Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Happy birthday a month early.

Everyone who reads the blog knows a hair cut is way down on the list of things I'll spend my minuscule leftover funds on. As of October 30th, I had not had a haircut in over a year.

While spending some time with my dear friend, Tonia, she offered to pay for a haircut with her stylist as my birthday present. At first, I turned her down, but knowing that I was headed to Connecticut in a week made me accept. I was also worried that she went to a stylist who charged an arm, a week's pay and half your car payment to look at you disapprovingly and whisper loudly, "I'm sorry, Tonia, I can't do much." Tonia has gorgeous thick black hair I have long admired.

I really didn't know what I wanted done with it. That's also a part I hate about a cut. You sit down and the gal says, "So, what are we going to do with it?" I guess you pay for expertise so I shouldn't expect a $10 cut to come with suggestions, but I have no idea what to do. I wash it and let it go. I don't have time to spend moussing and blow drying. That's not what I want to do in the morning. Therefore, it's kind of a non-issue, not getting my hair cut. At least with long hair, I know what to do with it.

This is the length it was when I walked into the shop on Saturday, October 30th. It was a good 4 inches below my shoulders. I think the last time it was this long, I was probably 15 years younger. You can see, those last 4 inches are tan. That's all that remained of my February 2009 dye job, the last time I dyed my hair brown. That color refused to leech out.

I would wear my hair down and then, when I got home, put it up into a pony tail or simply pull it back. I used to have layers but those had pretty much given up being layers. I cut my own bangs and do a fairly decent job of it.

I discussed how I usually wear my hair and how I care for it. The gal listened and made suggestions. Then she washed it. "One thing you need to do is go to Sally Beauty Supply and ask for the 'gray hair shampoo'," she said. She showed me the shampoo she was using. It was royal purple, with a capital "p" and slightly iridescent. She said purple shampoo is formulated for gray hair to remove the yellow tinge that develops. It's got to be purple however. I immediately thought of the little old ladies who use bluing in their hair to remove unsightly colors. I made a quip about 'blue hair' and the gal rolled her eyes. "If you want blue hair, I'll give you blue hair but don't even think about that stuff you get in the color section."

So I sat down and watched, as best I can when my eyesight isn't very good. Without my glasses I can see shapes and colors but fine definition is completely lost. I just know that she was cutting off a lot of hair. It was falling over the cover-up and onto the floor. In the end, however, I got a fantastic cut.
You can see some tan still on the ends which will come off if I can afford another cut in, say, 6 months. The gray color just shone and my task this coming weekend is to find purple shampoo. I don't have to use it all the time, but every 2-3 weeks is optimum. She gave me layers that won't look crappy if I have to wait even another year between cuts.

The best part was it didn't cost Tonia a lot of money. In fact, she was less than the gal I used to go to. I have to drive 45 minutes to get to this shop and, until I develop a relationship, I would need to go with Tonia. But I certainly would drive here again if I knew I'd get the same thing or even something a little more daring. I can still pull the hair back if it gets annoying.

Has anyone noticed a difference? I work with guys. They might notice if I came in with it 2 inches long, but otherwise, no. Carole didn't see it long so she had no frame of reference for the shorter cut. It doesn't matter to me if anyone noticed. I noticed and I noticed that it's the best cut I've had in awhile. I'm happy with it. She also said I don't need to wash it daily. In fact, I can go a couple of days without washing it. I did last weekend and it still looked really good.

So, this was a fantastic birthday present for me and I am so grateful it could be done before I left for Carole's. I was messing with the hair over the weekend. If I tuck it here, blow dry it here and add just a bit of mousse, I get this dynamite curl that will look really nice at the office Christmas party in December. Remind me of that when I stand in front of the mirror and wonder what I'm going to do with my hair.

Beverage: Hot Cider tea

Deb

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