Diaries I Read:
I did a really stupid thing this weekend. I still want to kick myself every time I look in the mirror.
A few years back (like eight), I decided to get blonde highlights in my hair. They looked pretty good; I was born blonde, so I could pull it off even though my hair is naturally very brown.
I continued with the highlights for a couple of years. The thing was, though, that every time I got them touched up, my hair got blonder and blonder, and before I knew it, I was no longer a brunette with highlights; I was a BLONDE.
I was sick of the maintenance and sick of my hair getting lighter every time. Plus that, looking back now, I just didn�t look good as a blonde. The highlights were OK when they were just highlights, but when my whole head got too blonde it just made me look washed out.
So I stopped getting the highlights. Except it wasn�t that simple. After a few months, I had major roots, which I hated, so I got my hair dyed brown. But that came out way too dark and took a couple of weeks to lighten up, and then eventually it would all wash out and I�d have roots again. So then my mom and I started dying my hair brown at home. Again, that was quite a process. My hair was so long and thick that one tube of the dye stuff would hardly cover all my hair, and eventually it all washed out too, and it was all just a big pain in the butt.
When my hair finally grew out and all the blonde was gone, I swore to myself that I would never ever color my hair again (until it starts turning gray, of course). And for many years, I�ve been proud of my �virgin hair� that hasn�t been permed or straightened or color treated or anything. I�ve been proud of being natural.
But.
My hair is just so BROWN. I mean, it�s the color of poo. I get little highlights during the summer if I spend enough time in the sun, but other than that it�s just brown brown brown. And I started getting sick of it. So for the past few weeks I�ve been seriously considering getting highlights again.
I went round and round with it, and I finally decided that I�d talk about it with my stylist when I got my hair cut this weekend. I go to a pretty fancy-schmancy salon that charges way too much for a haircut. I allow myself to do this because Pascal does such a good job and I don�t really spend money on any other beauty/maintenance-type stuff and it�s the one luxury I figure I deserve. Plus that, a good haircut is really worth paying a couple extra bucks for.
So when I arrived, I told Pascal what I was thinking and said that I knew I probably couldn�t get it done today but would like to know which colorist was the best and perhaps I could chat with that person about what I wanted. He chomped at the bit and said that Pierre was the best and that perhaps he could fit me in that day. Then I was whisked upstairs to talk to Pierre and he said he could squeeze me in.
I was actually pretty impressed with Pierre right off the bat because he asked so many questions. He wanted to know what I did for a living and if it was a �creative� environment. He asked if I usually wear my hair up or down, how often I visit a salon, how often I wash my hair, etc. What I told him was that I didn�t want to be blonde and didn�t want harsh streaks but that I wanted some texture and something to brighten up my flat brown color. He assured me that he had the answer.
So after Pascal cut my hair, Pierre took over and I sat there for what seemed like forever as he took teeeeeny tiny little sections of hair and slathered them with color and then folded them up in aluminum foil. Then I sat under the little heat lamp thing for another eternity, and then finally they washed the chemicals out of my hair. But then, Pascal was busy with another client so he had his assistant dry my hair until he could get back to me. She spent a loooooooong time painstakingly drying my hair, section by section, and as it dried, I was anxiously awaiting the results of my coloring job.
I was trying to be optimistic, and I COULD tell where some sections of hair were a bit lighter or darker, but I have to admit that my hair still looked pretty brown. But Pierre had said that the result would be subtle, and I had asked that it look natural, and we had agreed that if I wanted to go for a bolder change I could do so the next time.
So then Pascal finished drying and styling and putting the finishing touches on my hair, and he seemed pleased with the way the color had turned out. And I agreed with him, trying to be optimistic.
THEN, I changed out of my little smock thing and headed to the front counter to pay. Like I said, Pascal charges quite a bit for his haircuts, and he recently raised his prices, so I grimaced a bit as his tab came to $95 AND then I had to give him (and the assistant who had dried my hair) a tip.
But I nearly choked when they handed me the tab for the colorist. $150. No, I�m not kidding. I sat there, trying not to let my hand shake as I wrote in the tip and total. I gypped him on the tip ($25) because I just couldn�t bear to give him any more money.
Then I walked out of the salon, called my mom, and freaked out. �I just spent almost $300 on my hair! On my HAIR!!!�
And then I caught a glimpse of myself in a store window. BROWN! My hair was STILL brown! I just spent $300 and I look exactly the same!
I felt like I was going to throw up.
Later that night, I had to tell B. He looked at me and smiled and said, �Your hair looks great!� I said thank you, that I was glad he liked it, and that we needed to talk.
He took it very well, I suppose. I wouldn�t have blamed him if he�d screamed and yelled, but he didn�t. He was very quiet. He just said, �That�s way too much money.� I agreed with him and assured him that I would never do it again.
At least you won�t be able to see any roots as my �natural� color grows back in.
Working at home - Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004
Toronto - Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004
On the way to Toronto... - Tuesday, Nov. 09, 2004
A Good Day - Monday, Nov. 08, 2004
Another letter - Thursday, Nov. 04, 2004