Blonde No More

February 15, 2009 /

I’ve been blonde most of my life. I was what is known as a tow head as a child, meaning I had that really light blonde hair, which got darker and darker over the years, until I was about 19 and started coloring it. I liked my blonde, as wasn’t ready to give it up.

When Ted lost his job in June, I started thinking of ways to pinch a few pennies, and one expensive indulgence I have is the hair salon. I won’t even tell you how much it costs to go into a good salon and get your hair weaved with two or three shades of blonde. It’s embarrassing. So, I started going to a local beauty school, run by Paul Mitchell (the company, I’m sure Paul has never been there). It’s SO much less money, and they do a pretty good job. The only downside is that it is very time consuming, as they are students, and just learning. I figure, I have more time right now than money, so if it takes me 4 or 5 hours to get my hair done, so be it. (Of course, an all over color takes less time than a weave, and a cut doesn’t take anything like this long, but still, longer than at a salon.) The first time I was there, getting my regular blonde highlights put in, when we were about 1/2 way through, I noticed one of the students had a very cool color that I loved. Blonde with a lot of red in it, or perhaps red with a lot of blonde in it. Sadly, we were too far along to change my hair that day, but we wrote down the formula of colors she had used for the next visit.

The next time I went in, my hairdresser had graduated, and the girl with the cool hair had either graduated or changed her hair so much I didn’t recognize her, and I wasn’t really able to convey what I wanted to my student hairdresser. So I got a weave with the blonde, and some red. I liked it ok, but it was still really mostly blonde. It looked like this.

Blonde with a few red streaks in the front. Photo borrowed from Starshine's post.
Blonde with a few red streaks in the front. Photo borrowed from Starshine's post.

I liked it OK, but it wasn’t really what I was going for.  So on Thursday, when it was time to go back for a touch up, my hairdresser suggested we do an all over color wash, which he said would show the high and low lites from previous visits.  I pictured red with a lot of blonde showing through.  Didn’t turn out that way.  Instead, it turned out a beautiful shade of red, but a red that I felt was just too dark for me.  Ted and Maya agreed.  I scared Maya when I came in, and Ted thought I looked kind of washed out by it.

Redhead in the sunlight
Redhead in the sunlight

Thankfully, Paul Mitchell has a policy where if you don’t like your color, you can come back within 48 hours and have them fix it.  You do have to pay for the color they put on you, but not for the service, so it’s pretty inexpensive.  I went in and talked to my hairdresser (a great guy named Mark, in case you’re interested Donna…he’s graduated to what is called ‘level 2’, so he’s not as scared as the new kids in there.), and we talked to his instructor, and we decided that instead of recoloring all of it, we would do a blonde weave.  So there I was, after 3 1/2 hours on Thursday, in for another 4 hours on Friday.  All I can say is, it’s a good thing I’m not working right now, or I wouldn’t have time for my hair!  Here’s the finished product, which I love, taken in the 35 seconds of bright sunlight we had on a rainy Sunday.  It’s perhaps too sunny out, but hopefully you get the idea.

Me with Reddish Blonde hair. More red than blonde, but much lighter than the first red.
Me with Reddish Blonde hair. More red than blonde, but much lighter than the first red.

Verdict?  I’m very happy, I no longer scare my child, and Ted says the highlighted look is much more flattering.  Yay!

21 Comments

  • Leah

    February 15, 2009 at 5:39 pm

    Julie, I love you hair color! I also love the length. (It’s been so long since I last saw you!) You are beautiful.

  • Donna

    February 15, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    Mark…I’m writing it down now…altho mine will be a simple all-over color. I’m too chicken to get highlights, so am just covering all my grey hairs. Thanks for the info and that color looks great! Love your cut as well. 🙂

    Really need to give them a call and set an appointment…before I go completely grey…

  • Shannon

    February 15, 2009 at 6:09 pm

    The red is beautiful! I have always been blonde, but tried to dye my hair red in college. It ended up orange-yikes! You look great as a (blondish) redhead! Just in time for Valentine’s Day, too 😉

  • OmbudsBen

    February 15, 2009 at 6:57 pm

    My hair darkened as I aged, too. To the point that my driver’s license is now a lie.

    I like your color in all of the photos, actually. I thought the red was fine. but then, I’m a husband who likes to keep the peace. ‘Your hair looks great, honey.’

  • --Deb

    February 15, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    Very cool–it’s brave to make such a change, too! My hair is dark brown and I color my own with a box of L’Oreal Excellence mostly because of the expense of having it done in a salon AND because I begrudge them the time (grin). (As much fun as it would be to have a professional color job done, that’s time I’d rather spend at home with my dog.) But, your color looks great! I’m so glad you’re happy with it, too, because that’s REALLY important!

  • patois

    February 16, 2009 at 8:19 am

    You are a way better human than me. I would never have the patience to sit there. And then sit there again. The color looks great. I think I also remember those 35 seconds of sunlight yesterday. Good times, those seconds.

  • Jenny's BFF

    February 16, 2009 at 9:47 am

    Wow! Very, very hip! I love it! You were right, it needed the blonde highlights. I love the dimension that they add to the red. Gosh! If only all of our hair color choices could turn out so beautifully! 🙂

  • Lei Shigemasa

    February 16, 2009 at 3:11 pm

    Way to go Julie…love it! Looking forward to seeing it ‘live’ as well. I gave up on my experiment in gray but think I need a salon trip to do a bit of clean up.

  • Auntie Kate

    February 16, 2009 at 4:57 pm

    OMG! What a surprise! I had no idea you were thinking about doing that! Every once in a while I look in the mirror & think my gray hair makes me look old. And it probably does, but it’s way cheaper than getting it colored. And since I am old, I guess I’d better start looking my age (even if I haven’t started acting it yet!)

    I think I like it though. I can’t wait to see it in person!

  • Karen MEG

    February 17, 2009 at 6:27 am

    You look awesome Julie, the colour is fantastic!
    Coloring is gets very expensive, doesn’t it? The ironic thing for me is that my “natural” colour (which is almost black) actually does less for me as I get older. Fighting the grays is the biggest challenge these days… sigh…