I tried what you said and it looks much better. Thanks!

I love the gusty little movement lines

IMO the unsaturated colors actually work well as a stylistic choice. They give the face a relatively high contrast and make it an effective focal point, despite the high amount of detail in the rest of the piece. Also, the overall form feels nice and solid, which is something a lot of pixel artists struggle with. Good work!

With faces I always draw eyes and mouth corners first. Then I outlined the head, then filled in the dark shadows, doing both with the booger color. After that I blended in with a saturated mid-tone (orange/pink). For the hair, I used the same strat except backwards, light on dark instead of dark on light. Thanks for the interest psiweapon! I love your stuff!