SO... I Colored My Hair!

     Hello friends! I'm back after a mini blogging break during my trip to Charleston. Getting back into blogging this week by chatting HAIR! This year, I decided to give myself a birthday present! It's something that I have wanted to do for a long time, but was always too nervous to pull the trigger on or I didn't feel that I was at a place financially to invest in doing it well. But enough was enough, time to finally take the plunge on coloring my hair! 

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Dress {under $25} // Necklace 

     I've wanted to have blond hair since before I can remember. I blame most of that on the fact that I was a huge fan of both Britney Spears and Barbies when I was little- two things known for iconic blond hair haha!  I'd go through phases of wanting to dye my hair in high school, but my mom was pretty strict about not letting me do that until I was an adult. She did let me get a few highlights in 11th grade- but the salon I went to was so subtle about them that you barely could tell I had highlights! And they were only partial, so I don't really count that as coloring my hair. Aside from getting a perm during my freshman year of college, I've never done anything drastic to my hair! It's always been long and straight and naturally brown. 

     After college, I started really envisioning myself finally with lighter hair. Not something platinum blond or something that would look really fake and tacky, but a well done lighter hair color. However, I couldn't justify the financial commitment of coloring my hair at that time a couple years ago. I didn't want to attempt DIY hair color... I wanted to have it done at a nice salon that specialized in color. I decided that I would finally color my hair after I paid off my last school loan- that way I could just allot money that had been used for those monthly payments on maintaining a new hairstyle instead. I paid of my last loan back in July, so I decided to wait to make my hair appointment on my birthday in early September!

     September 6th was the big day! I asked friends for recommendations on their salons in the weeks leading up, but I decided to use the one my roommate went to. She also colors her hair and I was always so impressed by how natural it looked. I went to Face Value Salon in the Shops at Stonefield in Charlottesville, which is an Aveda salon.

    I showed the stylist some pictures from Pinterest for inspiration, and she started the coloring process. It took 5 hours to complete since my hair is so long and thick, and uncolored hair I guess always takes longer to dye for the first time. I'm really glad that I had a book to read in my bag with me, as I was at the salon lot longer than I expected! My stylist did a combination of full highlights and balyage, and pictured above is the end result! I also got a hair trim with a lot more layers put in. I previously used a shampoo that wasn't great for color treated hair, so I've since switched this this shampoo and conditioner, which I'm liking! My stylist also recommended this affordable purple shampoo, which I've been using once a week and am also happy with.


     I am so happy with the end result of my hair! It is such a fun and needed change, and was the best way to kick off a new year of life. Also, there ended up being a huge unexpected bonus to coloring my hair- it doesn't get greasy anymore like it used to! My hair used to produce so much oil, even with washing my hair daily and using clarifying shampoos it would still often be so oily. Since coloring my hair, I can now usually go three full days in between washes- it's incredible!! My stylist told me to properly maintain the blond I'll come back about every 7-8 weeks for more highlights, so as of now I'm expecting to go back in mid-November. I definitely want to try going a little lighter next time!


 

    God Bless,


     xoxo Annaliese