to the ends.
First, he applied a dark brown toner to my head, and especially my roots to lighten the whole base. Next came the longest, most painstaking step, which was actually doing balayage, which involved a whole lot of bleach, foil, and carefully picking which bits and pieces were going to be lightened. After the bleach was done, finally came toning the bleached bits to a light and natural shade to complete the gradient.
The finished product!
When Nicky was done with the color, trimming, and drying/styling, I was pleasantly surprised to discover my hair gently transitioned from a subtle dark brown to a lighter brown shade. He said, "I think you can even go lighter next time."
What I learned from this process is that Asian hair stylists generally have a much easier time styling Asian hair. Once, this blonde lady in Princeton tried to give me highlights, and I came out looking like a tiger. What works on light hair DEFINITELY does not work on dark hair.
Ladies with dark hair, remember: in order to avoid a stripe-y disaster, ask for subtle balayage, where your colorist should be gently allowing a gradient to occur. Too much bleach near the roots is the fastest and easiest way to end up looking like an unnatural disaster. Finally, asking for peek-a-boo highlights is also a great way to have natural, light hair. Under the top layers, I have some pieces that are lighter, but because they are covered and only occasionally peek out, I can have that sun-kissed look while still maintaining a natural vibe.
This is not to say girls with Asian hair can't pull off light hair. In fact, so many bloggers/vloggers like Wengie, Aimee Song of Song of Style, and Eugénie Grey of Feral Creature have rocked lighter hair. The list of examples goes on. Honestly though, f@*% whatever people think about "natural" or "unnatural" hair. If you have a job that allows you to go nuts with your hair, why not? As graduation draws nearer and my search for employment continues, I regret not doing some more dramatic earlier in my college career when I did not have to worry about employment.
Life's too short to worry about whether you within a box or a label. I am Chinese American, and i was born with black hair, but I reserve the right to express myself through my hair!