About a new haircut

Getting a new haircut is quite a leap of faith.

Faith that the new haircut will make you look better/younger/perkier/younger/refreshed/younger than you did with the old haircut.

Faith that your hair stylist can pull off the new haircut.

Faith that your loved ones will either, well, love it, or at least, like it, or, if they don't, break it to you gently you look newly bad.

Faith that your hair will grow out quickly if that last case transpires.

So yes: I'm going this week for just such a new haircut. And I do have a 'do in mind. 

Okay, the picture above is a year and a half old, but my hair is shorter in that pix than it is now, so it's a good approximation of what I look like with a short haircut.

Having grown my hair out into more of a bob, and that bob getting kind of out of control and hiding behind my ears a lot, and being TOO much for me to handle (since I'm not a hair stylist kind of girl), the time is ripe to whip myself into shape! 

And since you'll never guess who I want to transform myself too, I'll put a picture of her too. I've already told Brenda, who cuts my hair, that I am not expecting to lose 20 years, but hey, five would be good. 

Katie Holmes! The famous "pixie cut"!

The only thing I'm betting on ... your blogger will not receive 1/100th of the criticism this young woman did over a simple haircut. Because when I was searching for pictures, I came across some of the stupidest comments about her hair than I could have ever imagined.

Even if it looks bad on me, no one would ever care that much. No one should care that much.

Updated: A bad picture of a good haircut.

About, well, my hair

Okay, before the girlie stuff I'll tell you what I'm thinkin' about a few sports headlines. Sean Taylor: probably knew who shot him. Packers/Cowboys on NFL Network: sorry you don't get it, we do, it was a beautiful HD picture. Cowboys wore legacy jerseys. Indians signing Japanese pitcher: just don't break the bank. Helio: I thought he was a suave and sophisticated Indy car driver, but now I know he's just a goofy hoofer.
Now, down to business: I am asking girls everywhere for advice, because why can't I keep my hair the color I want it?
I mean, we visited friends last night, and a MALE FRIEND says to me, your hair is lighter! And I wanted to crawl under the sofa, because I'm been meaning to recolor for two weeks and haven't taken the time, and since it's fall I don't even have the "I've been out in the sun" excuse. And my hair's worse problem is not the roots ... it's the way the color keeps getting lighter!
So my hair in my youth was a pretty much dark brown with red highlights in the sun. Then middle age set in and gray encroached, and the drabness convinced me that Miss Clairol was the way to go. And I've been best friends with her for five years or so.
But no matter what brand of color I use (and I've tried many besides ole Miss), no matter what expensive hair-color-preserving shampoo and conditioner I buy, no matter I spray special color-preserving UV spray on, no matter what, even when I pick out exactly the right medium-brown color I want and it looks great to start, it ends up after a few weeks looking like a light reddish brown. Really light.
And GUYS -- not girls -- start asking me if my hair is lighter! The friend the other night was not the first!
I think my hair is really porous and soaks up the color but then it also vomits it out, is what I think.
I have been doing it myself, so one of my questions is: do salons really use a better quality color, and it is really worth over $50 versus under $10?
And, is there a shampoo/conditioner/special treatment that really works for you?
Or have you given up and just (oh, God!) gone natural?
Let me know what you're thinkin' about how Miss Clairol treats you.