Hair colour of Yore: Glints and Henna

"Aphrodi-TEE!! Get up here now and clean this up"

The screech would ring down the stairs.

Oh poor Beaut.ie Mammy, I had your heart scalded with my hair colour experiments of yore. Every single colouring involved the irretrievable wrecking of towels, the staining of the entire bathroom and many objects around the house.

I loved Glints - and I so wanted the plum colour to work on my hair. It never did - in hindsight I was just too dark. But my friend used to get it exactly right, so I wouldn't give up. I used to sit behind her in Maths raging that I didn't have that plum Glints sheen.

Bodyshop and Indian shop Henna - we bought big packets of the stinking stuff every time we went into town. Kettles were boiled, henna powder was soaked and applied to the hair. Like cow dung drying in the sun it would never adhere properly, no matter how much clingfilm you wrapped around your head. Splat! It would fall off at every opportunity, instantly staining everything it touched. Even staining things I didn't think it had touched. We'd leave it in overnight and stand in sunlight to admire the red results. Which were great I have to admit. Super shiny.

Once something came in a sachet, didn't cost very much and made the most atrocious mess in the bathroom we were happy.

Beaut.ie Mammy wasn't though.