I’ve always had my hair professionally highlighted.
Then last year I started getting some gray. So much so, that after going to my stylist one Saturday afternoon, I came home and found the gray still there.
So, I went back to her the following week, whereupon she re-highlighted my hair.
And absolutely fried it.
My hair color had become an overprocessed shade of Pamela Anderson blond with a couple stubborn strands of gray thrown in.
Long story short, I wound up at another stylist who put a darker base and lowlights in to strengthen my now damaged hair. The good news is, I found I not only loved the color, it covered the gray.
But then I also discovered that having a base that was darker than my natural dark blond-mixed-with-gray color would require much more frequent touch-ups to the tune of $55 a pop.
So, every 4 to 6 weeks I would return to the stylist and let her touch up the base. When I had highlights done, about every other month, my bill climbed to $110. Plus tip. Plus gas. Plus bridge tolls. Plus time, as it took about half an hour each way to get to the salon.
Then one day, after watching her gingerly dabbing the color on my roots with a flat highlighting brush, it dawned on me: I could do the touch-ups myself.
I went to the Internet, found the exact same colors she was using (she mixed two together) and ordered two bottles for $15. Because I only do the top of my head, I found there was enough for at least 10 touch-ups. Cost: about $1.50 per touch up. Savings: $40–$50 if you figure in the tip, bridge fares and gas. Time savings: priceless.
Now here’s the deal. I don’t do my own highlights because I know firsthand that bleach, even in the hands of a professional, can ruin your hair (been there, she did that, got the fried hair to prove it). And if a professional can do that much damage, just think what an untrained novice like myself could do. I’m not taking any chances.
I want to be cheap, not look cheap. And I don’t know anything that will cheapen your overall appearance like a bad bleach job will.
Having said that, I did have my highlights tweaked so they are much more subtle (think Jennifer Aniston or Sarah Jessica Parker instead of Pamela Anderson). That way my hair stays healthier and I can easily go three months without having the highlights professionally done, which saves me more money– and hair! Nothing causes hair loss, it seems, like too much bleach does.
Not only do I NOT do my own highlights, I also NEVER cut my hair like so many other cheapskates do. In fact, I pay big bucks to yet another new stylist to cut my hair. And what a cut it is! Fabulous, just fabulous. There is nothing more important to having good hair than having a good cut.
Especially when you have hair like mine. I have real issues with my hair. And it doesn’t help that I live in Florida where the humidity is so high, the unofficial state flower is mold.
For years I’ve shelled out all kinds of (big) money on haircare products. My bathroom looks like a Redken salon with some Nioxin and Biolage products thrown in for good measure. (Nioxin is expensive and for me, it hasn’t been that effective, probably because my hair was burned out of my head with too much bleach).
Now I’ve been reading magazines that recommend over-the-counter products. And feeling newly confident by saving all that money on color, I’m now wondering if it’s possible to save even more with hair products.
We’ll see.
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