My hair is red. It didn’t used to be. It used to be an ashy blonde/brown (blah, boring) that didn’t really go with my complexion—so much for genetics.

My Hair.  Red.

I had never before dyed my hair, and this was a big step. Huge, because I used henna (the good henna, from here: http://www.hennaforhair.com/) and henna is permanent. Not wash-out-in-a few-months.  I'm talking permanent. Drunk tattoo on the small-of-your-back permanent. Once you dye with henna, there’s no going back.


As it turns out, I was meant to be a redhead. Henna makes for a very natural-looking dye job, done right, and it goes perfectly with my complexion, thank you very much, not to mention my personality. Some have said it gives people fair warning. Ok. They’re right.


People that have met me since the plunge assume I’ve always been a redhead. Friends and relations, to be honest, were a little shocked at first, but they’ve gotten used to it over the past year and a half. And they’d better, because I LIKE being a redhead. Far more than I ever dreamed. I am not going back.


For one, redheads are treated differently. Blonds, I’m told, are treated differently, too, but I’m telling you, redheads get R-E-S-P-E-C-T. I’ve got an Aretha soundtrack following me around wherever I go.


For another, there is no anonymity. I can be spotted all the way across Lowe’s. No more surprise, sneaky shopping trips to the hardware store for me. The secret diva within me can live with that.


At this point, you may be wondering what on earth this has to do with jewelry. This is, after all, supposed to be a jewelry blog. I’m getting there—have patience.


The third thing that I’ve discovered as a redhead is that it completely changes my wardrobe palette, down to my jewelry.


Copper, ladies (and gentlemen, should there be any). Copper is my new best friend. I never wore copper before. It didn’t look right.

And now, it does. I love it bright and shiny. I love it with the warm patina age brings. I love it oxidized. And, like many of the newly converted, I’ve become an evangelist.

At shows, women walk up to my jewelry. I see that hint of auburn in their hair (I never realized how many redheads there are out there) and lean in. “Do you wear much copper? You should—it would look great on you. Try these earrings.” And, it’s not just a sell—it DOES look great on them. I am converting women all over the Mid-South, and I’m proud.

Copper. It’s going to be big. Oh, yeah, it is. Watch, and see.

--Leigh