When I started highlighting my hair back in 2017, I knew I’d always have brown, caramel-color type streaks in my hair. I never thought I’d go any lighter than maybe a light brown latte color… that is, until Friday, when I came in for a cut and color with my stylist, and she said to me, “So.. for the color, not too dark, and not too light, right?” She slammed the color book closed and said, “I know which one to use! You will LOVE IT!”

I figured I’d take her word for it. She knew I wanted brown highlights, so… how crazy could it really get? She first foiled my hair, then applied the toner with her selected color. But as she blow-dried my hair, I knew immediately it was too light. Ohmigod — my hair…. looked blonde. I really look like she gave me blonde highlights. I had never pictured my hair so light in my life. I looked like one of those self-hating Asians who didn’t want dark hair and wanted to be a white person. Noooooooo

“You look SOOOO sexy!” she exclaimed as she finished blow-drying and applied some smoothing cream on my flyaways. “I LOVE IT!”

I awkwardly looked at myself in the mirror. I did not recognize the person I saw in the mirror. Is that really me?

“I think this might be too light,” I suggested to her, as I wrinkled my brow.

“WHAT?” she yelled. “No, honey, this is PERFECT! It highlights your pretty face SO well!”

I didn’t have enough time to get this fixed right away, as I had a meeting to get to, and she also had another customer waiting. I ended up getting it darkened on Sunday to a “light brown mocha” tone — thank God. Now, I actually feel like myself again. But yes, that was about two days of being a blonde, and well, I’m never going to be that light ever again.