Question about getting hair colored at the salon
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free skin care · Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:59 pm

I've been coloring (lightening w/ dye containing peroxide) my hair at home, and it's become several shades lighter. I'd like to go beyond that and get it dyed blonde at a salon. I haven't been to a salon in years and I'm a little nervous about them totally screwing up my hair. What is proper protocol? Do you ask for a strand test first? Or can I make an appointment so that they can look at my hair first and discuss what my options are? Thanks for any help, I'm totally inexperienced in this department. Smile

free skin care · Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:46 am

Hi-
A good salon should do a strand test and/or book you in for a free consultation before you take the plunge! I have found (unfortunately) that the more i pay in general at a hairdresser, the better the results. Ask around and see who your friends go to or whatever- especially if you like the look of your hair.
Hope this helps a little. I think taking a picture in of the hairstyle you like is also helpful.
Good luck with haircut/colour, am sure it will look fantastic!

maddy

Wed Jul 27, 2005 2:43 am

I would just drop by the salon and tell them what I want done and ask them what would be involved. There should be someone at the salon that can take 2 mins to take a look at your hair and decide if a strand test is necessary. That's what I did anyway when I was thinking of getting my hair dyed but had used henna beforehand. I stopped by and the salon director actually had a quick chat to me and suggested that I come in for a strand test.

free skin care · Wed Jul 27, 2005 10:45 am

Chimera -

If you go in and the stylist/colorist immediately runs to the back room to start mixing colors without discussing the look you want, and closely examining your hair (I mean, like grabbing a hank of it and checking for previous damage and explaining to you that your hair might “grab” the color unevenly in places as a result of your previous DIY color jobs) then you need to jump out of the chair and run for the door!! Seriously.

Anyway, the best advice I can give you to find a great hair stylist and/or colorist would be to ask for referrals! Do you have any friends/coworkers who's hair cut/color/style you particularly admire? Ask them who their stylist is! Even if you see a stranger with fab hair, tell her and ask her who does her hair -- most women are willing to share their stylist's name.

Next, you need to go in for a consultation and "interview" your stylist. Ask him/her how much experience s/he's had cutting or coloring your particular hair type (i.e: long, short, straight, wavy, curly, ethnic, etc.) or using the particular coloring technique that you want.

Ask if they have a "portfolio" with photos of hair designs s/he's done or "before & after" photos of satisfied clients. The stylist should take the time to listen to you, then take a good long look at your hair type and the damage caused by your home dye-jobs, and – trust me – there will be damage! The stylist needs to be honest with you and tell you the truth about attaining the hair color of your choice. S/he needs to tell you the truth, something like, “Well, I know you’ve got your heart set on going Pamela Anderson platinum blonde, but your hair has got a lot of previous damage so it might be healthier for your hair if we just added some highlights and lowlights rather than try to go all-over platinum” or “Hmmm, I’m not really sure that ash blonde would go with your overall coloring. I think you’d look better as a honey-gold blonde...” or something like that. A good stylist will be honest enough to tell you up front if she doesn't think a certain look would work on you, or should warn you how much upkeep/maintenance it would take to recreate the look at home.

Finally, and I can't stress this enough!! You need to take a photo of the hair color and/or style you're wanting and show it to the stylist so there's absolutely no confusion about the look you're after and no room for miscommunication. If you're on a budget, be honest and tell them up front that you can't afford to buy a truck-load of hair products to use at home or you won’t be able to afford to come in to get your roots touched up every three weeks, or whatever and ask him/her to recommend the absolute minimum products you'll need to maintain your look at home.

If possible, book your appointment with a “master colorist.” This is usually the person in the salon who has had the most experience and training in coloring hair. It costs more to sit with a “master,” but I feel that it’s completely worth it, especially if you’re planning to make a dramatic change. You don’t want to go to “SuperCuts” or trust your hair to newby who just graduated from cosmetology school!

If you get home and decide you're not happy with the look afterall, call the salon and TELL THEM!!! Most salons will make an appointment for you to come back so the stylist (or a different stylist, if you're adamently against having the same person touch your hair again!) can make it right. The salon depends on repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals, so they want you to be completely satisifed.

free skin care · Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:05 am

Wow, thanks for all the great advice! I actually have a wig that looked good on me and that's the color I want! Hehe. It's an ashy medium blonde and I'd really love to achieve that color in a single process (with no highlights) so I think going to see the 'master colorist' is a great idea! Especially since my hair is naturally dark/medium ash brown and I've lightened it about 4 shades at home!! I had no idea that even such a person existed and I admit I'll feel silly asking for him.... Wink

free skin care · Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:17 am

Ditto about asking for the best or Master colorist at a salon. Before I found mine, I freaked out because my hair was starting to make me look like White Trash. As I needed more frequent coloring for my grey roots, the woman I'd been seeing just wasn't keeping up with my needs. I hate spending all of the money I do for this, but it's worth it -- my hair has never looked "fried" since I switched to an expert colorist. Plus, an expert will be candid with you about expectations and possibilities. Even a pro can't guarantee that your hair will remain in good condition if you try to lighten it radically. For instance, my guy wouldn't give me the Holly Golightly highlights I wanted -- he said it would strip my dark hair too much to create such high-contrast strands. So I settled for more carmel/goldish highlights instead.

