I love my naturally curly hair, but sometimes I’m not “in love” with my curls! There are days when I want to go “G.I. Jane” and shave it all off. Not only is my hair curly, and sometimes unruly, but it is mousy reddish-brown, thinning (thanks to being in surgical menopause), and graying at the roots.
Since I was 16, I have had a love-hate relationship with my hair. The summer between my freshman and sophomore year in high school, I used Sun-In to lighten my hair. In my sophomore class photo, my hair was orange. My senior year in high school, before my senior prom, my mom helped me straighten my hair using Dark & Lovely “Difficult to Straighten”, but it didn’t help.
In college, I had long hair and it was HUGE! I diffused my curls until they were dry and frizzy. I started dating this guy who would literally go with me to get my hair cut and tell the stylist how he wanted my hair cut. After he broke up with me, I decided to change things up and got my hair cut SHORT!
I have several haircut horror stories that I could share, like the time I went to a cheap walk-in hair salon in the mall and asked for a “trim” and the stylist dry-cut my hair. After I got home (to my brother and sister-in-law’s house) and washed my hair, I realized that she had only cut one side, leaving me with a lop-sided haircut. My sister-in-law found me outside their apartment crying and begging their next-door neighbor to cut the other side of my hair.
Yes, I’m due to have my hair colored, and possibly cut, but it’s SO EXPENSIVE!!! Moment of honesty here… in the past 4-5 months, I have spent on average $200 per haircut and color. YIKES!!! The first time I forked over $225 for hair color and a cut, I nearly had a heart attack. For some people, that’s reasonable, but for me? Uh… NO!
Up until that first $225 hair color/cut, I had been getting my hair cut and colored at the Paul Mitchell School, never paying more than $75 for both haircut and color (including tip). But one bad dye job by a Level 2 student stylist whose mind was obviously elsewhere scared me away from the Paul Mitchell School. She was more concerned about the bride coming in after me and why kind of up-do she was going to give her.
Here’s a little background on that bad experience… I took in four photos. Two showed the color I wanted and two showed the cut I wanted. I got neither. First, the stylist had to “strip” or lighten my hair in order to color my hair the lighter caramel color I had asked for. Then instead of an all over caramel color, I got bright blonde streaks, a.k.a. highlights, down the center of my hair all the way to the back, and then down both sides to my ears.
Not only did the student stylist have to ask how long to leave the hair lightener (stripper) on my hair, but she left the foils in my hair too long, which resulted in about a 2-inch wide streak of bright yellow blonde highlights right down the middle of my hair. I would share that photo, but I am literally just too embarrassed to share it.
Why didn’t I say something before I walked out? And why did I pay for it? I was TOO SHOCKED and just needed to get out of there ASAP!
Here’s what I want… I want caramel colored hair and a layered haircut that is flattering, and doesn’t make me look like I have triangle-shaped hair (been there, done that). And I want it done at a reasonable price. Is that too much to ask?
But nowadays, there are so many coloring options – balayage, single process color, partial or full highlights, color blocking… ARGH! Too many options! I want to be able to space out the haircut and the color. I have a “hair budget” and I cannot afford $225+ every 6-8 weeks.
I am going to try again… I’m just not sure what I should do or where I’m going to go to get it done! My longer-than-shoulder-length hair needs some TLC!
Verify shows off some of the best haircuts for curly haired women, like myself. And I really like these haircuts and hairstyles in the two collages below.
What do you suggest I do with my hair? Should I take the risk and try to get that caramel color I really want? Should I cut it shorter or leave it long? Is there anyone in the Knoxville, TN, area that you would recommend?
Yours Truly,
Vanessa