Do you like purple???

So after being in Changzhou for almost 6 months now I decided to go and get another haircut and some color this time, little did i know what color I was in for....

So at 9:30am I went with my friend to a new hair salon to me, she has been going for a long while now and recommended the place to me.  As we entered the salon we were given a locker for our belongings and as my friend said, we were assigned a boy.  Each boy took us back to wash our hair in the regular wash chair, however I am not accustomed to getting my hair washed before the cut and color.  I sat back in the chair and had my hair washed then was returned to the hair dresser's station.  This boy was now assigned to me as an assistant and a baby sitter to me for my stay here in the salon.  He would help open my locker if i needed something, get me more tea or water, and tell me not to move too much when i had color processing in my hair.  Mr. Gao was introduced to me and both my friend and myself pulled out of cell phones with photos or the cuts and colors we wanted today.  He seemed to understand and we moved forward.

This is what i asked for cut and color.  (Pinterest of course)

 While in the salon I noticed there was a lot of American music, possibly 10 years old but it was fun to hear while waiting in the chair.  The salon had WiFi so we both connected to our iPad and phones and were able to surf the net while in the chair.  Mr. Gao started with blow drying my hair and then starting my cut, while my friend had her hair dried and then colored first.  During my 1.5 hour haircut he was very precise on cutting every hair and making lots of measurements.  I have to say compared to the photo that I showed him the cut came out perfect.  As I sat getting my haircut I watched on as a guy on the other side of the mirror was getting his hair done in curlers!  Seriously, he was sitting there with curlers in his hair, and turns out he walked out with straight hair anyway.  I have no idea what he was trying to accomplish but it was entertaining.

The curler man with the crazy dryer over his curlers.

With my cut looking good it was time to double check which colors I wanted and he pulled out the book.  The photo I had shown him earlier came out and it was more of a dark brown bottom with light brown highlights, see below.  I wanted a little bit of red in the highlights because of fall and warming up my color from the summer....so i showed him a deep burgundy color for my highlights and we agreed on a brown color for the all over color.  The colors were mixed up and I had three guys coloring and holding my hair while Mr. Gao was leading the way.  There was a bowl of purple dye which was for the all over color and a small bowl of pink, yes i mean PINK hair dye for the highlights.  As one boy held my hair the other separated top pieces into 4 sections, all of which would end up in a piece of foil with the PINK color painted on it.  A little nervous about the color and the fact that my highlights aren't small sections and lots of foils all over but 4 large chunks!!!  Wait and see.

Hair products, the crazy machine we have seen before, and tea served in a wine glass with a lid so no hair gets in it!

As this is going on my friend is also getting her highlights put in which are more red than pink and spaced about the same, 4 sections of a bright color while her all over color was settling in as a medium brown.  Once the assistance finished putting the color in our hair we sat talking a bit and playing on our phones while she informed Mr. Gao that I was expecting a baby!  Seriously now, i am 8 months pregnant there is no hiding this belly, I have been in the salon now for 2.5 hours and no one noticed I have a GIANT belly?!?!?!  As he jumped from his chair to tell the assistance I was having a baby they all freaked out, literally concerned for my safety as i had dye on my head and a baby in my belly.

It was pretty hilarious.  My friend and I tried to tell them in America it's ok and I want to finish letting the color sit.  This seemed to create quite the high level of concern, especially in a salon of all male workers (which seems to be the trend in China, and no they aren't all gay).  I was whisked away to have the color washed out of my hair and I would get a conditioning treatment.  At home I would typically get rinsed and have a toner put on, but not here...i think i could have used it.  In addition to the hair color they were hesitant to try the conditioning treatment on me, saying not good for pregnant lady, again i told them it was ok( the jar was in English and I read what it was).  So the boy proceeded to wash my hair, luckily a scalp massage isn't bad for a pregnant lady unlike any other massage in China.  As i was sitting in the washing chair letting the conditioning treatment soak in the boy was typing to me lots of questions about me and the baby, apparently he was very interested now to learn more.  "What country are you from?", "Are you having a boy or a girl?",  "Is this your first child?", etc.  Then the questions, "will you wash your hair after you have the baby?",  "Will you use hot water when you wash it?".  In China after having a baby the mother doesn't bath or wash her hair for one month so that her body doesn't drop in temperature and cause her to get sick.  A new mom in China traditionally does nothing but rest and feed the baby, her mother or mother-in-law will come and do all household work, help with cooking, and take care of the baby.  Dear God, I will wash my hair and body as soon as they allow me to take a shower in the hospital, I will care for my baby, feeding, changing, bathing, and continue to care for Blake and do the cooking and grocery shopping, etc.  I am an American woman, independent and self-reliant, I can do it!

You can see the PINK dye on the brush in the top right photo!

I asked my friend if it was hard to tell I was pregnant, she said we should chalk it up to them being men and not noticing....haha.  So now that i have violated the pregnancy code of women in China, I might as well finish my haircut.  I went back to the chair to get a blow dry and see my final color....as my hair is blown over my eyes i wasn't seeing too much.  My friend came back over after getting her color rinsed and said she really liked the color so I was thinking things are good......then my hair was flipped and I saw the purple!  So the purple dye turned into brown, the PINK dye turned into PURPLE!  Wow, I have 4 large chunks of purple dye in my hair, hmmmmm how do i really feel about this?????  Well, thank goodness they washed it out when they did since I am pregnant.....lol or the color might be brighter!  Another friend who saw me later told me this was the trend in China, so I guess I am hip now.....and the hair dresser just chose the color he thought would be best because this wasn't the burgundy i picked out.  And now it has been 4 hours and I am ready to walk out of the salon with my new trendy cut and color, all for $60usd or 400 rmb what a deal!

So this is the result this time around, no China Doll look to the cut, but the color is not American, let me tell you, this is PURPLE......maybe 3rd time is the charm for a haircut and color in China....if all else fails we will be home for a visit in February and I will be booking Cheryl @ Dolly Rockers for damage control!!!  As our Chinese teacher came over this evening for a lesson, I was given a lecture on how she couldn't believe i dyed my hair while pregnant and get my nails painted, this is unheard of in China, why do I do it she asks.....my response: because in American it's ok :)

Now it is China National Day--which translates to a week long holiday.  We will spend 4 days in Changzhou and a week together as a family so more photos and blog posts to come.