Maybe if your hair's short, you can pull off the change in color you want. But if you wear it longer, my guess is that it'll be hard to maintain -- going from dark brown to medium ash blonde is quite a change in one step. I think we see a lot of older women with ash blonde hair because they naturally have a lot of grey anyway.

free skin care · Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:46 am

I agree with the others, just go into several different salons and have consultations, you will know straight away which one feels right and is the best for you.
I used to go a very expensive salon which was considered the best in the area, it cost £100 fo cut and colour Shock

, whilst I was pleased with the end results, it niggled me that I was paying for a Junior to colour my hair!!!
My friend had started going to a salon around the corner and her colour looked really good so I bit the bullet and went there, it cost me £70 this time and the results were outstanding. She did the colour and the cut herself and did my colour so that when it started to grow out the roots blended with the coloured part.
7 months later and I have only just rebooked Laughing

free skin care · Wed Jul 27, 2005 5:04 pm

If I'm changing colours from what I normally get I get a consultation done.

I also take in pictures of EXACTLY what I want!

free skin care · Thu Jul 28, 2005 12:53 am

Ooh yes great advice about the pictures...I think I'll take my wig too! Hehe.

And Rosebud....100 pounds for a cut and color (which I'm guessing is about 160USD) is cheap in my neighborhood! I looked at the salon around the block and it costs 100 dollars just for a cut. :/ This is why I've been cutting and coloring my hair myself!!!

BTW...my hair is quite long. I refuse to cut it short! So I guess my options are limited. I'll definitely be going in for a few consultations.

free skin care · Thu Jul 28, 2005 1:47 am

Make sure you don't let them cut it short!! I think it is a secret plot against us long haired girls. They always want to cut it. It really ticks me off actually. I know they think that their way will be better than mine, but quite frankly, I don't care. Just make sure you can trust them to only take off what you want. Smile

free skin care · Fri Jul 29, 2005 11:13 am

I know! That drives me so nuts that I have taken to cutting my own hair. Why is it that an inch in my home suddely quadruples in length the moment I step into a salon? Arrgh!

free skin care · Sat Jul 30, 2005 7:52 am

There is so much good advice here.

Regarding choosing a salon, I highly recommend Aveda. I am a natural blonde, but it is a very dark, blah blonde, and I prefer it baby-blonde, so I get full-head highlights every 2 months using a blend of 3-4 different shades. Using bleach last year was causing my hair to fall out during the post-color detangle at the salon - and oh, was that awful to watch. That said, bleach for me is out of the question ... so then, hot to get my hair light without bleach?

Well, I moved to Oklahoma temporarily a year ago (I'm from north Dallas), and was forced to go to a new salon. Somehow I came about Aveda, and that colorist really whipped my hair into shape immediately. After a year and thus many inches of new growth, it's already noticeably thicker. Oddly enough, my hair is several shades lighter now without bleach than it ever was with it! I still watch in wonderment as she combs out my wet hair after washing out the color solution, and the comb is almost completely bare every time.

No more ammonia, peroxide, or any bleach whatsoever, and I have been dutifully using shampoos without sulfates for the past year; 9 times out of 10, this is sadly the second ingredient in both drugstore and high-end shampoos. Chimera, I am not sure where you live, but I will provide here a direct link to find an Aveda salon near you should you consider trying one out: http://aveda.aveda.com/stores/locator.asp

I cannot recommend it enough. Oh, and there's no color fade either; my only complaint is my own root growth!

free skin care · Sat Jul 30, 2005 10:05 am

Okay, how does one bleach their hair without peroxide or ammonia, just curious. Also, would someone post their sulphate free shampoos? They are almost impossible to come by. I used to use Aveda all the time until EL took over and the brand could only be sold exclusively, the salon here in our little town switched to Alterna (yuck).

free skin care · Sat Jul 30, 2005 10:08 am

Just found the sls-free shampoo thread. Very Happy

free skin care · Sat Jul 30, 2005 12:39 pm

With my Aveda highlights, my hair is not bleached; however, it is lightened. How their lighteners have lifted my color many shades lighter than the bleach colorists used to use in my hair is beyond me, but Aveda manages it!

Regarding sulfate-free shampoos, I few I can think of at the top of my head are Aveda, Giovanni, Jason, & Pureology.

free skin care · Sat Jul 30, 2005 3:13 pm

Thanks Sheila! Smile

free skin care · Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:36 pm

Shiela -- I did a search and found a number of salons that use Aveda in my area, but most just carry Aveda and are not indeed Aveda salons. Does that make a difference? I'm still considering taking the plunge but I'm terrified of my long hair break off!

free skin care · Sun Jul 31, 2005 7:16 pm

chimera wrote:

Shiela -- I did a search and found a number of salons that use Aveda in my area, but most just carry Aveda and are not indeed Aveda salons. Does that make a difference? I'm still considering taking the plunge but I'm terrified of my long hair break off!

I didn't think Aveda did that. From my understanding, to carry products you must be an *Aveda-Concept* salon, and go through a certain amount of training specifically related to products. I don't think they make them do cutting training though. I could be wrong though... In any case, you would want to check that with Aveda. If these salons have not been trained with regards to Aveda product I would not go to them. Aveda products are very active and specific; and could mess up your hair if you were given the wrong product.

free skin care · Wed Aug 03, 2005 8:27 pm

Sorry, just caught this thread again! Faith hit the nail right on the head.

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