April 14, 2012

Thoughts on...Getting Your Hair Did

I mentioned last week that I was thankful my self-highlighting job turned out well.

As I said, my hair is naturally a dark blonde color.  When I was really young it was blonde, then brown, then blonde..and it changed with the seasons it seemed.  I started highlighting it with blonde in about 9th grade.

In Pennsylvania, I have an cousin who does hair professionally.  She highlighted my hair for me a few times a year on the cheap.

When I moved to Alaska, I had to give that up.  Alaska was an eye-opening experience to the world of hair care.  I know girls here who spend up to $130 every two months to keep their locks in check.  "WTH?!" was my reaction when I discovered that.  "Are you freaking nuts???"  (I'm sure my honesty was appreciated.)

My routine in Alaska quickly became a trim every 2-3 months at a hair-cutting chain for about $15.  That was even pushing it for me.  (My friends would give me coupons for this chain when they got them in the mail because I was the only one who got my hair cut at "that place".  I'm not that cheap.  I just refuse to pay six times what a haircut is worth.)

I'd use the Herbal Essences streak-it-yourself highlight kit.  It was okay.  Then I found the kit with the plastic cap for about $11 (above).

The only problem was that it's actually kinda difficult to see the back of your head.  This is where being married is helpful.  My husband would pull my hair through the cap for me.

It kind of goes without saying that my hair highlighting schedule has had to be planned around his deployment and training schedule.

At the end of last July, mere hours before he got on a plane to Louisiana, I was highlighting my hair at one o'clock in the morning. 

Then, again in October.  The night before school picture day.

He deployed in December.  I was going home for Christmas so I had a chance for my cousin to do my hair.
It. was. glorious.
December 2011
And that brought me to the end of March/beginning of April.  Scott's R&R is supposed to be in June, but I couldn't wait that long (plus, how dare I deprive him of the chance to poke me in the hair with that little metal stick?).

So I went at it on my own last weekend. 

Beach hair.  via instagram

My usual waves
What do you do for your hair?  Do you splurge on it??  I'd rather buy purses than spend a ton of money on my hair. Or maybe it's because I know it's not THAT expensive (as they would have you believe) and truly not that hard to do on your own.  I throw up in my mouth a little bit when I think about paying someone $130+tip to do what I can do for $11.

10 comments:

  1. I will splurge for a nice haricut every now and then, but I do all my own hair dye too! So much fun in a little box... haven't tried doing highlights though! Such a sweet story of your hubby helping you!

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  2. Dye has never touched my hair....nor been anywhere near it, for that matter. I'd like to get highlights or experiment with a color, but I'm terrified to never find my natural color again, and I just don't like the idea of the upkeep. I generally get my hair cut about once a year. Since I like it long, I get it cut to what I call "short" and then let it grow until it drives me crazy. Although, the last haircut I got is probably the best one I've ever had, and I may get it cut sooner to maintain this look. :)

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  3. I've never dyed my hair but I do get my hair trimmed on a regular basis and I've been told that I spend too much on it. It's not a lot in my opinion but I would rather pay for a good haircut because I've had HORRIBLE trims. My husband used to dye my sister's hair because she would do it herself and I couldn't stand the smell!

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  4. I love the new blog design! I confess that I go to those cheap places as well but I am going to start going to a specific hairdresser soon because the cheap place always seems to mess up my cut and when you have a short bob cut, mistakes are easy to see. However, I have always used at home hair dye. The first and last time I went to a salon for highlights they left me under too long because I wound up with "platinum blonde" streaks in my dark brown hair. That was how I started my freshman year of high school. LoL

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  5. Hair care is SO expensive! I've only gotten my hair highlighted professionally twice. First time was wonderful. Second time, I dyed over it with a semi-perm within a few days--it was terrible! A friend of mine and I take turns doing the Cap & Hook kits on each other. In fact, we even did them a few weeks before my wedding because I knew they'd turn out great like they always have. The only tip I have for those kits (I used the same one you pictured) is to buy a Natural Instincts Semi Perm dye (it can be in the lightest blonde even). Use it on your whole head. This will not lift your color, it will only "tone down" some of the brassiness that comes from the highlights. It will also "coat" your hair so it's extremely silky. I love how these turn out. Your hair looks great! Stick to the boxes :)

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  6. I've wrapped my husband into helping with my hair too! I just can't justify paying all the money a salon charges. I don't do highlights, but when I color on my own I use a foam color...it's a new, seriously fantastic thing.

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  7. I love getting my hair done...but it's so expensive! $130 sounds like a deal to me...that's how bad it is here. I started doing my own all-over color last year, but it started not covering my gray anymore (my hair thinks I'm in my 50s). Luckily a friend of mine just graduated beauty school so she's way cheaper for cuts and highlights now. :)

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  8. I put off cutting my hair until it's absolutely necessary. I am SOO cheap. But I LOVE getting my hair cut! Is there anything better than having your hair washed?

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  9. I've actually never gotten my hair done at a salon. My mom usually trims my hair when I need it. First off, I'm cheap so I'm probably never pay for it to get done until I start seeing grey (which I hope isn't soon) and two, I'm broke haha.

    I actually love the way your hair came out. You can't even tell it was done at home, nice job.

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  10. I call that a success! Well done! :)

    I splurge on my hair, and I'm not sure why, since I'm almost never happy with the cut until it grows out for a few weeks. But I usually only get it cut two or three times a year, so I tell myself it's okay. :)

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