Hair Salon Saga

I first highlighted my hair at my friend Ashley’s house in the 6th grade. Ashley and I were both of Italian/Irish heritage, and we both have naturally golden blonde hair. People often thought we were related, so we started telling people we were cousins. Ashley’s older sister taught us about what the older kids were doing, and I think she taught us how to dye our hair. We purchased highlighting kits at stores like Walgreens or the supermarket and then spent quality time fixing each other’s hair at Ashley’s house-turned-beauty salon. Those were the days!

I kept highlighting my golden blonde hair into my high school and college years. In college, I somehow got the money to splurge and go to hair salons on Newbury Street in Boston. I’ve spent a lot of money over the years getting blonde highlights that brighten my face and give me a confidence boost.

After college I moved to Los Angeles, where it seemed like everyone was a highlighted blonde. One glorious day while working at a media conglomerate, I actually went to the salon and dyed my hair brunette on my lunch break. The young boy I dated at the Finance firm across the hall at 11111 Santa Monica Blvd dumped me for his ex-girlfriend, who had recently moved to town. I remember coming back from lunch with dark hair and no regrets.

A few years later, my friend Deb from college, whom I lived with on the East Side of Los Angeles, kind of instilled in me that I didn’t need to dye my hair. I liked that she influenced me to get in touch with my natural roots and own the beautiful hair color that grows out of my head. Hah. That said, it’s been 10 years since I’ve dyed my hair. Since this time, I’ve surprised myself with some of my accomplishments, and I’ve worked at some interesting places.

The decision to go for highlights after 10 years:

I’ve decided to go back to the salon for a confidence boost and to get back in touch with a version of myself that I think was very determined and knew what she wanted at such a young age. Having taken a job in the public sector most recently, I feel like I’ve deviated from my true calling and path in life after securing an MBA and leading quite an interesting career in marketing. I hope that a good highlight will help give me a confidence boost and also help me re-align my internal compass for my next step in my career and in my life. The magic of a new look! My hope is that these highlights bring out an amazing version of myself and kickstart new, much better-aligned endeavors.

Balayage vs Foil Highlights:

At first, I wanted balayage highlights so that I wouldn’t have to upkeep the hair every few months at the salon. The balayage hair dye option is supposed to grow in more naturally than the sharp-lined effect that the foil dye creates along the hair root as it grows. I ultimately felt the balayage look wasn’t enough of a transformation because it mainly consists of two blonder strands in the front and some painting along the outer back of the head. That treatment starts at $350 before tip and doesn’t include toner or even a blow dry. I’m going to hold off on the balayage highlight treatment for the time being, even though the maintenance factor is very appealing. Who’s to say I won’t go this route in the future. I think I’m going to dive right back into the foil highlights for a brightened look.

I’m going to attempt to keep it natural by going with a partial foil so that when I put my hair up, the bottom section isn’t ‘sun-kissed’ because I feel like that isn’t natural looking. For the chemical treatment, I’ve decided not to bleach the hair, which is what I’ve done previously. I will go for a toned highlight that ideally matches my sun-kissed ends. Hopefully, this looks natural enough and prevents the hair from breaking, as I ultimately want to keep my length. I just want a little healthy brightening action.

Hair Consultations Are Important

Before sitting in the hairdresser’s seat, I wanted to meet with my stylist so that we could talk about the look I was hoping to create. The hair stylist sat down with me a week before the appointment and she whipped out a book of hair color samples. She confirmed that I have golden undertones in my hair and showed me the ‘family’ of toner colors I could work with. She also showed me the colors I could work with if I bleached my hair and then colored it. We discussed going for a partial foil highlight, dying with a brighter color that should blend nicely, and a hair trim. In doing this, the hairdresser has an idea of what to do before I sit in the seat and can visualize my hair tone and type before delving right into the dyes. From my perspective, I have an understanding of who she is, her process, and her vision for the end result. I’m really happy we met in advance and hope this helps better shape the end product.

The Result

It’s a day after the highlight process and I’m happy with the outcome. At first, I was like, wow that’s way too bright, but it took an overnight to get used to and I’ve decided I like it! Check the picture above. Mariana did a great job in my opinion. I think I’ll try the balayage with her next time because my understanding of the process doesn’t do the look justice. When I come back in 3-4 months, it will be the fall and a nice balayage has the potential to make it look like the sun did a beautiful number on my hair as we enter the fall season in the Northeast.

I can confirm the end product looks pretty natural and subtle looking yet provides enough of a change to spark internal confidence!

-Living Fully Fulfilled